I’m doing my best to keep my hopes and expectations about the announced Red Rising movie in check. For one thing, it can take a while for a book-to-screen adaptation to come to fruition. And for another, this particular series is going to be tricky to adapt (for more than one reason). However, from what author Pierce Brown recently said about the people behind the movie, it sounds like the series is in good hands… or paws?
HugenDubel shared an interview with Pierce Brown on TikTok from the Bookstock Festival in Germany this month, where Brown spoke about director Francis Lawrence and the trust the studio has in them. That in itself is good to hear, but it’s what he says about the execs that has me howling in delight:
There’s a lot of trust that Paramount has given us. A lot of trust that the executives there, who literally call themselves Howlers — I think you can see my excitement, because that’s such a rare thing, and it means they’re trying to protect the series too.
True fans of Pierce Brown’s beloved dystopian sci-fi series call themselves Howlers. It’s a nod to the House Mars sigil from the very first book, and has a special connection to several characters (I’d like to avoid spoilers here, so I’ll leave it at that). That there are Paramount executives who count themselves among the growing legion of Howlers is extremely comforting to me.
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The author also spoke fondly about Francis Lawrence, whom he’s known for years, and whom he notes was the director behind a post-apocalyptic music video for Britney Spears’ “I’m a Slave 4 U,” which Brown humorously states was “very important” to his early development. He also praised I Am Legend another sci-fi adaptation directed by Francis Lawrence.
One other thing Brown mentioned about Lawrence that gives me even more confidence about the Red Rising movie is:
He is a true collaborator, where he lets the best idea survive, no matter where it comes from.
I’m interpreting that to mean that Lawrence isn’t the type to let ego drive his decisions. A good idea is a good idea, even if it isn’t his. Assuming I have that right, it’s another thing that brings me comfort as my excitement only continues to grow about this adaptation.
Going back to what Brown said about knowing Francis Lawrence for years, the director also said as much recently to IGN. As he noted, he was attached to the Red Rising adaptation when it was in development for a Netflix TV series. They apparently had pilots written for it, but it never got past that stage at the streamer, and the rights eventually went back to Brown. Now it’s at Paramount, and Lawrence sounds very pleased that it’ll be adapted as a film, and sees its potential for the big screen (and IMAX!). He went on to say:
I’m very, very excited about that. We have a writer that we like, who is now starting work on a script, and hopefully that’s something that we will put together quite quickly. It seems to be a priority at Paramount, which is great. Super, super, super excited about that. But I love the books and I love Pierce and I’m really, really excited.
I love to hear the word “priority.” Of course, we’ve been waiting for this adaptation for literal years, so I’ll probably wait for more updates before I get my hopes up that this movie will happen in the nearish future. The 2027 movie schedule seems unlikely to the point of impossibility, given how close we already are to the new year, but I’d love to hear 2028 or 2029 as a targeted release date timeframe. We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, to my fellow Howlers, as well as Howler 1 himself (Pierce Brown), Francis Lawrence and the execs Brown referenced at Paramount: Awooooooo!