Lionsgate has won a bidding war to adapt Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicle series! And not just into a movie, or a television series—but both, and a video game, to boot! This deal sets up the studio to develop the multiple stories from The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear, and various novellas (including The Slow Regard of Silent Things) simultaneously and across multiple platforms.
Rothfuss broke the news on his blog, explaining how the option on his series had expired this past July, right around San Diego Comic-Con. However, apparently that deadline lit a fire under several studios, as the bidding war began at the same time. Rothfuss spent most of SDCC in meetings about adapting the series, and shared how he explained just how impossible it was to turn The Name of the Wind into a movie. He elaborated on how a movie adaptation had never been a huge draw for him:
I’ve never been that interested in a straight-up movie deal. Pretty much every fantasy movie created so far has been an action movie, or plot centered, or both. And my books aren’t like that. My books are about the characters. They’re about secrets and mysteries and the hidden turnings of the world. My books are all about antici-
-pation. And a movie, even a long movie, simply doesn’t have enough time to fit all of that stuff in. That’s why my original option was for a TV show. I wanted space for the story to breathe.
Of all the studios, Lionsgate (who Rothfuss described as “agile and innovative,” with their movie and TV departments actually communicating) got what he was saying, and came back to him with this pitch:
Then Lionsgate got in touch. “About that whole TV-show-and-a-movie thing you mentioned,” they said. “If we’re going to do some sort of big narratively intertwined multi-platform development deal based on your books, wouldn’t it make more sense to do a video game along with the TV show and movies? Because seriously, why wouldn’t we want to do a video game too?” (I’m paraphrasing a little here you understand.)
I said, “What?”
As Rothfuss told The Hollywood Reporter, this deal “will give us the screen time to develop the characters and show off the world.” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erik Feig added,
Pat Rothfuss’s imaginative storytelling, the spellbinding character Kvothe and the vivid world of Temerant in The Kingkiller Chronicle series have a passionate and savvy fanbase and the potential to reach an even broader audience in adaptation. It is rare that a property comes along with a world so rich and multilayered that it lends itself to exploration across film, television and video game audiences at the same time.
I’m sure he is tired of hearing this, but…
Will he publish Book 3 before the movie-TV show is released?
When will he accept that he has edited his book enough?
Congratulations to him for the deal.
This was my first question, too, but Rothfuss has a LOT more buffer time than Martin did with GoT. The earliest anything would arrive would be fall 2016 (TV), giving him until 2018 to publish Book 3. And this is a really, really early estimate. Realistically, he has the next 5 years to publish it.
I wonder which aspects of the series will infuse themselves into mainstream pop culture ala Khaleesi, Lannisters, etc…
Saying he has 5 years to publish book 3 is not really what I was wanting to hear…
I am glad he is getting paid. I hope he finishes his current series and keeps writing books. Personally don’t see much there
in way of good tv coming out of this. He is right that it would make one slog of a movie. And as a video game it is not
a title I can’t wait to get my joystick on.
Thank you Lionsgate. They’re a legitimate company with the money to make Kingkiller what it should be. I’d dread another fiasco like this past winter’s Wheel of Time pilot. (What a huge insult to Robert Jordan’s estate!)
I’d love to see this as either a series OR a movie, but I question having both.
And can we please please please have a mac client for the video game? Pretty please? /puppyeyes
I think Rothfuss is kind of getting his wishlist together for casting too. He recently tweeted “Oh man. I just realized that @MollyQuinn93 would make a badass Devi.” (Which is so true!)
@@@@@Braid_Tug
Even if he does finish before the show is released who knows how long that will be now that he will be needed as a consult on scripts.
So that is to say I’m not expecting anytime soon. And that way if it does come soon I’ll be happily surprised.
I kind of have given up on Book 3 :-( It has been so long that if book 3 is announced, I will have to read the first two books again.
Please don’t give up on PR. Degree of difficulty on wrapping everything up is really high and I want him to take time and do it right. I’d like to hope he’ll finish writing this time next year and we’ll have the book in Spring 2017.
PR was a great guest at JordanCon 2014. I was able to meet him and attend several panels.
That’s also when I became scared for Book 3. He’s been writing it the whole time, unlike GRRM. But he edits & edits & edits. At that time he confessed to editing it 300+ times already. Once just to look at every use of the word “of.”
He needs someone like Brandon Sanderson’s Peter Ahlstrom to help him.
