Brandon Sanderson‘s Secret Projects have been highlights of the last few years, but fantasy fans could see fewer books like them going forward. Fortunately, it’s because he’s working on something better.
For Episode 249 of the Intentionally Blank podcast, Sanderson sat down to discuss the upcoming Misborn movie with Dan Wells. He revealed the next step for the Mistborn movie — finding a producer — and spoke about embracing the “James Gunn model” of creating a strong script with no reshoots. He also speculated on how working on the film will impact his own writing schedule. On that front, there’s good news and bad news:
“It will slow my writing. I’ll probably spend half a day on set and then write during the night. I’ve warned people. This means, probably, I’ll slow down on Secret Projects and just stick to main projects. It won’t slow down Mistborn or Stormlight. It might speed them up because I’m not doing other things, but we’ll see.”
It’s great to hear that Mistborn Era 3 and The Stormlight Archive Arc 2 may not be affected, as these additions to the Cosmere are some of the most exciting books Sanderson has coming down the pike. Of course, for fans of his Secret Projects, this update is less positive. It’ll prove worthwhile, though, as we’ll end up with the long-awaited Mistborn film. Sanderson slowing down may also revive what made the Secret Projects so special in the first place.
Fewer Secret Projects Could Revive What Made Them Special to Begin With
Sanderson releasing fewer Secret Projects in the midst of the Mistborn movie could actually be a good thing, as it will make them feel special and surprising again. The original Secret Project books were standalones the author wrote during the pandemic, then initially published via a record-breaking, $41.7 million Kickstarter campaign (per CNBC). They’re now commercially published by Tor and Gollancz, but the way Sanderson went about these books was unconventional enough to grab attention.
And what made these books so interesting was the fact that Sanderson quietly penned them, then surprised fans with new stories to look forward to. If the author slows or pauses his Secret Project work, which has continued since, it means new releases will have a similar effect when they do happen. They’ll be less expected, making them more of a treat.
If you’re interested in having articles like this delivered directly to your inbox, consider subscribing to my Substack! Both unpaid and paid subscriptions are a huge help for Backtalk Books.
