Sci-fi author Brandon Sanderson‘s Skyward novel is getting a TV series adaptation from Tomorrow Studios (One Piece, Let The Right One In). Sanderson is on board to write the pilot, along with Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (Dollhouse, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Sanderson, Whedon, and Tancharoen will also executive produce alongside Tomorrow Studios CEO/partner Marty Adelstein and president/partner Becky Clements, according to Deadline.
In a statement, Sanderson said, “I’ve been working on the Skyward series for nearly a decade, and to have a partner like Tomorrow Studios to help bring this story to television is a dream come true.” Adelstein seemed similarly enthused, saying, “Brandon has created a thrilling universe where courage, curiosity, and determination to challenge what we think can change the fate of entire worlds. The vision that he, Jed and Maurissa have for a television adaptation is ‘defiant to the end.'”
Skyward is the first of four novels and three novellas, plus one earlier short story, in Sanderson’s Cytoverse universe. It takes place in the far future on a distant planet that is constantly under attack from an alien species called the Krell. Skyward follows Spensa, a teenage pilot who wants to join the fight but faces an uphill battle to do so.
Sanderson is already having a great year in terms of visual adaptations of his work; in January, Apple TV picked up the rights to his entire Cosmere universe, which is so sprawling that Sanderson—accurately, mind you—likens it to the MCU. That project is set to cover multiple book series with both film and TV adaptations planned. The Skyward adaptation seems more modest in comparison; though it is part of the larger Cytoverse series, it seems like the TV adaptation will focus on just the first book. No network or streaming service has been announced yet.
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