Brandon Sanderson: The Uncontroversial King of Fantasy Set to Conquer TV

Brandon Sanderson has found endless triumph in the fantasy genre, and he's all set to do it again with television. Though fantasy has often dominated in the realm of book-to-screen adaptation, things have gotten pretty rough in the last handful of years. Game of Thrones set the standard, but even this cultural phenomenon ended divisively. Ever since, it seems TV fantasy adaptations—The Witcher, Rings of Power, Wheel of Time— have struggled to land. However, Sanderson's works have all the potential to be different.

Sanderson has been around for a while, but it seems that the 2020s have turned him into a household name. He's written well over 70 books, with his Cosmere universe, including the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive, proving especially culturally significant. Though there has been talk for several years of adapting Sanderson's works into movies or TV shows, it has yet to happen. That's all about to change.

It was recently reported that Apple TV has acquired the adaptation rights to Sanderson's Cosmere universe, so we are all but guaranteed at least one TV show in the coming years. It's a deeply exciting prospect, especially considering recent controversial fantasy TV adaptations. Thankfully, Sanderson is entirely unproblematic, so Apple TV's upcoming projects should be as well.

Brandon Sanderson Is Different From Other Big Fantasy Authors

When it comes to TV adaptations of popular fantasy book series, audiences' expectations are incredibly high. Unfortunately, they have been repeatedly let down. While this has a lot to do with the production companies, screenwriters, producers, and directors responsible for those recent projects, some of these troubles are indirectly caused by the authors themselves.

George R.R. Martin is a prime example. There's no question that this author is a master of fantasy storytelling, and TV adaptations of his work are among the most successful of all time. However, a consistent issue for these projects is that they tend to catch up with the source material. Martin is notoriously slow to finish his book series, and this is a major issue for the TV shows based on his work.

There is minimal risk of something similar happening to Apple TV's adaptations of Sanderson's books. This author is outstanding in terms of output. He can turn out novels like it's nothing, all the while maintaining consistently high quality.

Another fantasy author who has caused some trouble is J.K. Rowling. HBO has a Harry Potter TV show on the way, but the project is already being heavily criticized as a result of the author's controversial opinions on the transgender community. This follows up on the issues faced by Warner Bros' Fantastic Beasts franchise, which completely crashed and burned.

Sanderson is, at least so far, a highly unproblematic author. He has avoided controversy and is well beloved by the fantasy community. The mood around these upcoming projects will be predominantly positive, so there is less likely to be such intense criticism.

Brandon Sanderson Will Be Heavily Involved In Apple TV's Adaptations

The deal with Apple TV reportedly keeps Sanderson in the driver's seat, making it another significant advantage over other recent fantasy TV adaptations. Some of the biggest failures in the genre have famously taken very little interest in involving the authors. The Witcher is a great example. Netflix has gone extremely off-book, and author Andrzej Sapkowski has remained hands-off.

Then there are, of course, adaptations based on books written by now deceased authors. This can be troublesome as well. Prime Video's The Rings of Power has faced significant backlash for its changes to canon, with a lot of claims that J.R.R. Tolkien would be rolling in his grave. This sort of speculative reception would be avoided entirely with any Sanderson adaptations, since his creative control and ability to speak for himself would make all the difference.

Apple TV Is The Best Possible Home For Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere Universe

Of course, we can't pretend that Sanderson's uncontroversial status in the fantasy genre is all that matters when it comes to adaptations. If the wrong production company were attached to the TV shows or movies, things wouldn't shake out well, regardless. After all, Sanderson wrote part of The Wheel of Time​​​​​, but that adaptation was a failure on Netflix. Thankfully, Sanderson really couldn't have picked a better home for his work than Apple TV.

While Apple has yet to dive into the world of high fantasy, the company has proven itself with the adjacent genre of science fiction. They're famously choosy, ensuring every project is high-quality and handled with extreme care. We can easily assume that the upcoming Stormlight Archive TV show will be approached similarly. Between Apple TV's reputation and Brandon Sanderson's status as the king of fantasy, this could easily be one of the best TV shows of all time.