Paramount Moves Forward on Red Rising With Francis Lawrence to Direct

Overview

• Paramount acquired the film rights and attached Francis Lawrence to direct a feature adaptation of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising on Friday, according to multiple industry reports.
• Justin Rhodes is set to write the screenplay while Lawrence will produce through his about.blank banner with Cameron MacConomy and Francesco Goedhuis, and Pierce Brown will serve as an executive producer.
• The project is in early development with no cast, production schedule, or release date announced and the studio’s deal presently covers only the first novel.
• Observers note strong franchise intent given Lawrence’s track record with dystopian adaptations but warn the Mars setting, Roman-inflected worldbuilding, and large character cast make the story hard to compress into a single film.
• Red Rising previously saw stalled feature and TV attempts at other studios, and Paramount’s next milestones to watch are casting announcements, a production start date, and whether the first film’s reception leads to adaptations of the remaining books.