Paramount’s New Dystopian Sci-Fi Epic Gets Faithful Adaptation Tease From Author

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Image via Paramount

Published Oct 22, 2026, 5:59 PM EDT

Jeff Dodge (he/him), a published author and graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena. Fun Fact: he’s been to every single Idol Live! Tour.

Paramount is developing a film based on Pierce Brown's sci-fi novel Red Rising, and now the author himself has revealed whether it will be a faithful adaptation.

The first book was released in 2014 and centers on a miner on Mars who aligns with a rebellion after learning that the Gold caste has enslaved people. Brown went on to write the rest of the trilogy with Golden Son and Morning Star, and then a sequel series. The story will conclude with Red God.

As fans wait for updates on Red God, Paramount is moving forward with its film adaptation of Red Rising, with Francis Lawrence on board as director and Justin Rhodes as screenwriter. Brown is now speaking out about the movie, specifically whether it will be faithful to the story he wrote, as revealed by @george.andthedragons on TikTok.

While speaking at an event, the author said he knows how much Red Rising means to his fans, and he wants to ensure that the series is protected as it goes through the adaptation process.

He didn't want to move forward with the film until he knew the right people were in place to pull it off successfully. Brown has been friends with Lawrence for eight years, so he trusts the filmmaker in charge.

At one point, he spent several years trying to get Red Rising made into a TV show. "Then we pulled back, and I said, 'I'm not taking any meetings.'"

After that, he found more people in the industry to bring on board the project, and all of them looked to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy as the gold standard when it comes to adaptations.

As Brown explained, Jackson didn't direct The Lord of the Rings to become famous or wealthy. "He's trying to do justice" to a work of literary art that he feels a close connection to.

So when it came to figuring out how to bring Red Rising to the screen, Brown and his team (or "found family members," as he referred to them) all wanted to follow a similar blueprint.

Brown even moved to Los Angeles so he could "find the right people, and through the evolution of the series, I've been able to find the right people" so that Red Rising will be a faithful adaptation. He ended his comments by bluntly stating that if they "screw up, it's because we have bad taste."

Pierce Brown: "It allowed me enough dignity to protect the series and say, 'I’m not gonna make this until I have my found family.' Because I wanted the movie to be made in the same way that I have learned how important found family was, and the director I’m working with now, Francis Lawrence, we’ve been friends for eight years. We tried for five years to make it into a TV show, and then we pulled back and I said, 'I’m not taking any meetings.' And then I found another family member we added to it and another family member. And the thing is, they all believed that the best adaptation is Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, and I think it’s because he’s not projecting Peter Jackson, he’s not trying to become famous, he’s not taking an opportunity to become wealthy. He’s trying to do justice to the thing that got him through the hardship of youth. He is in love with what Lord of the Rings means to him. And so we presented it as such and hopefully we do the same thing with Red Rising. We’ve done everything we can to secure that to the point, but here’s the thing, I moved to L.A. not because I like sunshine. I moved there to find the right people, and through the evolution of the series, I’ve been able to find the right people. So if we screw up, it’s because we have bad taste.

Lawrence is no stranger to book-to-film adaptations. He's best known for directing all but one of the Hunger Games movies, starting with Catching Fire in 2013. Author Suzanne Collins' most recent prequel novel will hit the big screen next month with the release of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

The films have earned positive reviews from critics, with Catching Fire still standing as the highest-rated in the series with a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. (The lowest-rated is The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes at 64%, indicating mixed-to-positive reactions.)

Outside of The Hunger Games franchise, Lawrence has directed Constantine, I Am Legend, Water for Elephants, Red Sparrow, Slumberland and The Long Walk, all of which are based on novels or comics. Now he's adding yet another book to his adaptation list with the upcoming Paramount film Red Rising, which does not have a production timeline or release date yet.