Mistborn Movie's Disappointing Update Is a Chance to Fix the Biggest Flaw in Its Original Adaptation Plan

THE Born from the mists the film adaptation received a disappointing update from author Brandon Sanderson, but This could actually be an opportunity to right the ship. Conversations from Born from the mists being adapted into live action has been going on for over a decade, especially after the fantasy boom that followed HBO's monster success with Game of Thrones. Every streaming service wanted its own series to emulate that success, and Sanderson's expansive Cosmere universe seems like the perfect place to start. Combining the appeal of fantasy with the appeal of shared universes like the MCU seems obvious, but it's no closer to being done.

Before the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA raids, Brandon Sanderson was on the right track with a Born from the mists adaptation. In your 2024 Sanderson State blog postwhere he shares annual updates on all his ongoing projects, Sanderson explained that the film was just about to take off, with recognizable stars (although he doesn't mention any names) hired to play the main roles. Unfortunately, the Born from the mists the film adaptation has since failed, and the author claims that Cosmere adaptations are back to square one. It's disappointing, but it could be a blessing in disguise.

Mistborn Movie's Disappointing Status Update Is a Chance to Rethink the Adaptation

Mistborn May Be Better as a Prestige TV Series

Brandon Sanderson is known for being as transparent as possible with his fans, updating readers on the book's progress through his website, YouTube channel, and podcast. Hollywood adaptations come with their own degree of secrecy that inhibits what he can share, but he has still been vocal over the years about how he would like to see his books adapted. He has long been specific about Born from the mists being a feature film despite the fantasy's success on television. In a 2020 YouTube live stream, he said the following:

I must warn you that there is not much time in the roadmap for the team. If I'm going to make this as a movie… Which isn't set in stone; It's possible I'll go to a show. But now, what I'm planning is: movie, television show for Well of Ascensionfilm. Which means that especially in the first film, the focus is on Vin, Kelsier, Sazed and Elend. That should be the core of our film. With Shan as the antagonist. And that's the movie. And I can't spend as much time with each of the crew members as I did. But what we can do is then move on to Well of Ascension as a show, and being a show really shows the team and the things that they're doing. And kind of write a crew heist where the crew is trying to steal to keep the kingdom from collapsing. A team of thieves was placed in charge of a city; Let's see if they can keep this empire running. And I think that will work really well in the television show format. And that's where we can get into some stuff with OreSeur and TenSoon and character arcs for some of the team members, really getting to know Ham and Breeze and everyone.

That's the big cost of doing this in a film. That's what you'll have to understand, as it truly becomes Vin and Kelsier's story. And I think it will work. I think it's great. But if that doesn't happen, we have the option of just making a television show. Which I know many of you would rather see; I just saw Born from the mists like a movie. I always saw it as a feature film. So hopefully I can make this work.

This quote is years old, so it's possible that Brandon Sanderson's thoughts on adaptation have changed since then. However, assuming this is generally the same thought process, it's worth speculating whether the more recent creative differences would be the breaking point for their move into television. The author has stated that not needing money has allowed him more freedom to make choices and reject Hollywood offers than most writers would have, so it's difficult to say how long he will remain steadfast in wanting a film if plans continue to fall through.

With the Mistborn movie in “Square One,” there is an opportunity to adapt it for TV

It's the perfect time to reevaluate what Mistborn should look like in visual media

If the Born from the mists the film is back to square one, It's the perfect time to contemplate the Cosmere as a television universe. There's something to be said for seeing Sanderson's inherently cinematic narratives on the big screen, but contemporary television has proven itself equally capable of delivering visual excellence and eventful emotion when done right. Jumping from movies to TV shows works for something like Wonder and Star Warsas they are already titles that exist in wider pop culture. Born from the mists and Cosmere continue to grow, but trying to merge television and film from the start can be tricky.

Present Cosmere as a primarily television fantasy universe, similar to what HBO and Netflix have been trying to do Game of Thrones and The wizardseems like the best way to really develop the complex, long-term narrative that Sanderson's books offer. The wizard there were even animated derivative films, which could be done for shorter books like Emerald Sea Tree or Cosmere's novels, fulfilling the desires of fans who want Sanderson's world in animation. It is important that Born from the mists and The Stormlight Archivethe main theaters of the Cosmere, be as fully developed as possible.

Why Mistborn would be better as a TV show than a feature film

A Mistborn Movie Would Cut a Significant Part of the Story

It is important to explain why exactly Born from the mists it would work like a TV show. While word count isn't always the perfect metric for determining how something would translate into fit, it's one of the best metrics available and worth looking into. The Final Empire is just over 200,000 pages, making it longer than The Fellowship of the Ringa three-hour film and The Deathly Hallowsa story divided into two films. It is shorter than A Game of Thronesa novel that was almost perfectly adapted into a ten-episode television season.

With that in mind, Born from the mists would need to leave out a significant portion of his material, as Sanderson suggested, or it would have to take more than three hourssomething Hollywood probably wouldn't be interested in doing. Keeping the main characters makes sense, but with so many fantasy adaptations missing the mark with fans due to excessive changes to the source material, trying to develop a story as beloved as Born from the mists with the most faithful interpretation possible, it seems worth it. An eight-episode television series could be perfect.