The Cosmere Cinematic Universe is continuing to progress before our very eyes, and we recently received more updates for both the upcoming Mistborn movie and Stormlight Archive show.
Some of this new information comes directly from Brandon Sanderson himself during his Mistborn 20th Anniversary livestream, where he answered a ton of questions about both projects.
Apple’s deal with Sanderson was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year, with Mistborn being developed as a film series and The Stormlight Archive for television.
We have also previously broken down seven major changes Brandon has discussed making to the Mistborn movie, but now we have a much better idea of where the actual production stands.
9 Updates for the Mistborn Movie and Stormlight Archive Show [Video]
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1. They’ve Picked a Mistborn Producer
Brandon has chosen the producer he wants for the Mistborn films.
He’s not saying who yet. The deal wasn’t fully signed when he did the stream, and when it does get announced, he expects it’ll break through one of the Hollywood trades.
But the decision is made.
“I have picked a producer for the Mistborn films, but we haven’t announced it yet because I don’t think their deal is quite signed yet… I’m very pleased with the producer.”
They talked to a lot of producers before landing on this one, and Brandon sounded pretty happy about the pick.
And this is a huge step forward.
Because even though Apple is involved, and Brandon is writing the screenplay himself, finally having a producer locked in is key to actually turning that screenplay into a film. They will ultimately be responsible for much of the film’s development, hiring, budget and eventually production.
There’s still a long road from here, but this is great news.
2. The Plan Is Three Mistborn Movies
Brandon confirmed they’re planning on not one, but three Mistborn films.
“Will there be three Mistborn movies? Yeah, that’s the plan. Three Mistborn films.”
So The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages will hopefully each get a movie of their own.
Now, that’s not 100% locked in. Only the first movie is in active development, and the other two will likely proceed based on how the first one performs.
But what it does tell us is that Brandon isn’t writing a standalone version of The Final Empire. He’s building it like the books, keeping the entire trilogy in mind.
Brandon also made it very clear that Mistborn is intended to be the starting point for the larger Cosmere adaptation plan.
“Mistborn needs to happen first. Mistborn is the way we introduce people into the Cosmere. Mistborn needs to be a wide-release theatrical film, and then Stormlight, Apple TV, high-quality television show.”
So Mistborn is the foundation. Everything else gets built on top of it.
3. Vin Is Probably Getting Aged Up
Brandon also mentioned that Vin will probably be aged up for the film.
She’s 16 at the start of The Final Empire, while Elend is 21. Brandon says Vin reads more like an 18- or 19-year-old anyway, and that’s how he’d write her if he were starting today.
This is something a lot of us predicted would happen, but it’s nice to see Brandon now talking about it directly.
“I’ll probably age Vin up… If I were writing it now, I would just write Vin starting at 18 or 19. She acts like an 18-, 19-year-old.”
Whoever they cast is likely going to be in her early twenties. Brandon also floated the idea of aging Elend down a little instead, but aging Vin up sounds like the likelier move.
And while Hollywood hasn’t started casting yet, we may have already found our Vin. I recently talked with Sierra Fleming, who has spent years being compared to Vin and has been actively preparing for the chance to audition for the role.
4. We Have New Details About Mistborn Casting
Nobody has been cast yet, but we did get some new insight into Brandon and Apple’s thought process.
Kelsier is the one role Brandon expects to fill with a recognizable name. A face who can help sell Mistborn to an audience that has no idea what the Cosmere is.
“Kelsier is the headliner. Kelsier is the person that will cast an established actor and who helps sell the movie.”
They’ll start by looking at actors in their thirties and forties. Kelsier is in his late thirties in the book, but Brandon sounds flexible if the right actor skews a little older.
For most of the rest of the cast, Brandon isn’t looking for celebrities. He wants whoever fits, and he’s hoping they can eventually start doing open casting calls, likely once they choose a director.
He also got into ethnicity a bit.
Sazed will almost certainly be cast as a Black actor. Vin will be white. Beyond that, a lot of the Scadrian roles are open.
“Sazed will almost certainly be cast as Black. Basically, most characters could be cast as Black or white because ethnicity is tied to heritage and culture rather than skin color.”
