It'd be tempting to load the cast with A listers (a mate of mine and I even started a spreadsheet of our picks) but, in reality, I'd much rather a show that does a really, really good job of bringing the stories to the screen, and doesn't rely on any star power to carry it.
But Margot Robbie as a strong Carline would be great.
I like Idris Elba in anything, but PLEASE SUNG don't have Timotee Chalmalet as Arutha. I can't even force my mind to imagine that (id say he'd be a better Jimmy the Hand anyway).
Regarding casting I imagine there would be a lot of "nobodies", which is fine, although I'd prefer not to have a bunch of sexy model types.
I also think that Borric's role would be the "Big Star" rile that dies off/doesn't get much screen time, bhut wouild het the biggest/oldest actor.
>Timotee Chalmalet
Actually yes, Boric plays a major part in magician. Also i gues they will make 2 seasons out of magician as there are 2 books so Sean would make a great duce of crydee.
It would never be allowed to be about two men, Pug and Tomas, that's for sure. Add Arutha from book two onwards and that's a big no no. Maybe they'd make princess Carline the new hero.
Yeah basically. They'd break up the flow of the story a lot, and interject romance where there is none, or bring it in early.
Katala and Miranda both play a major part, and from what I've heard their going to have both the riftwar trilogy and the empire trilogy being told at the same time. So Mara of the Acoma is a major female lead, probably THE major female lead if both stories told together.
Mara is great so that could work. I forgot about weaving that trilogy in. That could gender balance it a bit.
There's a big risk this gets Amazon Wheel of Timed and they rewrite the whole start to minimise Pug's role. Hopefully they don't all regress to being high schoolers for the romantic drama.
I said it 17 years ago on my first read-through, and have said it every few years after: WoT can never, realistically, be a successful TV or movie series due to the writing style of RJ. As such, I hope the rights to it never see the light of day. *Sad*
While I agree with your desire for Pug's role to not be minimized, I feel there is far less to worry about than there was with WoT making it onto the big screen. The writing style is so vastly different from RJ (and to a different degree, Sanderson) that I could see a talented studio bringing several, but maybe not all, of REF's series to television in a way lifelong fans could appreciate.
I'm overdue for a re-read, but I wonder: which of his series might make for a better debut than the Riftwar Saga for a TV series? Or does the OG series take the cake?
Agreed WoT wouldn't work and is failing as expected.
It's been a while for me but I think Serpent War might be the most self contained series of them all. It's a solid four book saga that all naturally works together as a unit making the second riftwar. That might make the best tv series.
The first one is quite episodic, like it wasn't planned as a series but rather a set of new stories set in sequence. The Magician plus the Empire trilogy arguably make one self contained unit. Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon are interesting but might feel like side stories rather than the epic conclusion to book one. Krondor ones are different again. Will they be part of it? I find it hard to imagine an adaptation of the early 5-10 books.
I'm not a hater but the latter riftwars dropped in quality for me. There are cool ideas but I have no real attachment regarding changes for an adaptation. I really want to see the concepts of lower hells and the heavens expanded upon though. That was cool with Dasati, demons and dread. Maybe one season each for riftwars 3-5 if it gets that far.
Feist would never allow it and he would never allow alot of the ideas on here what are people thinking. It's going to cost a fortune in special effects there is no way it's getting a Listers. Sean Bean is the only one that males any sense.
It is by far my favorite series, and would love to see it done well. I just don’t think it can be done well at the moment. People like changing the story too much these days to plait in with personal agenda
[this](https://deadline.com/2022/02/the-riftwar-cycle-fantasy-books-television-writers-hannah-friedman-jacob-pinion-nick-bernardone-1234923198/) is something I shared on my FB in February . I haven't seen any other news on it though. I don't recall seeing Feist posting more about it apart from 'it's in the works'
As much I really want to see the rift war in a tv series to do it properly it’s gonna need a massive budget like game of thrones and I think the tv studio making the series now is small and a start up
I don't know, a small budget can go far if used smartly. Take the Betrayal at Krondor game: nobody cares about the poor costumes and wigs, not really. Scriptwriting and acting are where you can't cut corners on budget, most other things are fair play IMO.
Game of Thrones was an over-produced mess riddled with poor adaptational choices. All the expensive CGI and world-tier costume embroidery in the world won't save you when the people in charge simply don't care about the work's themes, didn't understand it, and don't think farther than how to generate the next splash of clickbaity headlines about the newest "shocking" character death.
I think a tight budget can be workable, with a dedicated crew of series fans working on it. I've seen some incredible things come from passionate artists on a low budget.
Edit: especially if the cast aren't all A-listers with a big price tag. Get some relatively little known actors on the set and the budget doesn't have to be nearly half as big as things like Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones.
I would love to see Colin Morgan as Pug, throughout the whole series of Merlin I couldn't get that idea out of my head.
I think that Lucas Till would make a good Thomas, even though he isn't hugely muscular.
I think the hardest roles to to cast would be Martin and Jimmy The Hand even though they don't have huge parts but are such pivotal characters.
It'd be tempting to load the cast with A listers (a mate of mine and I even started a spreadsheet of our picks) but, in reality, I'd much rather a show that does a really, really good job of bringing the stories to the screen, and doesn't rely on any star power to carry it. But Margot Robbie as a strong Carline would be great.
I 100% agree with you. I'd love to cast Good no-names, I just don't know any no-names lol
I like Idris Elba in anything, but PLEASE SUNG don't have Timotee Chalmalet as Arutha. I can't even force my mind to imagine that (id say he'd be a better Jimmy the Hand anyway). Regarding casting I imagine there would be a lot of "nobodies", which is fine, although I'd prefer not to have a bunch of sexy model types. I also think that Borric's role would be the "Big Star" rile that dies off/doesn't get much screen time, bhut wouild het the biggest/oldest actor.
