AMC's The Immortal Universe has gotten off to an artful and critically acclaimed start with Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. Coming hot on the heels of adaptations of The Lord of the Rings' Simarillion with The Rings of Power and Game of Thrones' House of the Dragon prequel, fans no doubt wait with bated breath for these marquee series' next season. Unfortunately, they may be waiting for quite a while. House of the Dragon likely won't release its next season until well into 2024. Neil Gaiman's The Sandman was only recently renewed for a second season on Netflix, and there is no word for when it, Rings of Power or Interview with the Vampire will return.
Thankfully, though the river of fantasy has run dry, there is a massive assortment of sci-fi/fantasy novels that have been gaining steam for adaptation. Bolstered by TikTok, these novels populate the corners of Booktok, and many of them have already been optioned for adaptation. By reading through them, fans may quench their fantasy thirst long enough to await the return of their favorite show.
ACOTAR Has Begun Its Hulu Adaptation
Dubbed "ACOTAR" by its fandom, Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses series is complex, beautiful and brilliant. Its fans are rabid, clawing after Maas' officially licensed merchandise from special editions to music and everything in between. Hulu announced its intention to adapt the series, and with a fandom so thick, the series will likely be a sexy, striking and relatively low-budget hit for the streamer. However, given that so much of the narrative relies upon Feyre, the main character, being an unreliable narrator, fantasy lovers should definitely consider reading the book to get inside her head before Hulu's version comes out.The Priory of the Orange Tree's Forthcoming Prequel Promises Much MoreThe Priory of the Orange Tree's book cover
Samantha Shannon's The Priory of the Orange Tree has been a Booktok staple for years now, and its prequel promises to do the same. Much like ACOTAR, The Priory of the Orange Tree is a retelling of an ancient legend, this one being "Saint George and the Dragon." The tale is one of intrigue, politics, love and loss on par with Game of Thrones and promises a potential series or movie with character depth and beautiful set pieces. It's brilliant on the page and deserves every minute it gets on screen.
Iron Widow Remixes Gundam into Chinese History
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At once a political thriller, a romance and a showdown among gigantic elemental robots, Xiran Jay Zhao's Iron Widow is already being asked after for adaptation despite being only a year old. The post-apocalyptic retelling of Empress Wu Xetian's life is brutal and devastating while being distinctly thrilling and beautiful. It also would make a brilliant visual story, whether as an anime, a graphic novel or the forthcoming Picturestart movie.Raybearer Is Netflix's Upcoming Mythical African Adventure
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Fans of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur will shortly be receiving even more YA content from Jordan Ifueko, who leaped into the Booktok spotlight with her Raybearer series. A blend of Afrofuturism and fantasy, Raybearer has already been picked up by Netflix for a streaming series, and its brilliantly sewn tapestry of intrigue, love and fantastic power makes for a story and world that is beautiful, fantastical and interesting. It also carefully and brilliantly deals with the concept of ownership and what vengeance can bring a person to do.Legendborn Starts an Arthurian Tale
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Legendborn is a modern-day retelling of Arthurian legend focusing on a young Black girl finding her way through learning magic. The author, Tracy Deonn, is particularly prolific and has already published a sequel with a third book on the way. This is a great signal for future fans who have every reason to look forward to the adaptation, which is already being penned by First Kill and Gossip Girl writer Felicia D. Henderson. It's a brilliant book that cleverly blends the Black experience with a tale that has traditionally been one about a white conqueror. It's also a gorgeous YA novel with the potential to be a very good series.
Though many great books deserve adaptation, there are some that have enough zeitgeist built in to make them a safe investment and a potential future franchise. What's more relevant to fantasy and sci-fi fans, though, is that these books will provide hours of in-depth entertainment and worldbuilding even before being adapted, sating their thirst for at least a while before the next season of their favorite series or movie hits the screen.
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