Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson is moving forward with plans to bring his Cosmere universe to the big screen and has secured a major deal with Apple TV+. In a recent episode of his podcast, Intentionally Blank, Sanderson shared that while Mistborn has previously been considered for adaptation, this is the first time he is personally overseeing the project.
As he works on the screenplay, he revealed that he is drawing inspiration from the filmmaking approach of writer-director and DC Studios co-chief James Gunn.
Sanderson, who had earlier said he was about 10 per cent through the Mistborn script, also provided a fresh update on the project’s progress. The next step is to find a producer to guide the adaptation through development, with an announcement expected in March, while he aims to complete the first draft of the screenplay by July. According to Sanderson, the primary focus is ensuring the script is exceptionally strong before moving forward with the rest of the production process.
“The James Gunn model is: fantastic script, no reshoots,” Sanderson said. “Reshoots are really expensive. And they can mess up the continuity on your film and things like that. Because he's a writer-director, he can be like, ‘Here's our script.’ Everyone gets on board with it. They make that movie. If you go read the Superman script — I've been reading a lot of scripts lately just to beef up in preparation — it's really close to the filmed version.”
For Mistborn, Sanderson said he wants to minimise costly mistakes by addressing potential issues early in the scriptwriting stage. The stakes are significant, as the project is closely tied to his broader vision of adapting the interconnected Cosmere universe for film and television.
During his discussion with author and co-host Dan Wells Sanderson also acknowledged the unpredictability involved in getting a film made. Mistborn has spent years moving through different attempts at adaptation, involving small studios, independent producers, and even a surprising push from Donald Mustard of Epic Games, who once explored turning the property into a film as part of a wider move into movie production. That plan ultimately did not come to fruition.
At present, Sanderson said the main priority is shaping the story effectively for the screen, particularly the character arc of Vin, the street orphan who becomes the series’ central protagonist. Although Mistborn is often described as a fantasy heist tale, Sanderson believes earlier versions of the adaptation strayed too far from the emotional heart of Vin’s journey.
“It's kind of hard to condense a 500-page book to 140-page script, but what [previous screenplay adaptations] did is they just invented all new scenes to accomplish that,” he said. “I want to see if I can get the actual scenes from the book to be the cornerstones.”
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