The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Warner Brothers Pictures bought the rights to Terry Brooks’s “Shannara” series, and is looking to make movies based on them. The studio thinks the second book in the series, The Elfstones of Shannara, is the one most likely to start the film series.
The first book in the series, The Sword of Shannara, was published by Random House in 1977. It was the first fantasy novel to appear on, and then to top, the New York Times bestseller list. Brooks’s web site discusses the more than fourteen books in the series, as well as plans for future titles.
According to Variety, the series has never been optioned for film treatment because Brooks has avoided it. “That was until the fanboy enthusiasm of [Dan] Farah and co-producer Ryan Colucci wore him down.”
“The books are packed with adventures and epic battles that will play great on the bigscreen, but what I love most about the series is that it’s set in our world and what could be our future,” said Farah, will serve as executive producer.
Brooks’s agent for the deal is Anne Sibbald of Janklow & Nesbit Associates.