The Kingkiller Chronicle TV show is “a code that’s waiting to be cracked”

The TV version of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle books has stalled, with producer Lin-Manuel Miranda giving fans a not-so-happy update.

Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle books are very popular among fantasy fans, but their screen adaptations are stalled. We haven’t heard anything about the movies in a while. On TV, Showtime was set to go forward with a prequel series, but has since passed on the idea. Lionsgate is now shopping it around to other networks.

Lionsgate hired Hamilton creator Lin-Manual Miranda to help develop the TV show. The Kingkiller Chronicle has a lot of music in it, so this makes sense. He’s still attached, and gave fans a new update while talking to Entertainment Weekly.

If you’re looking for good news, however, you won’t find it. “It’s still a code that’s waiting to be cracked,” Miranda said of the TV show. At least Miranda’s role on Lee Scoresby in HBO’s His Dark Materials is getting him to look at Kingkiller with fresh eyes.

"I’ve gained new perspective on it, having been able to be a part of this other fantasy franchise and seeing how, ‘Oh man, we did eight hours of story and we still didn’t get all of the first book in there. What hope does a movie have?!’ The answer is none. The real answer is a director and a script with a vision, that is a different thing [than the book] because you can’t get all of Pat’s incredible book into one movie, and I don’t know if you can get it into one series. But it is an incredible world worth exploring, but it hasn’t been cracked yet."

Hopefully he can crack that code soon.

He’s right that the Kingkiller books would be difficult to cram into a movie. The first book, The Name of the Wind, is almost 250,000 words long. The second book, The Wise Man’s Fear, is even longer.

And as we mentioned, the TV show isn’t an adaptation of the books; it’s a prequel set a generation before lead character Kvothe arrives on the scene. Our best guest is that it’s about Kvothe’s parents, a pair of traveling musicians.

I suppose patience is key while waiting for these adaptations, but for a lot of fans, patience is running out. A lot of fans have also grown impatient with the wait for the third (and presumably final) book in the series, The Doors of Stone. Fingers crossed that it comes out sooner than later, and that the show finds a home.

You can watch Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby in His Dark Materials season 2, which is airing now. In addition to that, he’s also writing the music for Disney’s upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid movie. He’s clearly a busy guy, but at least The Kingkiller Chronicle is still a part of his plans.

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