TheMistbornmovie adaptation might have already made its biggest mistake, but I’m still hoping for the best. As a huge fan ofMistborn, Brandon Sanderson, andthe Cosmere universe, who’s also an avid film buff, I’m cautiously optimistic about it being adapted to the screen. On the one hand, I’d love to see wider audiences exposed to the Cosmere, a fictional universe filled with beautiful stories that push the bounds of what fantasy can achieve. On the other,the Hollywood landscape for fantasy adaptations isn’t stellar right now.
Brandon Sanderson’supdates on theMistbornfilmin 2023 suggest the project is on pause for now, but the author assured fans it was only a matter of time before his stories were brought to the screen. So, while there may not be an official project to discuss,some factors seem confirmed forMistborn’sadaptation, such as that it will be a feature film. ImaginingMistbornas a film trilogy offers plenty of room to speculate, as we can infer how the books' narratives may translate to the medium based on similar movies.
Mistborn Would Work Better As A TV Series Than A Movie
An 8-Episode TV Season Fits The Final Empire Perfectly
My biggest concern forMistbornis that I don’t believe the film medium is right for the story. There are only so many successful fantasy adaptations to use for reference, but word count can be used as a decent metric to suggest how long the movie should be in comparison to the book.The Final Empireis a bit longer than bothThe Fellowship of the RingandThe Deathly Hallows, two famous fantasy novels that have been adapted into feature films. One of them is three hours; the other is split into two films.
210,103
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
198, 227
177,227
A Game of Thrones
292,727
Theoretically, aMistbornmovie would need to be rather long to cover all its ground. However, given Hollywood’s tendency to set limits on movie lengths,I would expect studios to aim for a roughly two-hour film, primarily focusing on Allomancy action and the relationships between Vin, Kelsier, and Elend. With Brandon Sanderson directly involved in writing the script, there’s hope that the product wouldn’t dissipate his character development or world-building, but it’s still hard to imagine squeezing everything necessary into a movie that Hollywood would be okay giving a green light. That’s a criticism of the film industry, notMistborn.
The Mistborn Movie Can Solve Its Villain Problem By Following This $375 Million Superhero Movie From 19 Years Ago
It will be tricky to transfer Mistborn’s iconic villain from book to screen, but this superhero movie’s villain reveal could be the perfect formula.
Now, I certainly don’t want to suggestMistbornshould useGame of Thronesas a model, as that seems to have led to issues with several other fantasy shows. But I do think George R.R. Martin had the right idea in having his stories adapted to television.Mistbornisn’t nearly as sprawling a narrative, butI firmly believe an eight-episode season could vastly benefit the story and establish the basis for the Cosmere as a television universe.
A Mistborn Adaptation Needs To Launch The Cosmere Universe
The Cosmere Is Too Vast For Movies
It’s possible that I’m getting ahead of myself now, but aMistbornadaptation can’t be considered without the full scope of the Cosmere behind it. IfMistborngets made into a movie,The Stormlight Archiveis the next question. I can barely imagine the former fitting the movie format, butI certainly can’t seeThe Stormlight Archiveworking as a film without dropping a significant portion of its narrative. Maybe shorter novels likeTress of the Emerald Seawould benefit from alternate film formats, but I believe the main theaters of the Cosmere belong on television.
theMistbornmovie would have to set up threads connecting to the larger Cosmere
Not to mention, theMistbornmovie would have to set up threads connecting to the larger Cosmere. These films would have to introduce Hoid, make sure audiences understand the concept of the Shards, show Kelsier’s afterlife but hide him from the directMistbornstory, and more.With television, this can all be handled with better and more graceful pacing, where it can be clear that a grander narrative is being set up without feeling rushed.
Why Brandon Sanderson Wants Mistborn To Be Adapted To Film
Brandon Sanderson Imagines His Movie Adaptations Playing Out Differently Than The Books
Brandon Sanderson has been frequently asked about aMistbornmovie adaptation over the past decade, and he’s made many varying comments. In 2021, he spoke on his approach to adapting his own books to the screen, discussing how he’s approached the idea of making changes to fit the shifting medium. Read his quote (viaReddit) below:
I’ve come to the mindset that there are two general ways to approach adaptation. One is to try to be very faithful to the actual text, and the other is to redo almost the entire thing for the new medium, while trying to keep the soul of it the same.
I’ve actually written treatments of Mistborn that do both of these. As an exercise, I did one more recently (for the screen) where I threw out every scene from the book and asked myself, “If I were doing what was absolutely best for a film, but telling the same story, how would I have written this?”
That treatment for that screenplay was very different from the book, while at the same time still being the book–same soul, same characters, same basic plot beats. But no actual scenes from the book except Vin/Elend on the balcony. Everything was approaching the story from a cinematic viewpoint–and I found that in a lot of cases, this new treatment was stronger.
I’m inclined to trust Brandon Sanderson, as he hasn’t let me down yet. From the standpoint of someone who generally doesn’t get irritated by adaptations making changes to the source material, I don’t think what he’s saying is inherently wrong. To me,The Lord of the Ringsis the proof that this mindset works. But with all of that being said, the route of a TV show for a more directMistbornadaption still seems more appealing, asit’s the character development in his stories that appeals to me, and I’d hate to see that suffer due to time constraints.
Mistborn
TheMistbornseries, created by Brandon Sanderson, is a high-fantasy saga set in the world of Scadrial, where magic is powered by metals through a system called Allomancy. The series focuses on political intrigue, heists, and the battle between good and evil. The first trilogy,Mistborn: The Final Empire, follows the struggle to overthrow a tyrannical ruler, the Lord Ruler. Later books in the series, includingEra 2, take place hundreds of years after the events of the original trilogy, expanding the story into new settings with new characters, all while maintaining connections to the original storyline.Books:Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006)Mistborn: The Well of Ascension (2007)Mistborn: The Hero of Ages (2008)Mistborn: The Alloy of Law (2011)Mistborn: Shadows of Self (2015)Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning (2016)Mistborn: The Lost Metal (2022)
