Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn movie is one of the most exciting book adaptations on the horizon, and the author revealed the next step for the project, which he expects to be completed before July. Sanderson has been vocal about working on the screenplay for the upcoming film since his deal with Apple TV was announced at the end of January. He’s an author who gives regular writing updates on his YouTube channel, and he’s had a progress tracker on his website in days past. Therefore, it’s no surprise he’s taking readers on the journey to bring Mistborn to the screen.
His YouTube videos now include his progress on the screenplay, which reached the 25% mark as of Sanderson’s last weekly update. And on Episode 249 of Sanderson’s and Dan Wells’ Intentionally Blank podcast, he revealed that the next order of business for the Mistborn movie is finding a producer:
“Before we cast anyone, we are going to find a producer. Because, what happens in Hollywood…this can happen in all different orders. Sometimes, you end up with an actor first; sometimes, a director first; sometimes, a studio first. Most common is to get a producer first.”
Sanderson explained that producers “do a lot of the managerial stuff of getting a film together, until they start filming, when the director kind of becomes the manager.”
Because the Mistborn movie started with Sanderson “going straight to the studios,” it’s still in need of a producer to oversee everything. The author emphasized the importance of finding a manager before filling other roles. With that in mind, fans shouldn’t expect casting announcements or a director update until a producer is brought on.
Watch Sanderson’s and Wells’ full podcast episode below:
Brandon Sanderson Will Choose the Mistborn Movie’s Producer Sometime Before July
While Sanderson and Wells noted how slow the movie-making process can be, the Mistborn movie should have a producer before July — and more likely sometime in March. Sanderson is heading to Hollywood to interview available talent. (Given that the podcast episode was recorded around Valentine’s Day, he may have already done so.) After meeting with the options, Sanderson will decide who to bring on board.
In its exclusive about Sanderson’s Apple TV deal, The Hollywood Reporter noted that the author has creative involvement beyond that of George R.R. Martin in HBO’s Game of Thrones universe and J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter franchise. Sanderson making talent decisions appears to be a part of that. It’s a good sign that the upcoming film will do the source material justice.
Because Sanderson’s first draft of the script is due on July 1, he noted that choosing a producer should “happen before July.” After all, they want the producer to look at the early script. More optimistically, Sanderson added, “I imagine I’ll pick a producer in March sometime.”
For anyone waiting for the next update, Sanderson’s guess is that they’ll hear about a producer next. Hopefully, even more interesting Mistborn news will follow. The process might be slow-going, but any traction is exciting. After years of waiting for an adaptation of Sanderson’s work, it’s finally coming together.
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