The creator of Hamilton hasn’t exactly been lazing around since he gave his last performance as the title character in the hit Broadway show in July — since then, Lin-Manuel Miranda has been paired with songwriter Alan Menken to write original music for Disney’s upcoming live adaptation of The Little Mermaid; seen the release of Disney’s Moana, for which he co-wrote the soundtrack; and took over an episode of Comedy Central’s Drunk History, slurring his way through the story of — who else — Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
Now, the winner of a Pulitzer, an Emmy, two Grammys, three Tonys, and a MacArthur “Genius Grant” has his next project: An adaptation of the fantasy novel series The Kingkiller Chronicle, by the American author Patrick Rothfuss, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Miranda will work alongside Rothfuss to adapt the books for Lionsgate, which plans to produce both a feature film and a TV series that will reportedly expand on the material from the books.
Fantasy novels have long provided fodder for films, but the enormous success of HBO’s Game of Thrones, which has steadily attracted more viewers as the seasons progress, seems to have studios scrambling to find the next sprawling series that comes with a built-in audience. Starz’s Outlander, based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, has also made a successful transition from page to screen since it premiered in 2014 — and has become the network’s flagship show.
The Kingkiller Chronicle tells the story of the life of Kvothe, a one-time adventurer, scholar, and musician who’s working as a humble groundskeeper. The story is split between Kvothe’s present-day recounting of his exploits to one Devan Lochees, known as the Chronicler, and the events themselves. Of course, he
encounters a world of fantastical beings along the way. The structure of the books adds another element — how much of Kvothe’s story is true? To what extent can we trust this narrator?
The Kingkiller Chronicle is a popular but relatively new phenomenon. Rothfuss spent nearly a decade writing the first book, The Name of the Wind, which came out in 2007 and won a Publisher’s Weekly award and a Quill Award in the fantasy/horror category. He followed it up with The Wise Man’s Fear in 2011, which debuted at the top of the New York Times Bestseller list. The third book, which has the working title The Doors of Stone, has yet to be released. And Miranda isn’t the only Kingkiller obsessive — Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin himself is a fan.