5. The Mistborn Screenplay Is Finished
During the anniversary livestream, Brandon said he was extremely close to finishing the first Mistborn screenplay.
It was at the page count he wanted, and everything he wanted was in it.
His one worry was pacing.
“Really close to being done. It feels really good. I have it at the right page count. I’ve got everything that I wanted to do. It might be a little too fast-paced.”
But since that livestream, we’ve actually received another major update.
On July 28, Brandon announced that the first draft of the Mistborn screenplay was officially finished. His official Film and TV News page now lists the Mistborn movie script at 100% complete.
Obviously, finishing the first draft doesn’t mean the movie is about to start filming. There will still be revisions, and Brandon previously explained that they would begin hunting for a director once the script gets where everyone wants it.
But it’s another significant step forward for the movie.
6. Brandon Wants The Emperor’s Soul to Be the Second Cosmere Movie
It turns out Brandon’s preferred second Cosmere movie isn’t Mistborn 2.
Instead, he wants to push for Apple to make a non-theatrical adaptation of The Emperor’s Soul.
“I would love for the second film in the Cosmere to be Emperor’s Soul… a little bit more of a prestige piece, as a streaming film, not as a theatrical.”
To be very clear, this is not a real movie yet.
There’s no script, no producer and no date. This is Brandon saying what he’d like to talk Apple into.
But I think it’s a great idea.
Mistborn is the big theatrical swing, which requires a big budget. The Emperor’s Soul could be done much more cheaply while still expanding the Cosmere in a meaningful way.
So the shape Brandon is imagining is Mistborn in theaters, Stormlight on Apple TV, then The Emperor’s Soul as a streaming film while Mistborn 2 is being developed.
7. Stormlight Is Looking at Eight to Ten Episodes Per Season
We already know they’re planning one season per Stormlight Archive book, but Brandon is now saying each season will likely be eight to ten episodes, roughly 40 to 50 minutes each.
“Stormlight will be a book a season. That’s what they understand. That’s what I am planning… eight to ten. If I can get it to eight, we’ll do it at eight because that just gives us more budget per episode.”
Ten episodes gives you more room to fit everything in, but it sounds like he’s working with a set budget, so cutting that to eight might actually make the show better by giving them more money per episode.
My biggest concern here is the actual budget of the show, because another comment Brandon made makes me feel like it could be a much smaller budget than many of us were previously thinking.
8. Brandon Wants to Write All of Kaladin Himself
When it comes to writing the episodes for the live-action Stormlight Archive show, Brandon wants to personally write Kaladin’s storyline across the entire first season.
“The goal is for me to write all of Kaladin straight through all 10 episodes… and then the writers’ room, other showrunner, do Dalinar, Shallan.”
I actually kind of like this.
Instead of having different writers completely responsible for different episodes, they could each contribute across the season while focusing on specific parts of the story.
And Kaladin is obviously one of the most important characters to get right in The Way of Kings, so keeping Brandon directly in charge of how he comes across in the show sounds like a good idea.
Brandon also confirmed again that he plans to co-showrun the series.
“I will co-showrun. I will oversee a lot of the creative on the Stormlight show. But I need someone who’s actually made a television show.”
So they’re still looking for that other showrunner.
The show does already have a producer, Theresa Kang. Her production company Blue Marble was confirmed as being attached to executive produce The Stormlight Archive when Apple’s deal with Brandon was originally reported.
9. Tress and Yumi Could Become Animated Movies
Finally, while Stormlight and Mistborn will be live action, Brandon still wants animation to help tell some of the other Cosmere stories.
Specifically, Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter.
“Yumi being animated would be my preference. Both Yumi and Tress, I would prefer animated features… If we can get a good Stormlight live action, we can convince them to give us the budget for something like Tress or Yumi.”
So as long as Mistborn and Stormlight do well, Brandon will hopefully have the ability to work with Apple to expand even more of the Cosmere through different types of projects.
For now, though, everything starts with Mistborn. And with a producer apparently chosen and Brandon’s first screenplay draft now finished, the first Cosmere movie continues to move closer to actually happening.
And for anyone already looking further into the future of Roshar, we also recently broke down every character Brandon has confirmed will remain important in Stormlight Archive Books 6–10.
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