When book 3 comes, it will be beautiful. I also fear PR may have to be committed for exhaustion / insanity afterwards too.
it sounds great. just dont do british accents with the medieval setting. its so tired in fantasy movies.
Ooooh! A fantasy show/movie with accents from all over the world, that would be great (and appropriate to this world, actually).
I’d be more excited if there were an announcement about when the final book is coming out, of course, but I will be patient on that front, since I’d rather read the best version of it than have it rushed out before the show or movie comes out (if it comes to that). That said, I am going to cosplay the hell out of whatever show/movie/game we get!
(had to run away from the comment section on the io9 website, btw: more than half the comments about the KKC announcement were of the negative “this-series-is-crappy-i-can’t-believe-they’re-developping-it-instead-of-something-better” nature… made me sad)
Am I the only one kind of dreading this?
Questions about book3 aside, I have a sneaky feeling that Lionsgate wants to try and do what Marvel is doing with the Avengers: that is, make some big blockbuster movie, with a TV show that “ties in” and … UGH please no!
As much as I have enjoyed the previous Avengers movies they are definitely starting to wane, and the tie-in idea with shows imo is really exploitative. I don’t want to feel forced to watch a TV show just so that my movie experience will be better or vice versa (for instance, if you watch Agents of Shield without seeing the movies you are going to have no idea what is going on or why random <insert person/idea/object here> is important). I also don’t really care to watch TV shows about people I saw in movies but that weren’t cool enough for screen time during the movie, or whatever. There’s is absolutely no justifiable reason to make a TV show AND a movie, unless the movie is the finale of a long cancelled TV show (and even then fans will question it). Making a TV show AND movie on the outset is clearly just a way for studios to suck you into their crap so you feel obligated to watch all of it.
Name of the Wind series just needs to be a TV show and that’s it.
I gave up on PR a long time ago. When name of the wind was first published PR mentioned that he wouldn’t drag his out like other authors do. I don’t remember where I read the comment but it was the only reason I bought the book vs waiting for the series to finish. Not to mention that book 2 was….a let down.
With that said I hope this succeeds even though I doubt it will.
Oh and please don’t reference Niel Gaimans essay on authors/artist not being our “bitch”. When an author starts a story with the idea it will encompass multiple volumes it is , in my opinion, a tacit agreement between the author and he reader to finish the story without undue delay. I can’t walk into work and hand them 1/3 or 2/3 of my work and say “I’ll get to the rest some other time, not sure when”. And no, I no longer buy any books unless the series is complete unless the series is written by Brandon Sanderson. As far as I can tell (I haven’t done a lot of research) he is the only author who respects his fan base enough to keep them informed about progress or lack of progress.
it appears that the way to get a Hollywood deal is to publish the beginnings of something great and never finish it or at least drag it out for years. Are you taking notes Mr. Sanderson?
Can Cameron Monaghan play Kvothe? I have loved him in Shameless the past few years and recently on Gotham, and I think he definitely has the acting ability, and could pull off a pretty wide age range. Also he is gorgeous and a true flame-redhead. He plays the guitar, ukelele, and drums, and can sing a little.
Why should he finish his trilogy when he can milk the unfinished story for millions through movies and tv? G Martin has it made, now Patrick can get his.
I’d like book 3 Before winter 2016, I think any longer than that, and it would become the duke nukem forever of books.
I’m Patrick’s age. I read the first Robert Jordan’s first book in the 8th grade..and waited patiently for each new book…It was painful, but worth it. Then, sadly, I found George R.R. Martin. The first three books were brilliant, and the next two, more like homework…or reading a calculator instruction manual. Patrick’s books are brilliant, BUT he makes Jordan seem like a speed writer. I refuse to watch Game of Thrones because Martin is so busy shaking hands and taking checks at different events to a) finish his series, despite the fact that the show has caught up his books b) write a good story. I understand that all three Kingkiller books were written and completed when the first one was published. I also understand that the story evolved and changed requiring that book two be almost rewritten, but that doesn’t explain why in the name of all that is holy why book 3 is taking so long! Optioned? Great…but don’t you think the story should be done first before you risk becoming the next Martin? How will the series move forward with no book as foundation? Are viewers going to be watching a spoiler for the books? Is Martin going to “rush” out the next one? PLEASE finish what you start before you get caught up in all the fame.
I doubt a movie would tell the story very well. More like 3 movies per book. A TV series sounds great but it would have to have a few seasons per book to do justice to Pat’s writing.
