The V.E. Schwab fantasy novel A Darker Shade of Magic is going to be turned into a limited TV series by Gerard Butler and Alan Siegel’s production company G-Base, which just acquired the rights. (They’re the ones behind the upcoming film London Has Falling, the sequel to Olympus Has Fallen.) The two will produce along with Danielle Robinson while Schwab will write the pilot. It’s always a good sign when the author is involved with the writing team.
In the novel, there are four universes with different versions of the world. The novel takes place in four versions of London. Grey London is a place where magic doesn’t exist, which sounds an awful lot like real London. White London has everyone enslaved by rulers who use magic. Red London has everyone cool with magic and its use, and Black London where magic has pretty much destroyed the world. A few magicians can travel between the universes. The main characters are Kell, the Red Traveler who is the adopted prince of Red London and ventures between worlds to deliver messages back and forth for the royalty of each universe. He’s also got a bit of a secret. Then there is Delilah Bard, a thief who he runs into during his travels.
Sounds really cool, right? I haven’t read this one yet, but after researching it for this story, I just ordered it online. Schwab’s earlier novel Vicious is currently in development with Ridley Scott and Story Mining & Supply Co too, so her work has clearly caught Hollywood’s attention. Have you guys read this yet? Are you hooked? Just looking up some tweets about it showed me some pretty rabid fans. Tweet me/us at @JennaBusch/@Nerdist and let us know what you love about it. Who do you think should be cast as Kell and Delilah? Is this going to be one of those series that has me counting days until the sequel comes out?
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HT: Deadline
Image: Macmillan Publishing