Lionsgate has their eyes on a genre master to help bring its fantasy adaptation, The Kingkiller Chronicles, to life. Variety reports the company is in talks with none other than Sam Raimi to direct the film, which is based on the first in a series of novels by author Patrick Rothfuss.
Sam Raimi on the set of Oz the Great and Powerful. Image: Disney
Raimi, who’s best known for the Evil Dead and Spider-Man films, of course, would join Lin-Manuel Miranda on the team. Miranda, creator of Hamilton, was hired as a creative producer on the project back in 2016 and will also contribute music to the project.
Rothfuss’ books follow a character named Kvothe, described as “a notorious magician, an accomplished thief, a masterful musician, and an infamous assassin”, who recounts his path to becoming a living legend in a unique fantasy world. Currently, there are two books in the Kingkiller Chronicles series, The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, with a third coming at a later date. Both were New York Times bestsellers but this adaptation will only focus on the first book, The Name of the Wind.
Lindsey Beer is writing the script and there’s also a TV element to the project, which will tell a story set before the events in the film but in the same world. Showtime has the rights to that.
Raimi’s potential addition to the project certainly makes us even more interested than before. He hasn’t directed a feature since 2013’s Oz the Great and Powerful, and fans have been waiting for him to make a big splash and return to the big screen. So if that project just so happens to be an epic fantasy adaptation of a hugely popular book series, with the help of one of the most famous artists in the world right now? Well, that’s even better.
[Variety]