Before the holidays, fans of Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series got an early present: News that Disney would be developing her 1996 novel The Thief for its Disney+ streaming service. It’s unclear whether it will be a movie or (hopefully) a TV series, only that screenwriter Brian Duffield (Love and Monsters, The Divergent Series: Insurgent) will adapt the novel, and that producer Jim Whitaker (A Wrinkle in Time, Pete’s Dragon) is attached.
But, as with gifts from the gods in Turner’s beloved fantasy series, this news inspires some critical thought regarding how to handle the first book’s incredible feat of narration-as-withholding, and the series’ increasingly darker tone and content. We’re not refusing this gift from the entertainment powers that be, but we do have some follow-up questions.
How to Handle the Narration?
The Thief without Eugenides’ voice just isn’t The Thief: only by having him very deliberately narrate the events of the book do readers come to realize how thoroughly he’s fooled them. But what’s the best way to translate that voice from the page to the screen? You could go literal, with a voiceover keeping a running account of Gen’s thoughts throughout the adventure; but few movies or series aimed at younger audiences utilize voiceover in ways that actually augment the plot rather than just layering on a cheesy commentary. If there’s a way to bring the voiciness of the narrator in Fight Club, or Joe in Looper, while keeping things age-appropriate, that would be ideal. Of course, a good director can also shoot the film from a perspective that emulates close-first-person, doing their best to have the audience literally see through Gen’s eyes during the action.
Regardless of the setup, what will be key to the execution is the film device (most often seen in mysteries and thrillers) of returning to prior moments to fill in new information—that is, the difference between Gen adjusting his hair tie and actually showing him stashing Hamiathes’ Gift in his hair. You could even do this with new moments, like showing Gen’s family as the magus must see them (poor, unskilled, estranged) when he initially describes them, and then how they actually are (royal, highly trained, yet still idiosyncratic).
Who is the Audience?
You can’t solve the narration question without knowing what kind of viewer(s) The Thief is courting. In thinking through this piece, my mind keeps casting back to 20th Century Fox’s 2010 film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Chris Columbus’ adaptation of Rick Riordan’s books. Neither that movie nor its sequel were well received—by audiences or author—in terms of translating the source material. Ideally, an adaptation of The Thief (and hopefully The Queen’s Thief series) would emulate Lionsgate’s Hunger Games films, in engaging young adult audiences while still layering in enough asides and commentary to entice adult viewers. That means, however, that Disney will have to make plans regarding the complexity of the narration (as discussed above) and (more below) how dark they’re willing to go.
Standalone or Series Start?
At the moment, Disney has only optioned The Thief, for development on Disney+. The THR announcement didn’t mention whether this will be movie or (hopefully) TV series; nor whether the studio intends to develop the sequel novels, or if (likely) they’ll wait to see how the first one goes over. This is especially tricky for a series like this because that choice will determine how Duffield and Disney approach adapting The Thief. Turner’s novel provides just enough information about its world for this particular story to operate; even the dangling plot threads regarding Gen crossing Attolia at the end hardly presaged a sequel at the time of the book’s publication.
Yet if Disney had any inkling of a franchise in mind, they would likely want to bring in more of the Sounis/Eddis/Attolia conflict at the start, and possibly even the Mede threat (though that is the core of The Queen of Attolia, so it wouldn’t have to be foreshadowed in the first installment). If The Thief winds up being the only adaptation ever produced and the sequel scaffolding is clear, it might make the standalone not, well, stand alone quite as strongly as it could have.
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Will They Keep the Multiple POVs?
Even Turner, with her loyal fanbase, asks a lot of readers to follow a new character’s perspective in every single book. Obviously that trust pays off in spades, as each additional viewpoint reveals new details about key characters—mostly Eugenides—but it would likely be more difficult to market that in film form, as opposed to opening a book and immediately seeing a new tense and/or pronoun to signify the latest narrator.
It’s more likely that the Thief film would establish a particular style, and then the director (if the same one stays on, or if a new one joins up for a sequel) would apply that style to each new voice. Not in an identical way—can you imagine Attolia freely narrating in a voiceover—but repeating whatever visual or aural device would signify when a moment seems to go one way… and then the way it actually went. Here’s hoping that we don’t lose the various viewpoints into the world of the Little Peninsula, and the resulting dramatic irony.
Will Disney Up the Deus Ex Machina?
In Turner’s series, the gods only really exist when summoned—that is, when mortals are trading mythological stories, or on the rare occasions where they infiltrate temples to petition the gods for divine guidance. The gods’ appearances are all wonderfully understated, relayed through a mortal’s limited senses in subtle moments like Eugenides (the god) catching Gen (the Thief) as he dangles off a building. Even when Gen stumbles upon the gods’ court of living statues in Hephestia’s temple, the scene is presented in flashes of movement and hints of contact rather than explicit interactions.
