Lionsgate's ambitious adaptation plans for Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle books already boast the impressive teaming of Rothfuss himself, musical man Lin-Manuel Miranda and writer Lindsey Beer on the film front. Now the TV picture is coming into focus, with experienced showrunner John Rogers heading up the TV version.
Rothfuss’ series, which kicked off in 2007, includes an anchor trilogy (with the third book still to come) and three novellas set in the same world. The focus is told in three time streams: the present, in which the protagonist, Kvothe, is dictating his life’s story to a historian of sorts; the past, a first-person account of Kvothe’s life, and lastly, in chronologically cloudy parables and stories peppered throughout the books.
Right now, the plan is to kick off with the first movie and any subsequent films adapting the main novels, with the TV series filling out the wider world. And we'd expect there to be some crossover, in the way that Marvel has its movies and TV ventures set in the same universe. That doesn't always work as successfully as it might, but with Rothfuss and Miranda also having input into the TV version, hopefully the links will be stronger.
Rogers is a veteran of shows such as The Librarians and Leverage and feels like the right person to not only adapt the series but work well alongside the others. He's also currently developing a new take on Magnum P.I., but will focus on that as the Kingkiller series develops in the background.
Lionsgate adapting The Kingkiller Chronicle for movies and more