After Brandon Sanderson, Apple TV Has The Perfect Opportunity To Build Another Fantasy Multiverse

Apple TV's unprecedented deal with fantasy titan Brandon Sanderson paves the way for the streamer to pursue another major genre franchise. At the start of this year, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Apple TV had won the rights to Sanderson's sprawling, interconnected fantasy universe, the Cosmere. This isn't an ordinary adaptation deal, however. Both Sanderson and Apple TV have described it more as a partnership, with Sanderson given near-complete creative control over the project.

Starting with a Mistborn movie saga and a prestigious Stormlight Archive TV series, Sanderson will be involved at almost every level. Essentially, he'll be the "architect of the universe," from writing to production and casting approvals. Per his website, he's already finished drafting the first Mistborn screenplay, though further developments are currently being kept under wraps.

Sanderson's deal gives him more creative power than even George R.R. Martin has ever had with HBO's Game of Thrones franchise. Most of the time, authors sell their rights and have little say in what happens next; they might be brought on to consult or produce, but not much else. As such, this deal is a dream come true for fans. Sanderson is one of the hardest-working fantasy authors today. If anyone can juggle the responsibilities of building an on-screen fantasy universe and continuing to pump out books, it's him.

The deal with Sanderson isn't just a major moment in his career, however. It's a major moment for Apple TV as well. While the streamer is well-known for high-profile science fiction adaptations and originals, including Severance, Silo, and the upcoming Neuromancer series, Apple has yet to break into the fantasy genre, lagging behind competitors like Netflix, Prime Video, HBO, and Disney+.

If Apple TV really wants to bet on fantasy beyond Sanderson's work, there's another major bestselling author who has previously spoken about their desire to have a deal equivalent to Sanderson's, one who has a similarly sized fanbase and is currently looking for a new adaptation home: Sarah J. Maas, author of a multiversal, interconnected franchise consisting of three fantasy epics: Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City.

Apple TV Can Create Another Fantasy Franchise With Sarah J. Maas' Books

Sarah J. Maas is viewed by many as the current "queen of fantasy." In 2024, Time reported that her books had sold over 38 million copies worldwide (for comparison, The Hollywood Reporter wrote in January 2026 that Sanderson's books had sold over 50 million), with two long-awaited installments still to come within the next six months alone.

The YA/NA fantasy saga Throne of Glass consists of eight books; A Court of Thorns and Roses currently has five books out; Crescent City currently consists of three massive, 800+ page tomes. Each series offers a different fantasy experience. Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses both have roots in fairy tales; Throne of Glass, for instance, follows renowned assassin Celaena Sardothien as she fights for her and her world's freedom under a tyrannical king's command, while Crescent City is an urban fantasy, starting with a murder mystery conspiracy in which ancient magic meets modern-day tech.

Much like Sanderson's Cosmere universe, Maas' work is interconnected, though the author has built her stories within a multiversal framework rather than within a singular, Star Wars-like universe. This was confirmed in the Crescent City novels, which, without revealing too many spoilers, are directly connected to A Court of Thorns and Roses and open a path for direct connections within Maas' work through magical portals and ancient, universe-hopping beings.

Like Sanderson, Maas' franchise has long been stuck in development limbo. Hulu originally owned the rights to A Court of Thorns and Roses until they officially dropped the project earlier this year. In a rare interview with the Call Her Daddy podcast, Maas said that "getting the rights back to all [her] things" had been a "big part of [her] journey in recent years" and went on to explain how she wanted to be involved in any potential future movie or TV adaptations.

"I look at any TV, movie adaptation as kind of like another facet of the worlds that I've created, and it's something that I want to be in charge of. I'm a type A control freak a little bit, but I want to know everything about how it gets made, not because of that control, but just because I love movies. I love TV. I want to be a part of that, and I want to see everything adapted the way I envision it and the way I know fans want it."

If Apple TV is willing to offer Sanderson that kind of creative freedom, they might be willing to offer the same to another author with a similar level of power in publishing and Hollywood. The two series would never really compete with each other, either. While there are sure to be many fans who have read and enjoyed both franchises, the magic systems, world-building, storytelling, and themes are vastly different. If anything, they'd complement each other. Adapting Maas' work alongside Sanderson's would give Apple TV a real advantage not only in fantasy as a whole but also in arguably its most popular subgenre: romantasy.

Adapting Sarah J. Maas Would Allow Apple To Compete With Streaming's Romantasy Push

While all of Maas' work contains strong elements of romance, A Court of Thorns and Roses can most obviously be classed as "romantasy." In the world of Prythian, the eventual romance between Feyre and Rhysand largely drives the narrative forward. This is different from a story like Crescent City, for instance, in which the romance is more of a subplot (an important one, but still a subplot) within the leading character Bryce's quest to discover who murdered her friend and tear the entire system down.

Apple TV shouldn't ignore the potential here. Romantasy is one of the biggest drivers of sales in the publishing industry. Streamers are falling over themselves to snatch up the rights to the most popular books labeled as such. Netflix bought the rights to Callie Hart's Quicksilver in an eye-watering seven-figure deal. Prime Video is working on TV series adaptations of Rebecca Yarros' mega-selling Empyrean saga and Lauren Roberts' Powerless trilogy.

There are other romantasy adaptations in the works, too. Amazon MGM Studios has the movie rights to Devney Perry's Shield of Sparrows. Starz is working on Lauren Palphrey's The Wolf King. Sony is developing Jennifer L. Armentrout's From Blood and Ash as a TV show. Warner Bros. is working on a movie of Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me series. Red Sage Studios is working on Danielle L. Jensen's six-book The Bridge Kingdom saga, and Paramount is producing Rebecca Ross' YA romantasy bestseller, Divine Rivals.

Clearly, there's no better time for Apple TV to get in on the trend, especially with a franchise as big as Sarah J. Maas'. In this case, it would be a win-win for both the streamer and the author. Maas has never been as popular as she is now, especially with her upcoming releases just a few months away.

"Maasverse" fans have waited a long time for a new A Court of Thorns and Roses book. The fifth and last one, A Court of Silver Flames, was published in 2021. The author hasn't been silent all that time, of course, publishing books 2 and 3 in the Crescent City series in 2022 and 2024, respectively, but ACOTAR is by far Maas' most popular series. When the author announced during that same Call Her Daddy interview that she was releasing not one, but two ACOTAR books within the next six months, the internet exploded.

Both books are currently still untitled. Covers haven't been revealed, and yet, chain and independent booksellers in cities and towns across the globe have planned midnight launch parties. The sixth book, a modest 352-page installment, is due for publication on October 27, 2026. The seventh will be a whopping 928 pages and will be released on January 12, 2027. Both are available for pre-order now. Maas has also confirmed that an eighth ACOTAR book is in the works, which together will comprise a three-part story, alongside a fourth Crescent City novel.

If Apple TV wants to ride the wave of Maas' success, the upcoming launches offer the perfect opportunity. With the streamer's budget, attention to detail, and commitment to quality over quantity, an Apple TV Maasverse adaptation could become something genuinely special.