Lin-Manuel Miranda Has The 'Real Answer' To Solve The The Kingkiller Chronicle Adaptation Dilemma

Patrick Rothfuss's "The Kingkiller Chronicle" burst into the fantasy scene in 2007 with "The Name of the Wind," cementing its spot as a top-tier fantasy novel. The series follows Kvothe, a magician whose tragic past and natural talent with the arcane led him to become the world's most-renowned wizard, the Kingslayer. Since the first book's release, Rothfuss released a second equally-successful novel, "The Wise Man's Fear," in 2011 and promised a third, though he has not given any significant update since, leaving the series's future up in the air.

However, the success of the first two "Kingkiller Chronicle" books was more than enough to get the attention of major Hollywood studios, hoping to make it the next "Game of Thrones." Even though Rothfuss has reservations regarding a potential live-action adaptation, it hasn't stopped him from partnering with studios. Deadline reported his first partnership for a TV series with 20th Century Fox, but production delays wound up reverting the rights to the author. Rothfuss then took to his blog to announce a second deal with Lionsgate to tell his story across TV, film, and video games.

Miranda believed that he had the answer studios have been searching for regarding a potential "Kingkiller Chronicles" adaptation, a lesson he learned from his time on "His Dark Materials."

Lin-Manuel Miranda's time playing Lee Scoresby on HBO's "His Dark Materials" showed him the up-hill battle that comes with adapting a best-selling fantasy series for the small screen. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said, "I've gained new perspective on it, having been able to be a part of this other fantasy franchise and seeing how, 'Oh man, we did eight hours of story and we still didn't get all of the first book in there. What hope does a movie have?!' The answer is none. The real answer is a director and a script with a vision, that is a different thing [than the book] because you can't get all of Pat's incredible book into one movie, and I don't know if you can get it into one series."

Miranda has been a longtime fan of the "Kingkiller Chronicle," leading him to sign on to the project once Lionsgate began working on the adaptation. The actor had high praise for Patrick Rothfuss's work, stating it's a story he constantly finds himself coming back to reread. In the novels, Kvothe was a bard long before a wizard, and Miranda thinks Rothfuss writes about making music unlike anyone else in the industry (via The Wrap).

Unfortunately, things have changed since Miranda signed on. He confirmed to Variety in 2022 that he was no longer part of the project. Hopefully, it's not because the studio wanted to fast-track the project, as Miranda understood that "The Kingkiller Chronicle" needs time and resources to deliver a story equal to the books.