Paramount Pictures has acquired the film rights to Pierce Brown s Red Rising series, with Francis Lawrence set to direct an adaptation of the first novel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The announcement, reported October 16, ends years of development limbo for one of sci-fi s most popular unproduced properties.
Red Rising, published in 2014, follows Darrow, a low-caste miner on Mars who discovers that his society s color-coded hierarchy is a lie. After being secretly remade to infiltrate the ruling Gold class, he becomes a weapon for a rebellion he was never supposed to lead. The series has sold over six million copies across six books, with a seventh installment still forthcoming.
The script is being written by Justin Rhodes, whose credits include Terminator: Dark Fate. Rhodes previously collaborated with Lawrence on a long-in-development BioShock adaptation at Netflix. Producers are Lawrence, Cameron MacConomy, and Francesco Goedhuis. Brown is attached as executive producer. Brown responded to the announcement on Instagram: "Let fall the iron rain. Bloodydamn, I love this team."
Universal Pictures once held the rights to a feature adaptation, and a series was reportedly considered in the late 2010s. Neither progressed. Paramount s acquisition marks the first time the project has found institutional footing. No cast, release date, or production start has been announced. Lawrence s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters November 20.