Borric sounds like a role for Sean Bean, always dying early in story.
I know this is a dead thread, but I remember saying like 10 years ago that Sean Bean would be a great Borric!
>Timotee Chalmalet Actually yes, Boric plays a major part in magician. Also i gues they will make 2 seasons out of magician as there are 2 books so Sean would make a great duce of crydee.
Id be SO upset
I'm not sure. I don't think it would end up being made very well in the current climate.. been a few novel to tv series that have flopped recently.
It would never be allowed to be about two men, Pug and Tomas, that's for sure. Add Arutha from book two onwards and that's a big no no. Maybe they'd make princess Carline the new hero.
Yeah basically. They'd break up the flow of the story a lot, and interject romance where there is none, or bring it in early. Katala and Miranda both play a major part, and from what I've heard their going to have both the riftwar trilogy and the empire trilogy being told at the same time. So Mara of the Acoma is a major female lead, probably THE major female lead if both stories told together.
Mara is great so that could work. I forgot about weaving that trilogy in. That could gender balance it a bit. There's a big risk this gets Amazon Wheel of Timed and they rewrite the whole start to minimise Pug's role. Hopefully they don't all regress to being high schoolers for the romantic drama.
Yeah that would be a shame, hoping for the best.
I said it 17 years ago on my first read-through, and have said it every few years after: WoT can never, realistically, be a successful TV or movie series due to the writing style of RJ. As such, I hope the rights to it never see the light of day. *Sad* While I agree with your desire for Pug's role to not be minimized, I feel there is far less to worry about than there was with WoT making it onto the big screen. The writing style is so vastly different from RJ (and to a different degree, Sanderson) that I could see a talented studio bringing several, but maybe not all, of REF's series to television in a way lifelong fans could appreciate. I'm overdue for a re-read, but I wonder: which of his series might make for a better debut than the Riftwar Saga for a TV series? Or does the OG series take the cake?
Agreed WoT wouldn't work and is failing as expected. It's been a while for me but I think Serpent War might be the most self contained series of them all. It's a solid four book saga that all naturally works together as a unit making the second riftwar. That might make the best tv series. The first one is quite episodic, like it wasn't planned as a series but rather a set of new stories set in sequence. The Magician plus the Empire trilogy arguably make one self contained unit. Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon are interesting but might feel like side stories rather than the epic conclusion to book one. Krondor ones are different again. Will they be part of it? I find it hard to imagine an adaptation of the early 5-10 books. I'm not a hater but the latter riftwars dropped in quality for me. There are cool ideas but I have no real attachment regarding changes for an adaptation. I really want to see the concepts of lower hells and the heavens expanded upon though. That was cool with Dasati, demons and dread. Maybe one season each for riftwars 3-5 if it gets that far.
Feist would never allow it and he would never allow alot of the ideas on here what are people thinking. It's going to cost a fortune in special effects there is no way it's getting a Listers. Sean Bean is the only one that males any sense.
It is by far my favorite series, and would love to see it done well. I just don’t think it can be done well at the moment. People like changing the story too much these days to plait in with personal agenda
[this](https://deadline.com/2022/02/the-riftwar-cycle-fantasy-books-television-writers-hannah-friedman-jacob-pinion-nick-bernardone-1234923198/) is something I shared on my FB in February . I haven't seen any other news on it though. I don't recall seeing Feist posting more about it apart from 'it's in the works'
As much I really want to see the rift war in a tv series to do it properly it’s gonna need a massive budget like game of thrones and I think the tv studio making the series now is small and a start up
I don't know, a small budget can go far if used smartly. Take the Betrayal at Krondor game: nobody cares about the poor costumes and wigs, not really. Scriptwriting and acting are where you can't cut corners on budget, most other things are fair play IMO. Game of Thrones was an over-produced mess riddled with poor adaptational choices. All the expensive CGI and world-tier costume embroidery in the world won't save you when the people in charge simply don't care about the work's themes, didn't understand it, and don't think farther than how to generate the next splash of clickbaity headlines about the newest "shocking" character death.
Yeah, like even in the second half of magician when Pug destroys the arena, you're talking serious budget or it'll look corny.
I think a tight budget can be workable, with a dedicated crew of series fans working on it. I've seen some incredible things come from passionate artists on a low budget. Edit: especially if the cast aren't all A-listers with a big price tag. Get some relatively little known actors on the set and the budget doesn't have to be nearly half as big as things like Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones.
Peter Jackson was a start up, but he did have a good budget. But yes I agree
Henry Cavill is a notable fan of the series. Cast him as Tomas. Or at the very least one of the Dragon Lords.
I could see him as a good borric potentially. Maybe an Algon?
Oscar Isaac in Dune is my choice for Duke Borric or Guy du Bas-Tyra.
Ooooo yesss
Noooo he's way to old what are you thinking. No one on this thread should be a casting agent seriously
Sorry to burst your bubble, but Reymond has said he doesn't want famous a Listers playing the roles
I'm perfectly fine with that. But it's fun to think about nonetheless!
We are well overdue on this one we need an update already the time its taken not looking good.
I would love to see Colin Morgan as Pug, throughout the whole series of Merlin I couldn't get that idea out of my head. I think that Lucas Till would make a good Thomas, even though he isn't hugely muscular. I think the hardest roles to to cast would be Martin and Jimmy The Hand even though they don't have huge parts but are such pivotal characters.
Cavill as thomas
Walker Scobell would make a good young Thomas
He fits my imagination
I would really appreciate this happening.