Terry Brooks’ Epic Fantasy Series ‘Shannara’ Picked Up By Sonar Entertainment
After the successful translation of George R.R. Martin‘s Game of Thrones series from the page to the small screen, it was inevitable that the forces in Hollywood would set themselves the task of finding the next fantasy series money maker.
Cut to today’s announcement that Sonar Entertainment acquired the rights to Terry Brooks‘ much beloved fantasy series “Shannara” and will partner with Farah Films to produce a television series based on the books.
Variety talked with the concerned parties about the production:
Brooks said:
“Partnering with Sonar Entertainment and Farah Films on adapting the ‘Shannara’ saga for television is an exciting prospect. Everything about both companies suggests the result will be one that both old and new fans of the books will readily embrace. I am committed to doing everything I can to help make this happen.”
Sonar Entertainment CEO Stewart Till:
“Terry Brooks appeals to a huge and diverse cross-section of audiences throughout the world. There is an enormous desire to see ‘Shannara’ brought to life for television. We know this is going to be a terrific series that will both delight longtime fans and attract legions of new devotees.”
Farah Films principal Dan Farah:
“Terry has created a rich world of characters and stories that have entertained millions of readers all around the world for a quarter of a century. He has a built-in fanbase that is bigger than those for even the most recent hit book series, like ‘The Hunger Games.’ We’re very excited and proud to have the opportunity to partner with Terry in adapting his great work for the smallscreen.”
Brooks, Farah, and Till will exec produce the series and plan to recruit a showrunner/director before beginning to shop the project to networks. The stated plan is to base the show’s first season on “The Elfstones of Shannara,” the second book in the series.
Starting with the second book in the series . . . could that be because the first book (I liked it) has often been criticized for it resemblance in characters and plot to Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings?
There is also the fact that the second book starts by skipping an entire generation from the characters of the first book. One season to gain fans and then change the entire cast would probably not work in the long run.
Then again the characters are changed throughout the series as the family passes down the generations so fans of the fantasy series already expect that. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes out after they decide on a show-runner.
This news is good for fantasy fans, but I can’t help but hope that someone somewhere in Hollywood would pick up the rights to .Glen Cook’s The Black Company. That would really make a good television series.
What do you think, will you be tuning in or tuning out?
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