I do hope he writes book 3 before I die. I’ve got a lot fewer days ahead than behind me. The first two books of The King Killer Chronicles were right up there in the top 10 best books I’ve ever read and I’ve read well over 1500 books in my lifetime.
Good luck to Pat with the TV series / Movie / Video Games. Please do an old man a favor and get book 3 out there for sale asap.
I long gave up waiting for book three and it was only today I decided to check out of curiosity if Patrick had released it yet.
I wish I’d known at the time how long book 3 would take as I’d not have bothered reading 1+2, nor wasted my time on Slow Regard (which in my view was a pointless text).
I may come back to the series if it appears on TV, but as for the book, too much time has passed and I’m not prepared to re-read 1+2. The story was good, but not that good and to say I was far from impressed with the filler Slow Regard, is a polite understatement.
Personally, I believe that Hollywood should hold off with this deal until the arrival of his third book, ‘The Doors of Stone’, so that we can see where this is going before it becomes a movie. Honestly, I would rather it become a T.V. show, in order to fit everything from each book into it. I can imagine each episode starting with Kote and Bast and Chronicler talking in the bar, and then going into the story of Kvothe again each time. This would help keep up consistency and open it to a wide array of references to certain things that may need to be left out of the show altogether. I would advise that a long list of famous actors would not be a wise move in making a show or movie, as this would take away from their character development, which is a huge part of the books. I am excited to see what visuals the maker’s of the T.V show would invent, and am in high hopes that it will stay with the rather complex story in much the same way as Game of Thrones. Still, I can’t wait to see Kvothe and his friends up on the big screen!
Wow, it’s kind of sad to see so many despondent and negative comments. As much as we the fans want to see this story completed on our own personal schedules, the author is an artist and it is his creation, and we need to give him kudos for birthing it in the first place. As an artist myself – and many of us are – it truly is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Just because you have a phenomenal idea doesn’t mean that it will ever come to fruition. I’m disappointed that we haven’t seen GRRM finish his series but I think HBO has done a pretty damned good job of it. Hopefully PR will be able to retain the control over his creation that he’s looking for. I mean, look what happened with Harry Potter, what a mess those movies were.
In anticipation on book 3, what I have done instead of reading book 1 and 2 all over again, is reconnect with the story by listening to the audio books versions (unabridged). Great way to relax and gives you a different perspective. Narrator Rupert Degas does a splendid job. Highly recommended.
Hopefully the movie and TV series will be well done and not such an abortion of artistic license as Peter Jackson’s adaptation of “The Hobbit.”
I’m also disappointed that book 3 isn’t out but there’s plenty of other books to read while waiting and you can re read PRs books. it’s not that bad. I’ve read The Name of the Wind 5 times already and the second book just as many times. it’s the same as watching a movie and everyone you read it you see things you missed last time. it’s a great series and I am rooting for PR. a movie would be horrible and I think any shows based on books never really live up to the book. also so what if it takes a long time to write the book. unless you are close to dying you can wait a few years and not focus on worrying about whether the book is done or not and go explore other amazing books in the mean time .
Until Rothfuss publishes Book 3, I’m NOT:
Paying to watch a NOTW movie, buying any games or franchise products or donating to any charity pushed by Pat.
I do think its a betrayal of a contract with the reader to publish and unfinished story, and then not pursuing completion with all due diligence. If he wanted to have infinite time for sequels, then the books should have been self-contained stories.
I don’t understand the hype for this series. The beginning of the name of the name of the wind, the mythology, and the back story for the chandrian seemed exceptional. Then the university happened, and we got a overly tame version of malfoy, a supporting cast with no personality, and a protagonist that is exceptional at everything. Stakes were never raised, and conflict is non existent outside of poverty and trying to have money for tuition. Not enough to carry a book. At no point did I feel the protagonist was threatened. Then the dialogue with denna was terrible, and we get some bait and switch ending with a dragon at the end. The only positive for this novel is work building, mythology and folklore, initial framing for the plot, and the prose. Which is exceptional. Its basically well written crap. But still crap. Read it due to it being recommended by my cousin who I respect and is an aspiring novelist. How do so many people fail to see that it is a poor story with pretty prose? Joe abercrombie would be a way better pick, and is a way better writer.
Are any of these actually being produced? I think the books are fun and would enjoy a move, tv show and game / broad enthusiasm.