Rena Barron’s YA fantasy Kingdom of Souls is going to be a movie! Deadline has reported that Michael B. Jordan and his Warner Bros. production company, Outlier Society, will be adapting.
Here’s the official synopsis of the novel, which is the first book in a planned trilogy:
Born into a family of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. But each year she fails to call forth her ancestral powers, while her ambitious mother watches with growing disapproval.
There’s only one thing Arrah hasn’t tried, a deadly last resort: trading years of her own life for scraps of magic. Until the Kingdom’s children begin to disappear, and Arrah is desperate to find the culprit.
She uncovers something worse. The long-imprisoned Demon King is stirring. And if he rises, his hunger for souls will bring the world to its knees… unless Arrah pays the price for the magic to stop him.
Kingdom of Souls has a pretty remarkable publication background. According to Barron’s bio on the book’s official website, she spent 10 years querying before entering online mentorship program Pitch Wars in 2017, which led to tons of agent offers (more than any novel the service ever had, according to Deadline), and a “heated auction.”
The author celebrated the news on Twitter, writing, “I have been pursuing publication for 12 years, y’all. Now I have a book out & this news is icing on the cake.”
NEWS! Warner Bros. & Michael B. Jordan (@michaelb4jordan) optioned film rights for KINGDOM OF SOULS with Misan Sagay writing the screenplay!
I have been pursuing publication for 12 years, y'all. Now I have a book out & this news is icing on the cake.https://t.co/B1FszrhFut
— Rena Barron – Kingdom of Souls is here! (Hiatus) (@renathedreamer) September 18, 2019
According to Deadline, Jordan is producing alongside Alana Mayo and Pouya Shahbazian, with Misan Sagay writing the screenplay. You can read our review of Barron’s novel here and her essay on drawing inspiration from black magic here!