Yet I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney leaned into its new pantheon, presenting scenes of them debating the merits of meddling in mortal affairs—think the Mount Olympus interludes in Hercules, or Zeus and Poseidon bringing their familial issues to the human plane in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Personally, I prefer witnessing the gods just through mortals’ awe, but I also recognize that the temptation is there, especially as the stakes become ever more epic, counting down to the eruption of the Sacred Mountain in the latter half of the series.
Can Disney Do Dark?
The most vital question for a potential franchise is if Disney will commit to the increasingly darker tone of Turner’s sequels. Should they greenlight The Queen of Attolia, they won’t be able to pull any punches, as it were, with that book’s hand-cutting scene. What will require even more nuance and sensitivity is Gen’s slow recovery and depression stemming from that traumatic event. And we haven’t even gotten to how to depict the thorny, complex, sexy-without-being-explicit power dynamics between Attolia and Gen in that book and others.
Then there’s Thick as Thieves, which grapples with slavery and freedom; A Conspiracy of Kings, which is plenty violent; and Eugenides’ growing despondency approaching what he believes to be his prophesied death in Return of The Thief. Again, Hunger Games is the blueprint here, not shying away from depicting the hero(ine) at their lowest points. The Divergent Series: Insurgent would be useful to examine here, too—and Duffield adapted the second novel in Veronica Roth’s dystopian series, so he has experience with showing series protagonist Tris’ growing sense of martyrdom.
What Moments Might We See?
Because I’m not a complete cynic, this whole time I’ve been thinking about which classic moments from the series (let’s be optimistic that the whole series gets adapted) that would be amazing on the screen. My must-haves:
- Obviously the aforementioned Hamiathes’ Gift reveal in The Thief, but I’m also super interested in seeing how Gen’s fight with the Attolian guard plays out. He goes into something of a fugue state while fighting, with the book cutting away from the action and only hinting (through the others’ impressed/horrified reactions) at the damage the skilled Thief dealt via the swordplay he so hates.
- Attolia cutting off Gen’s hand, of course. What makes it so devastating in The Queen of Attolia is how it’s almost a blink-and-miss-it moment—the adaptation wouldn’t have to make it any bigger than that, but it must be in there.
- Attolia accepting Gen’s marriage proposal via a pair of earrings, a truly epic queenly move. This would be trickier to pull off without making it super obvious, but I would love to see a filmmaker decide between shooting it from her perspective (as it’s presented in The Queen of Attolia) or Gen’s.
- Sophos with the guns in A Conspiracy of Kings: It’s a badass move yet simultaneously so upsetting, that he tries everything in his power to not go the route of shooting his rivals, yet it’s the only language they’ll listen to from their king.
- Eugenides dangling off the edge of Attolia’s palace in The King of Attolia, because his god isn’t ready for him to die yet. Still gives me shivers to think about.
- The in-universe play poking fun at Eugenides in Return of The Thief. By that point in the hypothetical series/franchise we would be in sore need of some levity, and what better way than the scathing parody figure of Emipopolitus?
The most exciting thing about an adaptation is where the series can be expanded. I would love to see more of Eddis, especially as her story intertwines with various books. It would be fun, once Eugenides’ status as the Thief is revealed, to do the flashbacks to how he meticulously planned his subterfuge. And I confess that I’m very curious to see if an adaptation would show any of Attolia and Gen’s infamous wedding night—inkwells, tears, and all.
What are your burning questions about the Thief adaptation, and which moments (from the text or otherwise) can you not wait to see on-screen?
Natalie Zutter needs there to be more than one Queen’s Thief movie/season so they can cast Costis. Join her in speculating here or on Twitter!
In Conspiracy of Kings, one of my favorite scenes is when the enslaved Sophia recites a passage from a play another man misquoted. The others, hungry for the world outside their lives, begin to give him the respect he had never had.
I was pretty down on the idea of an adaptation when the news hit this site, and I still don’t trust Disney one bit with it. They made a wreck of Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl, both of which, while clever and fun books, are nowhere near as subtle and layered as The Thief series.
I think you have done a great job of identifying some of the considerations a good adaptation would need to address, but honestly, seeing it laid out makes it seem even more daunting to me than before. I would love to be proven wrong!
As for moments I would love to see: seconding Gen’s fight in The Thief.
Attolia’s confrontation with Nahuseresh, where she lays out just how thoroughly she manipulated him.
Gen’s midnight conversations with Relius in King of Attolia, where he, Relius, and Attolia begin to form a better way to live.
