Summary
The list of young adult franchises getting adapted in recent times has added another notch to the line, as a recent report reveals that theSpellslingerfranchise is getting the small screen treatment with a very prolific director attached to the early project.
Despite being a niche genre even among the demographic its named for, young adult fiction has seen a rise in popularity in recent times, thanks in no small part to live-action adaptations that play well for a much larger target audience, especially in the fantasy genre. There are a plethora offantasy and science fiction works deserving of adaptation in the young adult space, not least of which is the young adult book seriesSpellslinger,a six-book fantasy adventure rife with magic and intrigue. Written by Canadian author Sebastien de Castell, the book series has been nominated for a few awards and garnered a spin-off.
Despite the surge in adaptations and some negative coverage and fan frustrations with the trend, the cash cow keeps making its ways forward still, andSpellslingeris next on the list of IPs to get the treatment. WhileJohn Wickdirector Chad Stahelski already hasLazarusand more on his plate, there’s a new project on the horizon for the creative. As announced exclusively byVariety, Stahelski is attached to yet another new project: a live-action TV adaptation ofSpellslinger. The show is being developed via his company 87Eleven, which is already handling shows for the John Wick, Highlander, Ghost of Tsushima, Black Samurai, and Rainbow Six franchises. While it’s still in its early days, the show already has a small logline to give new fans a heads-up on the sort of story the series tells, reading: “When his paths cross with a swashbuckling adventurer from a mysterious sect called the Argosi on a mission to stop a continent-wide war, his life, world and family will be turned upside down. Bursting with tricks, traps, magic and a talking squirrel cat!”
The young central character ofSpellslingerand the journey he goes on (being born without magic into a society where magic is everything) is a pretty common and oft-successful combination, but there’s another factor that might hinder its success: being an adaptation. There’s no better summary of the current attitude towards adaptations than the conversation aboutwhether or not Amazon’sRings of Powerdeserves a third seasonfollowing yet another divisive entry in the Tolkein-inspired world. As such, whileSpellslingeris a great series with a good following, Amazon’s lot is just one example of a much more well-known property floundering in the current climate. With accurate rendition and enticing casual viewers into the fandom seemingly being at odds in several similar adaptations over the years, there’s potential for the project to simply not get off the ground the way it should and due to no fault of its own.
It’s very much worth consideringif the increase in fantasy shows is good for the genreor if it’s becoming a watered-down attraction for viewing audiences. Fans will have to wait forSpellslingerto actually hit their screens to know how faithful and/or functional an adaptation it’s going to be, but that end result won’t do much to alter the general conversation surrounding the current trend of defaulting to past successes within and without the film and TV industry.
