It's been 12 years since Pierce Brown's debut novel Red Rising hit shelves, and fans are still waiting for a proper screen adaptation. The sci-fi series, which has sold over six million copies, has been in development limbo for more than a decade, with multiple attempts to bring it to film or TV falling through. Brown recently confirmed that the latest television project is dead, leaving the future of the adaptation uncertain.
What Is 'Red Rising' About?
Set in a dystopian future where humanity has colonized multiple planets, Red Rising follows Darrow, a 16-year-old Red miner living under Mars' surface. The Society sorts people into color-coded castes, with the Golds at the top enjoying luxury and cruelty. After his wife Eo is executed for singing a rebellious song, Darrow discovers the Golds have been lying about terraforming Mars. He joins a resistance, undergoes transformation to pass as a Gold, and infiltrates the elite Institute, where he must survive deadly games to rise through the ranks. The series blends elements of The Hunger Games and Star Wars with Roman history and mythology, creating a sprawling space opera about rebellion and class struggle.
The Long Road to Adaptation
Shortly after Red Rising was published in 2014, Universal Pictures secured the film rights in a seven-figure deal, with Marc Forster attached to direct. Brown wrote several screenplays, but progress stalled, and the rights eventually reverted to him. In 2018, Brown announced he was working with a director and showrunner on a streaming TV series with a major studio. However, in March 2025, Brown revealed that the TV project had fallen apart, saying, "Unfortunately, we just couldn't get it to a place where [the studio] felt comfortable."
The series' complex world-building and brutal action sequences seem tailor-made for a big-budget adaptation, but the challenges of translating Brown's intricate plot and large cast have proven difficult. Fans have compared the series to other sci-fi masterpieces like Ridley Scott's Alien, but the adaptation remains elusive.
Why Has It Taken So Long?
Brown's series grows in scope with each book, moving from a single-planet rebellion to an interstellar civil war. The action set pieces are cinematic, but the budget required to do them justice is enormous. Additionally, the story's dark themes and violence may have made studios cautious. Despite these hurdles, the fan base remains passionate, and Brown continues to write, with the sixth book, Light Bringer, released in 2023.
For now, fans can only hope that a studio will take the plunge. As Brown works on the final book in the series, the dream of seeing Darrow's revolution on screen lives on. In the meantime, readers can revisit the books or explore other sci-fi adaptations like the 2020s' true superhero masterpieces for a taste of epic storytelling.
