Apple TV Is Bringing Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere To Television
Sanderson's Cosmere is made up of several individual and ongoing book series, including The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, Warbreaker, Elantris, White Sand, and more. Each series tells its own grand adventure, but they are all set within this same fictional universe. This allows for cohesive, comprehensive worldbuilding, as well as a great many intriguing crossovers and world-hopping characters. Sanderson isn't the first to do such a thing, but his Cosmere is among the most extensive, not to mention wildly popular.
This structure naturally makes The Cosmere rather difficult to adapt to the screen, but Apple TV is giving it a shot. The company has the rights to every installment in this universe, and is preparing to bring The Stormlight Archive to the small screen first. In the meantime, Sanderson's Mistborn will be adapted into a film franchise.
The Stormlight Archive is the perfect choice for Apple TV's first Cosmere TV series. The recently completed first arc spans five novels and two novellas, all of which offer a long-form, epic look at the author's broader universe. This is a story that can very easily rival fantasy TV shows like Game of Thrones, The Witcher, The Rings of Power, and more. In fact, The Stormlight Archive has the potential to be the most fantastically expansive magical world on television.
Cosmere Will Be The Small Screen’s Best Magical World If Apple TV Gets It Right
There's a good reason that Sanderson's Cosmere is so successful. There is, of course, the benefit of the single shared cosmology. Readers can pick up any one of the Cosmere's several series and get a full, satisfying experience. Still, there are added rewards for those who dive into each adventure. In the same way, Apple TV's Cosmere has the potential to be a sort of high-fantasy Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Stormlight Archive will introduce viewers to a world that is specifically built to be explored and analyzed in infinite ways.
Then, we can't ignore the actual content of the Cosmere universe. Sanderson created a thrilling magic system that goes far beyond the typical parameters of the fantasy genre. It's what is known as a hard magic system, which involves strict rules and mechanics as opposed to the "soft," no-explanations-needed systems of other franchises. The laws and strict requirements of magic are intimately woven throughout the Cosmere's environments, too. Culture, technology, and mythology are inherently linked.
This is only the surface of what Apple TV's Cosmere can bring us. Of course, that's only if the company handles things exactly right, but since Sanderson himself is heavily involved with these adaptations, things are looking so far, so good. There's every reason to believe that The Stormlight Archive will be TV's greatest offering of the decade (at the very least).
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