With all the post-Game of Thrones fantasy adaptations jostling for a seat on Peak TV’s Iron Throne, you’d think network creatives would be all over Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicles. While Lionsgate Television does have a live-action series in the works, it’s a prequel set a “generation” before The Name of the Wind, not a direct adaptation. Showtime reportedly passed on the series in September, leaving the team (which includes Lin-Manuel Miranda and Rothfuss himself as executive producers) shopping it around to different networks.
After stumbling upon one fan-made film on YouTube, however, we got an idea: maybe what the books really need is a beautifully animated series in the vein of Netflix’s The Dragon Prince.
Created by artist and animator Ethan Becker and voiced by Nick Podehl, the short film adapts a a scene from book 1, The Name of the Wind. Although the clip is less than 4 minutes long and is more of a rough mock-up than a final draft, it really shows the potential for an animated Kingkiller Chronicles series!
Becker explains how he made the film here. Someone put him in touch with Netflix!