Red Rising Movie Confirmed: Pierce Brown's Books Head to Film

A Red Rising movie is finally happening. Paramount Pictures has acquired the film rights to Pierce Brown's science fiction saga, with Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence attached to direct an adaptation of the first novel, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news on 16 October 2026 that the studio had secured the rights to the Red Rising franchise, with Lawrence attached to direct the adaptation of the first novel, also titled Red Rising. Deadline confirmed the report the same day, noting that Paramount had taken on film rights to Pierce Brown's bestselling science fiction series, which has featured on the New York Times list, and had brought in Francis Lawrence to direct a film based on the opening book.

The writing duties have gone to Justin Rhodes, a writer and producer whose previous work includes Terminator: Dark Fate and the Prime Video series Secret Level. Rhodes and Lawrence have worked together before, since the pair most recently teamed up on Netflix's feature film adaptation of the video game BioShock (mensjournal.com).

On the production side, Lawrence and Cameron MacConomy are set to produce the film through about:blank, working alongside Francesco Goedhuis, while Brown himself takes on an executive producer role. Having Brown in the room as executive producer is a reassuring detail for longtime readers, even though the trade reports are clear that creative decisions still rest largely with the studio.

As for when we might actually see it, nobody is saying yet. One outlet covering the announcement confirmed that details such as casting, a release date and a start of production remain unconfirmed for now (sffgazette.com), and that the studio has likewise given no indication of whether further instalments will follow if this first film does well. So there's nothing to pencil into a diary just yet.

It's worth being clear about what this news actually is. It's a film deal, not a book announcement. Bleepia exists to tell you the moment a new book by an author you follow lands on shelves, and a studio picking up film rights doesn't put a single new page in front of you.

What we can tell you is what we already track. Among the Pierce Brown titles on his Bleepia author page are Red Rising itself, Golden Son, Iron Gold, Dark Age and Light Bringer, alongside Morning Star and From a Certain Point of View, a Star Wars anthology entry he contributed to. These are the books we track, and nothing about a Hollywood deal changes the shelf life of any of them.

If Brown announces a new novel, a short story, or any other title with a confirmed date, that's the moment Bleepia will email the people following him. A director attachment at Paramount isn't that moment, however exciting the casting rumours might eventually get.

If the appeal of Red Rising is really about big, high-stakes science fiction, there's plenty already out and already tracked on Bleepia. As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers is one recent science fiction release worth a look if you want something to read while the film news settles.

You can browse the full range of science fiction and fantasy authors we track, along with every other genre, on our authors page.

Film deals move slowly and can change direction without warning. Book releases don't work that way: once a date is confirmed, it happens. If you want to know the instant Pierce Brown's next book is confirmed, follow your authors or create a free account and we'll do the watching for you.