Lionsgate To Adapt The Kingkiller Chronicle Across Film, TV, And Video Games

Lionsgate has purchased the rights to Patrick Rothfuss' bestselling fantasy trilogy The Kingkiller Chronicle, THR reports.

The deal primes Lionsgate to adapt the series across multiple platforms, including film, television, and videogames.

Lionsgate won a bidding war for the series against both Warner Bros. and MGM.

The Kingkiller Chronicle follows the life of a magicall gifted young man named Kvothe, who grows up to become his world's most notorious wizard. The first book in the series, The Name of the Wind, was released in 2007. Together with the second novel as three novelals that have followed, the series has sold more than 10 million copies, second only to Game of Thrones in the modern epic fantasy genre.

"Honestly, I've never been very interested in a straight-up movie deal," said Rothfuss. "But Lionsgate was willing to work out something different, a multi-platform deal where they develop the films, TV series, and games simultaneously. That will give us the screen time to develop the characters and show off the world. What's more, through this whole process, they've treated me with amazing respect. I never thought a studio would approach me as a creative partner who understands how stories work."

"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," said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erik Feig. "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."