Cosmere fans, rejoice! At long last, Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe will be officially coming to both big and small screens courtesy of Apple TV. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal will adapt his most popular Mistborn (Era 1) and Stormlight Archive book series into film and television series, respectively, with Sanderson himself set to “write, produce, and consult” on the projects.
As a big fan of Brandon Sanderson and his works, (check out my reviews of both the Cosmere TTRPG and Mistborn deck building card game), I thought I would put together a short little helper guide for any of you out there that want to get a jump on the stories and characters that will soon be jumping out of your screens.
If once you finish these books and find yourself chomping at the bit for more, check out our full reading guide on The Cosmere to figure out where to go next!
Mistborn - Era 1
Mistborn and its metal-burning allomancers will be the first of the Cosmere works to coin-push their way from the pages and onto the screen in the form of films. Along with the Stormlight Archive’s world of Roshar, Mistborn’s Scadriel forms what could be considered the backbone of the entire universe-spanning story that Sanderson has been weaving together for the past two decades. The world of Scadrial is told over the course of multiple Eras, with only the first set of books, referred to as “Era 1” being the focus of the first film.
Mistborn (Era 1) follows Vin, a thief with the ability to use Allomancy, Scadrial’s special type of magic, which allows a person to burn specific metals for various effects. We don’t know just yet if Apple and Brandon will attempt to condense into a single film the entire Vin saga (I highly doubt it), but here is what you should check out beforehand.
The Books
Besides being perhaps the best jumping-in point for the whole Cosmere, Mistborn Era 1 consists of three main books, starting with Mistborn: The Final Empire. These should all be read in order, but they will provide a great idea of the sort of quality and creative magic systems you can expect in the rest of the Cosmere.
- Mistborn: The Final Empire
- The Well of Ascension
- The Hero of Ages
Other stuff:
While we have no idea just what will be covered in the film (Brandon has said that he is taking the next six months to work on its screenplay), there is a good bit of supplemental material focused around Mistborn you can enjoy as well. It’s advised to read them only after completing the trilogy. There is also a really fun deck-building card game, Mistborn: The Deck-Building Game, that lets you and your friends fight against the antagonist of the books or against each other, which has an expansion releasing this year.
- The Eleventh Metal (Arcanum Unbounded)
- Mistborn: Secret History (Arcanum Unbounded - READ AFTER HERO OF AGES)
- Mistborn: The Deck-building game
The Stormlight Archive
Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king. Taking place on the world of Roshar, readers are dropped into the middle of a decades-long war between the Parshendi who inhabit the Shattered Plains and the Alethi from the kingdom of Alethkar.. A powerful storm known as the Everstorm endlessly circles the planet, bringing with it precious Stormlight which powers the magic and devices of the land. With immortal champions known as the Heralds holding back the tide of evil from engulfing their world, this world and its champions and the heroes who rise up may just turn out to be some of the most important people in all of The Cosmere.
The Stormlight Archive is what the television series will be based off of, but to what extent remains a mystery still. As someone who has read the books, it’s hard to imagine that each book will only be a single season, but regardless of what is decided, here are the books you will want to read to make sure you’re ready when the show is released!
The Books
The Stormlight Archive is Sanderson’s giant epic fantasy series and will be the focus of the television series in the deal made with Apple. The fifth book, and conclusion to the first arc of the Stormlight Archive, released in December of 2024 with the sixth book not expected until 2031 (seriously). With most of the books surpassing 1000 pages, tackling these books is a quest in itself, and much like Mistborn, they should be read sequentially.
- The Way of Kings
- Words of Radiance
- Oathbringer
- Rhythm of War
- Wind and Truth
Other stuff:
Much like Mistborn, Brandon has written small short stories and novellas that further flesh out Roshar and some of the characters within the Stormlight Archive. As the first one, Edgedancer, doesn’t take place until between the second and third books, it will probably be quite some time yet before their influence or details are incorporated into the show. Regardless, for Cosmere fans, these are still great reads and are worth your time.
- Edgedancer (Found inside the Arcanum Unbounded collection)
- Dawnshard (Novella)
Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/brandon-sanderson-books-to-read-before-the-cosmere-comes-to-apple-tv