2014 saw the initial publication of Red Rising by Pierce Brown, and it quickly became a New York Times Best Seller, with its success kickstarting one of the greatest modern sci-fi series. As of this writing, the series has six books (with a seventh on the way) and three comic volumes. Naturally, a genre story of that size has generated interest in bringing it to life in another medium, with Brown even developing it on his own back in 2018 and teasing interest from one of the major streamers around 2021. Now, Brown has confirmed that the series isn’t moving forward, at least not that version, but that there’s still reason to be excited.
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Speaking with Maude’s Book Club in a new interview, Brown was asked about the status of the Red Rising TV series adaptation, confirming that he “did” have a series in the works, but, like so many other adaptations in Hollywood, it never got beyond the option and development stage, despite years in the works. “It’s just best if something is optioned to assume it’s not being made. I mean, 99.9% of things are like that,” Brown revealed. “Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it to the place where they felt confident.” However, that wasn’t the end of his teasing about Red Rising in a new form.
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It’s easy to see why a streamer or a movie studio would be eager to bring the series to life. In addition to already having a dense amount of material to use as the foundation for a long-running show, and the fanbase that comes with it, it’s the kind of science fiction show that has been proven to be a success. Set against the backdrop of the far future and the class system that has developed on Mars, the original book follows Darrow, who learns the truth about the red planet, and leads a revolution to change it.
Brown went on to confirm that over the 12 years since Red Rising was first published, he’s gone through the option and development phase three times to get his sci-fi series onto the screen. That said, there’s still something brewing with Red Rising, but Brown is committed to making sure it’s not revealed until it’s absolutely ready.
“The fortunate thing is I think I’ll be able to announce something new that I have,” Brown went on to tease. “So with regard to the live adaptation, which is not that TV show. So the thing that’s online is a corpse…I only found out in October of last year that the project wouldn’t be going forward. So it’s not like I’m hoarding all this information and not wanting to tell you. It’s that for many years there can be no movement, and you’re trying to get it made, and then you think you have a partner, and then you don’t. And that sometimes happens. But it’s kind of because of the expectation and excitement that I don’t like announcing things until you have dinner on the table.”
Adapting major sci-fi books into TV shows is nothing new with Hollywood; Apple TV alone has Silo, Foundation, and Dark Matter ongoing right now. That said, the creative strikes that occurred in Hollywood a few years ago, along with corporate consolidation, have resulted in fewer projects being greenlit, especially when they come with a hefty price tag. As disappointing as it might be that the eight years of waiting on Brown’s Red Rising TV series appear to have gone up in smoke, the author’s optimism about its future should be enough for fans. Plus, the books still exist.
(H/T The Direct)
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Image courtesy of Netflix
