Brandon Sanderson has officially finished writing his Mistborn movie script

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Published Jul 28, 2026, 1:56 PM EDT

The news coincides with the book’s 20th anniversary

Unlike some fantasy authors, Brandon Sanderson is extremely diligent about updating readers on the progress of his many writing projects. Ever since signing a mega-deal with Apple in January to adapt his Cosmere shared universe, he’s been publicly sharing how much of the screenplay for his first project, Mistborn, he’s written. He kept to his estimated deadline of finishing a first draft in July, announcing on X that he’d finished it just in time to celebrate the book’s 20th anniversary.

Mistborn: The Final Empire kicked off Sanderson’s first trilogy and was also the first book where his ambitions for the Cosmere came to the forefront. Set in a post-apocalyptic world controlled by the immortal tyrant known as the Lord Ruler, the book follows a young criminal named Vin who discovers she has immense magical power. She joins a crew led by an escaped prisoner with the goal of overthrowing the government through a mix of thievery and assassination.

The cover of The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

As the series goes on, Sanderson reveals that the biggest problems afflicting Scadriel are the product of godlike beings known as Shards, who power magic throughout the Cosmere. The conflict between these Shards is at the heart of Sanderson’s epic fantasy series, The Stormlight Archive, which will become a TV show as part of the Apple deal, but that hinges on Mistborn’s success. Sanderson is very aware of this, saying he’s trying to emulate DC studios chief James Gunn by making sure his script is rock solid so that the production can avoid reshoots. He’s also said he’s determined to make sure the film hews as close to his own book as possible, rather than inventing new scenes to compress elements of the plot.

The notoriously productive writer has plenty of other projects in the works. He also recently completed the first book in a new Mistborn trilogy called "Ghostbloods," along with Songrise, the second book in his upcoming sci-fi trilogy co-written with Janci Patterson. His next Cosmere book, The Fires of December, will be released on Dec. 8.

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