The swordfight in the garden, where Gen absolutely destroys three assassins while unarmed.
Gen’s epic swordfight with the Queen’s Guard, and the subsequent scene in the bathhouse where Teleus identifies him as Annux, a King of Kings.
And yeah, Sophos with the guns. Absolutely.
Needless to say, if my some miracle (or divine intervention) they do adapt the series well, I will absolutely be showing to everyone I can force to sit down and watch it.
I worry they will rush Eugenides and Attolia as a couple if they do one book, or try to make her a princess or something like that. Also Gen curses often, even if not written out. I love these books, I also love Disney…..however I don’t know if I trust Disney or any film company with this.
Hi!
There’s a typo in your first paragraph. Should be The Divergent Series: Insurgent instead of “The Diversity Series: Insurgent.”
I love these books. There are many things on Disney-plus that might interest me, but none of them will be viewed in this household until they do right by the tie-in authors.
@@.-@ – Fixed, thanks!
@nageler – Everything you said. It’s a great wish list.
My first thought was no. And my second thought included some of Eugenides’ more colorful language.
The Thief books would require an R rating for the language, and violence that are necessary to the plot and I’ve seen no hint that Disney is going in that direction. Plus the blood is copious and it’s human edged weapon blood, not alien or fantasy or laser weapon blood. And, as has been pointed out, it’s dark and redemption is long in coming.
I suppose that The Expanse is showing that it could be done but I don’t trust Disney to do it. Besides, if it ever comes out I won’t watch it because, like The Expanse, I know what is supposed to happen and the joy of both these series is discovering that as you read the books.
I…fear the result. I’m a huge fan of the novels, and though a great adaptation would be a thing to treasure, a mediocre or worse adaptation could harm the reputation of the novels, and make it harder to get people to read them.
I agree with Queen of Attolia being very dark…though on my last re-reading (a month ago), it struck me for the first time that Gen’s hand is the least of it. Eddis does multiple things to ruin harvests in Attolia (leading to hunger for the common folk), and massive numbers of soldiers die (including many of Gen’s relatives.) Of course, an adaptation would probably simplify the war to a few battles in which we see some injuries, and perhaps two deaths total…but it’s hard for me to forget the burnt fields and fractured irrigation systems the book describes.
I think casting the right Gen is the most crucial element, after the script. And if they’re contemplating a series beyond the first book, they’ll need a Sophos who can seem young, and then an adult!
I think the way the first Hunger Games movie “opened up” to show the world a tad more than the book would be their best bet for The Thief; enough context so they can do later installments, but still keeping the story focused. The Thief is really the easiest one to adapt, and it’s a fairly classical structure, and would have lots of lovely scenery. I think it could be cut down to be quite a workable 2-hour movie, without anything really damaging the story. (Though if they want to rival Game of Thrones in people obsessively following, then they’d want to expand rather than contract.)
I suspect they won’t be slavish about reproducing the exact plot; after all, plot points that work well in a book don’t always on the screen, and vice-versa. For example, Gen’s slight-of-hand with Hamiathes’ gift doesn’t have to be the same ruse; as long as he uses his clever thief skills to hide it on himself, it’ll work.
I just hope they keep some of his humor!
And…who wants to bet that Eddisians will all have Scottish accents? ;-)
It’s not a book (or author) I am familiar with; hopefully we can buy the book on Kindle soon!
@10 The series started in 1996 and I believe there’s an omnibus edition out. It’s also not too old and not too new so you might find it in a library if yours do ebooks.
I absolutely adored The Thief when I read it as a kid. I’ve always meant to go back and read the whole series, but somehow I’ve never gotten around to it. Now I definitely need to give it a read so I can watch this adaptation and complain bitterly about it.
I want Disney to let it sit on a shelf and completely forget about it. I fear Hollywood has ruined future fans of Artemis Fowl and many other book series which deserved better. Especially YA books.
If they are going to do something with the book, I think the best way to adapt it would be a miniseries (think BBC’s Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell). They would have the time they need to tell the story without squishing it into a movie or trying to stretch it out to a “Season” of a tv series format. The past few years my favorite things released on streaming services have been miniseries. Movie-length often is not enough to satisfy (Enola Holmes) and a season of a show designed to be a “tv series” tends to drag along and I lose interest. There is a HUGE potential for The Thief to drag along, or more likely, that Disney will want it to be “cool” and turn the action up to 11, squeezing out all the delicious character-driven plot we love.
I disagree about the inner monologue. I actually find those incredibly annoying on film (even Enola Holmes talking at the camera was off-putting). The screen does not lend itself to a disembodied voice – it is a visual art. I think using Sophos and the Magus as a way to get Gen’s half-truths out there would be more effective.