Fans Campaign for New HBO Fantasy Adaptation
A significant fan campaign is urging HBO to adapt a globally popular fantasy book series that began over a decade ago. The groundswell of support is being compared to the early fan mobilization for *Game of Thrones*. The movement highlights a strong market appetite for a new prestige fantasy drama with an established, intricate world.
- The book series in question is the eight-book *Throne of Glass* series by author Sarah J. Maas. The fantasy novels follow a teenage assassin competing to become the king's champion in a corrupt kingdom. - Sarah J. Maas is a powerhouse in the publishing world, with her series having sold more than 75 million copies globally and being published in 40 languages. In the first half of 2024 alone, she sold nearly 5 million print books in the U.S. - The series' popularity has exploded through "BookTok," a community on TikTok. The hashtag for another of Maas's series, *A Court of Thorns and Roses*, has generated several billion views, highlighting the author's massive online following. - This is not the first attempt at adapting the series; Hulu optioned *Throne of Glass* in 2016 for a TV show to be titled *Queen of Shadows*. However, the project never went into production, and the rights eventually reverted to Maas. - Fans have taken to social media and created online petitions to voice their desire for an HBO-led adaptation, believing the network could give the series the high-budget treatment they feel it deserves, similar to *Game of Thrones*. - The comparison to the *Game of Thrones* fandom mobilization is significant, as that fanbase has previously demonstrated its power. For instance, a Change.org petition to remake the final season of *Game of Thrones* garnered over 1.2 million signatures.
