Pierce Brown has finally confirmed that the long-rumored Red Rising television adaptation is officially dead. But before fans retreat to the mines of Lykos in despair, the author dropped a hint that something else may be brewing.
Speaking with book content creator Maude Garrett earlier this month, Brown pulled no punches about the fate of the previous project. When asked about the TV show currently making rounds online, he said: "The thing that's online is a corpse."
Since Red Rising first hooked readers in 2014 with its tale of a Martian miner infiltrating the ruling Gold class, the path to adaptation has been littered with obstacles. Universal Studios initially grabbed film rights between 2014-2016, only for Brown to reclaim them after creative differences.
A pivot toward television between 2018-2021 seemed promising, with whispers of a massive $120-200 million budget and interest from a major streamer, widely speculated to be Apple TV+.
But Hollywood's development process proved as unforgiving as the Institute's trials.
Pierce Brown explains why the Red Rising TV show is not happening
Brown explained why he has been hesitant to trumpet development news. He pointed to the industry's brutal reality check for authors and fans.
"I just see so many announcements that something's been optioned and everyone acts like there's a movie, and then everyone has this... I'd call it a slow apocalypse when they find out it's not being made," Brown said.
His advice? Assume nothing until it's actually happening.
Despite years in development, the studio ultimately couldn't reach a comfort level with the project. "Unfortunately, we just couldn't get it to the place where they felt confident," Brown revealed.
Brown learned of the decision to axe Red Rising last October
Brown also shared that he only learned the project was scrapped in October 2025, after years of being "kept in limbo" without clear answers.
"I only found out in October of last year that the project wouldn't be going forward," he said. "You're kept in limbo. And so, you know, it's not like I'm hoarding all this information and not wanting to tell you. It's that for many years there can be no movement and you're trying to get it made, and then you think you have a partner and then you don't."
New Red Rising project teased
Here's where things get interesting. Brown hinted he might "be able to announce something new" regarding a live-action adaptatio,n specifically noting it's "not that TV show."
When Garrett observed that the timeline seemed suspiciously quick, from the show option releasing in October to a new project already in the works, she posed a theory: "What that tells me is that someone was absolutely standing by and ready for it to be available so that they could grab it."
Brown's response? A smile and simple confirmation: "Truth to that."
He elaborated, saying: "You can just not have the right home or the right person or the right executive who has a vision of your project, and then you find the right home."
It seems the IP didn't stay cold for long and Brown believes he has found partners who actually understand what Red Rising should be.
While Brown didn't name names, circumstantial evidence points toward Apple TV+ as the previous suitor. The streamer's recent pivot to Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere universe securing both Mistborn and Stormlight Archive with unprecedented creative control for the author, might explain the sudden lack of confidence in Red Rising.
Brown's "dinner on the table" approach means fans shouldn't expect premature announcements. But his confirmation that someone was waiting in the wings suggests movement for a new Red Rising screen adaptation is already happening behind closed doors.