Sanderson Keeps Control
Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere is moving to Apple TV with Mistborn in development — and his deal reportedly gives him unprecedented creative control, signaling Apple wants a multi-project universe under an author-led model Polygon and industry chatter is already naming potential showrunners to be a ‘Kevin Feige’ for the franchise Moyens.net.
Apple won the rights after a competitive bidding process that saw Sanderson meet with multiple studio heads, according to The Hollywood Reporter hollywoodreporter.com. Sanderson’s contract reportedly gives him writing, producing, consulting and cast-approval roles and names him a co-showrunner for Stormlight, language The Hollywood Reporter called a degree of control “rare” for a novelist in screen deals hollywoodreporter.com. On his podcast Sanderson said he’s already ~10% through the Mistborn screenplay, expects to announce a producer in March and is aiming for a first draft by July, a timetable Polygon published on March 11, 2026 polygon.com. Sanderson has signaled he’s modeling the rollout on James Gunn’s script-first approach and an overarching “Kevin Feige”-style architect role, and outlets have begun naming potential filmmakers who could serve as that universe steward in speculative roundups like FandomWire and Moyens.net polygon.com.
