2025 Fantasy Adaptations: What's Really Happening and What's Just Hype

Every Fantasy Book Adaptation Coming in 2025 (And Beyond!) – What's Real, What's Rumor, and What's Probably Dead

If you're anything like me, you live for the moment when your favorite fantasy book gets announced for a screen adaptation. Cue the dramatic fan casting, Twitter threads, and emotionally over-invested Reddit theories. But here's the cold, hard truth: most of those announcements? Yeah… they never go anywhere.

That’s why I decided to do a deep dive into every. single. fantasy and sci-fi book-to-screen adaptation that’s been announced in the last few years and is still (supposedly) coming. Spoiler alert: the list is a mix of heartbreak, hype, and a few shining stars of hope.

So buckle up, fellow geeks — here’s what’s actually happening, what’s just been talked about, and what’s likely dead in the water.

🎥 ACTUALLY HAPPENING – Confirmed Fantasy Adaptations for 2025

These are the adaptations with real traction — filming has wrapped, casting is confirmed, or we have firm release windows.

🏰 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms – George R.R. Martin

Six episodes, already wrapped. HBO’s bringing this Game of Thrones prequel to us by late 2025. Martin himself has seen the rough cuts and is gushing. Expect a more intimate, character-driven tale with Dunk & Egg.

🤖 Murderbot Diaries – Martha Wells

Apple TV is dropping the first two episodes in May 2025. Alexander Skarsgård as Murderbot is giving us serious hope. Ten episodes total. Get ready for some awkwardly sarcastic robot drama — and feelings (maybe).

🧙 Harry Potter Series (Book 1)

The reboot no one asked for — but we’re getting it anyway. HBO’s turning Sorcerer’s Stone into an eight-episode season. Francesca Gardner is running the show. John Lithgow as Dumbledore? Intriguing.

🧠 Neuromancer – William Gibson

Cyberpunk royalty incoming. Apple TV is making it into a 10-episode series. Casting includes Callum Turner and Mark Strong. No date yet, but development is full steam ahead.

📋 WE HAVE DETAILS – Likely But Not 100% Confirmed

These projects are a step beyond "just optioned." Studios are talking, directors are in, and scripts are moving — but no release dates yet.

🧙‍♂️ Piranesi – Susanna Clarke

Leica (yep, the stop-motion studio behind Coraline) picked it up. Bold choice, honestly. Could be stunning or super weird — but either way, we’re watching.

⏳ The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V.E. Schwab

Studio EOne picked it up for a movie back in 2020. Schwab has said the script was done in 2022 and she's still hopeful. A casting convo at 2024 NYCC gives us a little life signal.

VERY EARLY STAGES – Announced, but Don't Hold Your Breath

These have been optioned or teased, but progress has been sloooooow.

• Eragon (Disney+): Christopher Paolini says contracts are getting signed (as of Feb 2025), but we’ve heard that before…
• Best Served Cold (Joe Abercrombie): Was “in talks” with Rebecca Ferguson in 2023. No real news since.
• The Atlas Six (Olivie Blake): Amazon optioned it, but the last update was in 2022.
• Ninth House (Leigh Bardugo): A pilot was made, but we haven’t heard much in two years.
• Dungeon Crawler Carl (Matt Dinniman): Picked up in August 2024 by Universal. Still super early days.
• The Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard): Strike delays hurt it, but a 2023 update says it’s still alive-ish.
• The Dark Tower (Stephen King): Flanagan’s pushing it hard, but no platform yet.
• Red Rising (Pierce Brown): Brown says it's 50/50. Expensive. Complicated. But maybe.
• Babble (R.F. Kuang), Broken Earth (N.K. Jemisin), Parable of the Sower (Octavia Butler): All optioned. No solid updates since.

Probably Dead or Fully Canceled

This is where our dreams go to die. RIP.

• Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson): Was close… and then boom. Back to square zero. Officially dead.
• Green Bone Saga (Fonda Lee): Was going to be a Peacock series. Killed. Devastated.
• Circe (Madeline Miller): HBO picked it up in 2019. Not a single update since.
• The Poppy War (R.F. Kuang): Optioned in 2020. Now scrubbed from social media. Not good.
• Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Hulu optioned it forever ago. Radio silence since.
• A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas): Hulu canceled it after picking it up in 2021.
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Neil Gaiman): Was in development limbo even before the allegations. Very likely dead.
• A Darker Shade of Magic (V.E. Schwab): Optioned in 2019. No movement since.

The Grim Reality of Fantasy Adaptations

Here’s the thing: adaptations sound exciting when announced, but getting from “optioned” to “on your screen” is like traversing Mordor. A bunch of these projects were sunk by COVID and the strikes. And the industry’s obsession with flashy CGI and big budgets means years between seasons, if they happen at all.

Remember when Game of Thrones dropped every year? That rhythm built momentum. Now? You’re lucky if fantasy shows come out before your favorite character dies in real life. (Too dark?)

I still believe there's hope for a fantasy renaissance on TV, but it might take a shift — fewer effects, faster production, and more faith in storytelling over spectacle.

Stay enchanted with all things fantasy screen magic here at Land of Geek Magazine!

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