Fantasy books are getting their time in the spotlight right now as every streaming service is on the lookout for the next Game of Thrones to adapt for the screen. With the recent release of season 1 of Amazon’s The Wheel of Time and the upcoming Lord of the Rings series (also from Amazon) and The House of the Dragon (Game of Thrones prequel on HBO), fantasy is all the rage on streaming services.
So, what other novel series could be on the list to be adapted for the screen (big or small) in the future? Let’s take a look at some interesting candidates.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
This series of 10 novels from Stephen R. Donaldson has long been a candidate for adapting to the screen. As fantasy series go, this one is a bit more on the literary side, as opposed to a pure crowd-pleaser. The series was published over decades (from 1977-2013) and features a flawed hero named Thomas Covenant.
He lives in our world, where he is a cynical, bitter person afflicted with leprosy. He is also fated to become the savior of another world, called The Land. Over the course of the story, Covenant comes to accept his role as savior as he battles Lord Foul, to keep the world from being destroyed.
Turns out we aren’t the only ones who see this one as a possible adaptation, since Disney bought the rights in September 2021.
Licanius Trilogy
This series of three books by James Islington follows Davian, a young man who has the Gift - the ability to wield magical power. Those with the Gift are both feared and despised by most ‘normal’ people in this medieval world. The world was previously ruled by a group of exceedingly powerful Gifted called the Augurs, who among other powers, could read the future and recognize truth from lies.
After they were overthrown, all those with the Gift were forced to adhere to a set of magically enforced rules that forbid them from ever using their powers against humans. Davian grows up some 20 years after this war to overthrow the Augurs and eventually learns that he is one of a few people alive who have the same powers as the former rulers. Amidst this story, there is an ancient enemy of humanity stirring in the north and only Augurs can defeat it.
At only three books, this one doesn’t represent the huge backlog of content that some longer series provide. However, it is a solid and straightforward fantasy story, with a creative magical system that could be adapted to the screen fairly well.
The Nevernight Chronicle
Another trilogy, this series by Jay Kristoff tells the story of young Mia Corverre who goes from being the privileged daughter of a powerful general to barely escaping being killed, living on the streets, being trained as an assassin, and becoming a gladiator, as she seeks revenge on the men who killed her family and stole her life.
The setting is a magical world where the suns almost never set, but some people like Mia can speak with shadows and use them to do their bidding.
This one would be a bit tricky to adapt, as Mia starts out as a young girl and then grows to adulthood during the three books. She would be a challenging character to play, but in the hands of the right actor, it could be an interesting role. The story itself has some strongly cinematic scenes.
The trilogy was turned into a short web series in 2019, but I can’t find anything about it being turned into a full-fledged series or film at this point.
The Eternal Champion Saga
Michael Moorcock began his novels about the Eternal Champion beginning in the early 1960s. The story now spans 37 novels and counting, along with various short stories and graphic novels. The concept is that there is an Eternal Champion who is reborn in different parts of a shared multiverse of alternate worlds, across time and space. The Eternal Champion is the avatar of the Cosmic Balance, that eternally works to keep either Law or Chaos from becoming too powerful and thereby destroying the multiverse.
Over the course of the many novels, the Eternal Champion takes on many different identities. Perhaps the most well-known is Elric of Melnibone, a sorcerer prince from a medieval world. Elric wields a magic sword called Stormbringer that consumes the souls and energy of those it kills, feeding them to its wielder.
The overall story might be a bit too sprawling to ever be easily adapted (other than in a very cursory manner), but possibly picking one of the Eternal Champions (like Elric) to form the basis of a series or movie. But, there don’t seem to be any active plans to adapt these stories currently.
