Brandon Sanderson Is Writing the Mistborn Screenplay Himself
He has creative control that Hollywood rarely gives any author. He is using every bit of it.
Brandon Sanderson signed a deal with Apple TV in January 2026 to adapt Mistborn as a theatrical film and The Stormlight Archive as a television series. He is writing the Mistborn screenplay himself, tracking progress publicly on Reddit, and is approximately 72 percent done as of May 31, 2026.
The Hollywood Reporter described the level of control in the deal as “unprecedented, even when compared to adaptations of works by other popular fantasy authors like J.K. Rowling and George R.R. Martin.”
AT A GLANCE • Deal announced: week of January 28, 2026 • Reported by: The Hollywood Reporter (exclusive) • Projects: Mistborn (theatrical film), The Stormlight Archive (TV series) • Screenplay status: approx. 72% complete as of May 31, 2026 • Target delivery: summer 2026 • Author control: writing, producing, casting approval, co-showrunner on Stormlight |
The deal that changed what an author can ask for
Sanderson’s terms covered writing and producing credits, casting approval, and co-showrunner status on the Stormlight series. He was not looking for a straight rights sale.
He told Deseret News: “Everybody tried to bid on Mistborn and Stormlight.” His reason for accepting Apple: “I’ve long been looking for a partner, not just someone to sell things off to.”
That distinction is the whole story. Sanderson was not selling an IP. He was choosing a collaborator.
Why Wheel of Time matters here
Before Apple, Sanderson served as a consulting producer on Amazon’s Wheel of Time series. The show ran three seasons before Amazon cancelled it on May 23, 2025. His experience there shaped everything about how he approached the next negotiation.
He has been direct about what went wrong: “They wanted my name on it for legitimacy, but not to involve me in any meaningful way.”
The Apple agreement is the specific, contractual answer to that.
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He is writing it himself, and posting the progress
In February 2026, Sanderson posted on Reddit: “I will be writing the Mistborn screenplay myself over the next 5 months, as my full time work. Goal is for a theatrical Mistborn, then Stormlight show after. Focus on doing it carefully and right.”
He has been sharing updates since:
• Feb 3: 2%
• Feb 17: 10%
• March: 42%
• April: 50%
• May 20: 80%
• May 31: 72% (returned to Act 1 revisions after briefly hitting 80%)
Progress paused a few weeks in late May while Sanderson was in London for MCM Comic Con (May 23), a Forbidden Planet signing, and an Oxford lecture. Summer 2026 delivery to Apple is still the target.
What the film is actually about
Mistborn: The Final Empire was published July 17, 2006 by Tor Books. It is set in a world where ash falls from the sky and a dark lord called the Lord Ruler has held power for a thousand years.
The magic system is Allomancy: practitioners ingest metals and burn them internally to access powers. A Misting can burn only one metal. A Mistborn can burn all of them.
The film will center on three characters: Vin, a 16-year-old street thief with untapped Allomantic power; Kelsier, a charismatic criminal mastermind and revolutionary leader; and Elend Venture, a scholar-nobleman. Sanderson has indicated the film will center on Vin, with the larger ensemble from the novel taking reduced roles.
No cast yet, but the conversation has already started
No official casting has been announced. Sanderson addressed the Henry Cavill fan campaign directly in a 2024 blog post: “No, Henry C. was not one of them.” The most widely discussed fan casting for Vin is Dafne Keen.
Once the screenplay is delivered, Sanderson will move into Stormlight pre-production. He will write the pilot himself, then develop the full season alongside a writing team. He is still searching for a second co-showrunner.
How big the Cosmere actually is
Sanderson has sold over 50 million copies across the Cosmere, confirmed by Marie Claire in March 2026. His 2022 Kickstarter raised $41.7 million, the largest crowdfunding campaign in Kickstarter history. A BackerKit campaign in April 2026 added over $11 million more.
Separately, the Skyward series is in development as a TV series at Tomorrow Studios, written by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. No platform has been announced.
His next novel, Ghostbloods, is the first book of Mistborn’s Era Three trilogy, expected December 2028. Sanderson’s manuscript deadline is December 2026.
WHAT WRITERS CAN TAKE FROM THIS • Creative control is a negotiating position, not a given. Sanderson’s deal shows what is possible with specific contractual asks: writing credits, casting approval, co-showrunner title. • Transparency makes readers stakeholders. Weekly percentage updates turned a private process into a shared one. Readers are already invested before a single frame is shot. • A bad deal teaches you what the next one needs. The Wheel of Time experience gave Sanderson precise language for exactly what he needed at Apple. • Ensemble casts get tightened for film. Even Sanderson’s own first novel is being restructured around a single protagonist — and he is the one making that call. |
If you’re building a world as layered as the Cosmere, tracking characters, relationships, and lore across multiple books is its own project. Writeo’s Character Relationship Visualizer was built for exactly that kind of depth.
Sources
The Hollywood Reporter — Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, Stormlight Archive to Get Movie, TV Show (January 2026)
Deseret News — Sanderson on Apple deal terms and bidding process
Brandon Sanderson, Reddit — Screenplay progress updates, February to May 2026
Brandon Sanderson, brandonsanderson.com — Weekly update blog posts, May 2026
Marie Claire — Cosmere sales figures (March 2026)
Variety — The Wheel of Time Canceled After Three Seasons at Amazon Prime Video (May 2025)
Deadline — The Wheel of Time Canceled by Prime Video After 3 Seasons (May 2025)