Pierce Brown's Red Rising is among the most beloved sci-fi series of the past decade. The series, which began with the first novel in 2014, has a devoted fanbase known as "Howlers" and a reputation for going to darker, more ambitious places than popular comparisons to The Hunger Games would suggest.
Getting it to screen in a way that honors what makes it special has been something Brown has been working toward for years, through a failed Universal deal and multiple television development cycles. Now, Paramount has acquired the film rights and Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence attached to direct.
The day after the Paramount announcement, Brown was in Birmingham for a Waterstones event alongside fantasy author Joe Abercrombie at Gas Street Central. He had already responded to the news on Instagram with a battle cry from the books, writing: "LET FALL THE IRON RAIN. bloodydamn love this team."
In Birmingham, he opened up about the years of work behind the deal, as well as his special connection with the creative team and Francis Lawrence in particular.
Pierce Brown says the Red Rising creative team has "felt like a family for longer than is typical in Hollywood"
One of the things Brown was most clear about is that this is not a situation where a studio acquired a property and assembled a creative team. The relationships that make up this project, the author revealed, go back a long time.
"Things are going well. We are making an effort to make a movie. A lot of the work behind the scenes — even getting the arrangements made, the relationships developed, and even the right people found — is a long journey. And I’m very fortunate to be working with a director who I’ve been attempting to create the right set of circumstances with to develop a film for Red Rising for many, many years," he said.
He was equally warm about Francis Lawrence on a personal level and shared something that will land well with fans of the series: "He is a dyed-in-the-wool Howler. He calls himself a Howler."
Brown was also enthusiastic about screenwriter Justin Rhodes and gave the audience a glimpse into their working dynamic.
"I'm very, very honored to work with his team and his producers who are also on speed dials. Some of my good, good friends. And also working with Justin, who's a tremendous writer," he said, before adding with some amusement: "He has a sense of organization that I fundamentally don't have. And so, he's like, 'So is there an outline, you know, for the whole series?' I'm like, 'No. I have sticky notes.' And I'm also like, 'Don't be lazy. Read them all,' you know?"
On the team as a whole Brown said: "I couldn't be happier because the team that we have put together has felt like a family for longer than is typical in Hollywood."
The Paramount deal also brings to a close a period of uncertainty. In a March 2026 interview with Maude Garrett, Pierce Brown confirmed that a television development deal he had never officially announced was no longer moving forward, and hinted that something new was coming.
"I did have a TV show in development, we had not announced it," he said at the time. "Unfortunately we just couldn't get it to a place where they felt confident. The fortunate thing is I think I'll be able to announce something new that I have with regard to the live action adaptation, which is not that TV show. The thing that's online is a corpse."
The Paramount film announcement seven months later was that something new.
Now hearing Brown say that he has been working with the creative team for such a long time on the Red Rising adaptation gives us fans new hope. Hail, Reaper!
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