In an insane and landmark move for fantasy adaptations, Apple TV+ has closed an unprecedented rights deal for Brandon Sanderson’s interconnected Cosmere universe with the shared world behind bestselling series like Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive, Warbreaker, Elantris, and more. Announced January 27th, 2026, the agreement gives Sanderson an extraordinary level of creative control, positioning him as the architect of the screen adaptations with writing, producing, consulting, and approval rights. This is a degree of involvement that outstrips even J.K. Rowling or George R.R. Martin’s arrangements on their flagship properties and is incredibly rare.
The deal emerged from a competitive bidding war, with Sanderson personally meeting studio heads across Hollywood. Sources describe it as rarefied territory, reflecting both the author’s massive commercial clout and Apple’s aggressive push into prestige genre content. Initial priorities are clear: the Mistborn series is being developed as a feature film franchise, while The Stormlight Archive is targeted for a television series. Blue Marble, the production company led by former WME agent Theresa Kang, is already attached to executive produce the Stormlight adaptation.
Sanderson’s great track record made this kind of leverage possible. He’s sold more than 50 million copies worldwide across his books, with The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn consistently topping bestseller lists. His fanbase is famously devoted. Raking in nearly $100 million in crowdfunding, including the record-breaking $41.7 million Kickstarter in 2022 for four novels (still the largest publishing campaign in platform history). He also runs his own sold-out annual convention, Dragonsteel Con, which returns December 3rd–5th, 2026, in Salt Lake City.
The Cosmere itself is a meticulously crafted shared universe. At its core lies the murder of a godlike being named Adonalsium, whose power shattered into 16 Shards carried across planets by the conspirators. Each world develops its own magic system tied to one or more Shards. Here are some of the magic systems. Allomancy (metal-burning) in Mistborn, Surgebinding (storm-powered oaths) in Stormlight, Awakening (animating objects) in Warbreaker which creates a web of interconnected stories where events on one planet ripple across others. Here is Sanderson's Youtube video where he explains the Cosmere.
The original Mistborn trilogy follows Vin, a street thief turned Allomancer, and Kelsier, a legendary rebel, as they plot to overthrow the immortal Lord Ruler and his Final Empire. The series has been optioned before (including a stalled MGM film in the 2010s), but Sanderson has been protective, waiting for the right partner. Stormlight, his magnum opus, unfolds on the storm-ravaged world of Roshar, where Knights Radiant wield magical powers against the Voidbringers and ancient secrets. Its epic scope and length of five book arcs, massive casts, and intricate worldbuilding. This makes it a natural prestige TV candidate in the vein of Game of Thrones or The Wheel of Time.
Sanderson is represented by WME and attorney Matthew Sugarman at Weintraub Tobin. There is no director, writers, or cast are attached yet, and timelines remain fluid while development is in early stages. But the deal signals Apple’s intent to build a major fantasy franchise, much like their ongoing work on Foundation, Silo, and upcoming projects. For fans, it’s a tantalizing promise: the Cosmere’s long-teased cinematic future could finally arrive, with the author steering the ship.
The announcement has lit up social media as it is flooded with excitement over potential Stormlight castings and debates about how Mistborn’s heist-meets-magic-metal system will play on screen. Sanderson’s own updates on his newsletter and YouTube channel have already teased “big things” ahead. With the Cosmere’s 20+ years of groundwork, this Apple deal could be the spark that turns one of fantasy’s most ambitious literary universes into a screen juggernaut.
For fans interested, here is Sanderson's most recent weekly update. He keeps it pretty brief and is very sly about not over sharing too much while he has a lot of things going on behind the scenes.