When Pierce Brown's Red Rising first hit shelves in 2014, it was a bold, unproven debut from a new author. Universal Pictures quickly snapped up the film rights, but the project languished in development hell for years. By March 2026, Brown confirmed that the adaptation was effectively dead—no studio movement, no creative momentum. But rather than a setback, this might be the best thing that could have happened to the series. With the saga nearing its explosive finale and the streaming landscape more sophisticated than ever, Red Rising is now poised for a comeback that could finally do it justice.
The Red Rising series is a genre-defying blend of sci-fi and fantasy that has captivated millions of readers. Set centuries in the future, humanity has terraformed and colonized the solar system, yet society is more stratified than ever—a rigid caste system fuels a rebellion that spans planets. The story's epic scope includes gravity-defying combat, shape-shifting Razor swords, and the haunting beauty of a colonized solar system. Back in 2014, translating this vision to screen would have been a monumental challenge, especially for an untested property. But now, with the books' popularity exploding thanks to BookTok and other fan communities, the time is ripe for a studio to invest the resources needed to bring this world to life.
A Decade of Development Hell
It's common for studios to option rights to a book series before it's proven—it's a low-cost gamble with no guarantee of a payoff. That's exactly what Universal did with Red Rising. Brown revealed in a March interview on Maude Garrett's YouTube channel that all attempts to adapt the series have been "shelved." The original plan was a feature film, but that was scrapped within a couple of years. In 2018, Brown pivoted to developing a TV series, and by 2021 he hinted that a major streamer—possibly Netflix, Apple TV, HBO Max, or Prime Video—was involved. But nothing materialized.
Part of the problem was timing. In 2014, the sci-fi genre on screen was dominated by Star Wars and Star Trek, and Dune hadn't yet proven that a dense, literary sci-fi epic could be a box office juggernaut. Studios were hesitant to take a risk on a relatively unknown author and a story that mixed Greek tragedy with space opera. But the landscape has shifted dramatically. Dune and Foundation have shown that audiences crave complex, visually stunning sci-fi. And Brown has proven he can deliver—his worldbuilding has only grown richer, and he's on the verge of completing the saga with Red God, the seventh and final book.
The Final Book Changes Everything
Brown has been hard at work on Red God, and he's already written over 1,000 pages. The conclusion of a massive series always draws in new readers who were waiting to see if the story would stick the landing. Once Red God is released, the fandom is likely to surge even more. That increased popularity will make Red Rising a more attractive property for studios, potentially leading to a bigger budget and more creative control for Brown himself.
But how should Red Rising be adapted? Many fans are hoping for a live-action series on a streamer like Apple TV+, which has found success with epic sci-fi like Foundation and has big plans for Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere novels. A series format would allow the story to breathe, but the CGI and set design required for the book's massive action sequences could be a challenge. Studios might be tempted to cut corners, condensing events to save money—a common pitfall in the genre.
Animation Could Be the Answer
Some fans suggest that an animated adaptation might be the best route, as it has been for other beloved book series. Animation would allow for the full scope of Brown's imagination—variable gravity, ship-to-ship battles, and the eerie atmosphere of a colonized solar system—without the constraints of live-action budgets. It would also solve the challenge of depicting the vast size differences between the castes in Red Rising, which would be difficult to pull off convincingly in live action. The melodrama and emotional weight of the story could be beautifully rendered in animation, and it would give the creators the freedom to stay true to the source material.
As the Red Rising saga approaches its conclusion, the timing for a new adaptation has never been better. The books have proven their staying power, the technology and streaming platforms have evolved, and audiences are hungry for ambitious sci-fi. Whether it's a live-action series or an animated epic, the next attempt to bring Red Rising to the screen could finally be the one that does it justice. For fans who have waited over a decade, that's a future worth hoping for.
