Why the Mistborn Movie Isn't Happening Anymore

Beloved epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson has announced that, after years of development, the film adaptation of his Born from the mists the series was cut short, disappointing fans of both Born from the mists and Sanderson's broader Cosmere multiverse. Although it was clear that a Born from the mists While the film adaptation would face some challenges on the way to the big screen, the project seemed to still be moving forward until recently. With a perfectly cinematic opening scene in Born of the Mists first book, it seemed like a natural fit for a film adaptation.

The film adaptation of the underrated Born from the mists the series had been in development for some time, which Sanderson has been as transparent about as possible over the years. Unfortunately, as the author announced in his annual “State of the Sanderson” blog post on December 19, 2024, or in progress Born from the mists film project has come to an endalthough Sanderson remains hopeful about the fate of an eventual Cosmere film project.

The Mistborn Movie Is Back to “Square Zero” – Why It Isn’t Happening Anymore

The disappointing news comes amid a celebratory blog post

Every year, Brandon Sanderson releases a blog post in December that details his progress on his plethora of projects, and this year's one gave us an in-depth look at just how far the Born from the mists the film adaptation took place before it was recently wrapped. The crux of the matter is the way film development works when trying to adapt an existing franchiseand how this led to Born from the mistssignificant progress has stalled.

Sanderson's blog breaks down the film's development process into a series of steps and says that Born from the mists progressed quite far in the process before stagnant due to lack of studios willing to move forward with the project as it was, and Sanderson's writing partners unwilling to continue putting effort into a project without support. To quote Sanderson himself:

Mistborn: It's in Step Zero now, although it recently got as close to Step Six/Seven as a live-action film. (It's hard to pinpoint where he ended up because this project did a lot more in-house development than usual – so he basically did all of Step Seven before going to the studios. He was offered development deals from the studios, but no production deal , and the partners I had didn't want to go back to the script after all the work they'd done.

Because the studio didn't want to do it the way the producers did, he died at the end of Step Six. If it had gone the way we wanted, we would have skipped Steps Seven and Eight entirely, as the production deal would have included the green light. We would then have gone straight to Step Nine – which is why I was so hopeful that I could make an announcement to you. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. (Yes, that means stars were affixed. No, Henry C. wasn't one of them. Yes, you would recognize some of the names. No, I can't tell them to you.)

That's all, I'm afraid. I have said no to several offers from Cosmere properties over the last five years as I was keen on making the Mistborn film. Now that that didn't work out, I'm back to square one, basically, at the Cosmere. (through Brandon Sanderson. with)

Steps Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine, as he labels them, describe the second half of a project's lifespan. Step Six is ​​the point at which a production studio signs the contract to begin work, Step Seven is the development process within the studio (possibly including filming a pilot), Step Eight is when the studio signs off on a project and finances it, and Step Nine is the actual filming of the movie or show. As Sanderson points out on his blog, they are not simple, and this is why Born from the mists had the potential to skip some steps.

What is particularly interesting is the mention of a certain “Henry C.” in reference to the actors who were linked to the project. While it's unlikely Sanderson will be able to clarify, it's almost certainly Henry Cavill. Arguably the most popular fancast subject at the moment, the actor's name seems to have come up in reference to every fantasy and sci-fi project since Cavill's departure from Netflix. The wizard it was announced in October 2022.

The cancellation of the film Mistborn comes after more than a decade of uncertainty

Being stuck in development hell for 14 years is almost a fate worse than the pits of Hathsin

THE Born from the mists the film adaptation had a long and difficult pre-production process before this announcement was the final nail in their coffin. Initial news from a Born from the mists The film appeared in early 2010 when production company Paloppa Pictures opted for the first book in the series for the first time. Mistborn: The Final Empire. Unfortunately, Paloppa was unable to find an interested studio and the option expired in 2014.

2016 saw the DMG entertainment option on most of the Cosmere, but specific progress on one Born from the mists the film was a slow burn, and Sanderson himself said in 2019 that he would begin work on the script itself. In 2020, the DMG option expired, but in the 2020 and 2021 State of the Sanderson positions, Brandon repeatedly said he was still working on Born from the mists film in what he called a “practical manner”.

Mistborn status update confirms harsh reality for fantasy adaptations

No matter how much fans want something, the realities of film and TV production are tough mistresses

Born from the mists You're not alone in the struggle to find a great studio willing to put in the effort to bring it to life. Many other major genre literature series and franchises have struggled to release adaptations recently.as the best-selling romantic series Cutting thorns and roses by Sarah J. Maas. Although Hulu's adaptation of this property was announced in 2021, there has been little visible progress since then, and there have even been rumors that the show has been canceled in February 2024, although Weekly entertainment and other publications report that Hulu is still working on it.

The harsh reality of the situation is that while there are countless wonderful fantasy book series that deserve film and TV adaptations, streaming services and TV networks are struggling now as they compete for subscribers, and that leads to some pretty conservative decision making at the executive level. For each Game of Thrones that works (mostly), there is a Shadow and Bone that gets canceled after a season or two despite having good reviews and a fervent fan base, not to mention projects like the one from Warner Brothers Bat woman that were completed but never released so studios can use them as tax breaks.

Could a Mistborn movie still happen?

It may be dead for now, but Cosmere fans know that death is just a beginning

Sanderson's blog post makes it clear that he is still happily working to achieve Born from the mists on the big screen at some point. Fans will be excited to see elsewhere in Sanderson's State post that he laid out a timeline for the next era of Born from the mists novels, so clearly the series is central to his plans to move the Cosmere forward, especially now that the first pentalogy of The Stormlight Archive concluded with the launch of Wind and Truth.

It may be that the first Cosmere project to have a film or TV adaptation is not Born from the mistsand we get to see a live-action representation of a more independent book like Elantris or Warbreaker first; or a studio could decide to go all in The Stormlight Archive. Regardless of how long it takes, it's clear that Brandon Sanderson hasn't given up on a Born from the mists movie, and he can still pull a miracle out of his pocket, just like Kelsier.