Sony Films Secures Rights To James Islington’s Hierarchy Series

“Sony Pictures made a big splash today to bolster its future catalogue. Landing the film rights to James Islington’s Hierarchy series, with the second book in the series just releasing on November 11 in the U.S. The first book, titled The Will of the Many, was released in 2023, and the second book, The Strength of the Few, debuted at the top slot of the New York Times’ best sellers.

Simon & Schuster is the publishing company behind Islington’s releases, specifically the Saga Press division. While it is still early days for any future project and no producers or filmmaker is attached, Peter Kang and Louie Provost have been tapped to oversee the project. This is a big get for Sony, as the second book in the trilogy also debuted number one in Canada and is at the top of the charts in the U.K. and Australia. Islington’s breakout as a writer came in the form of the Licanius trilogy. He self-published the first book in the series, and was subsequently picked up by publishing company Orbit Ltd. for the second and third installments. His 2023 release, The Will of the Many, has been rated by 170,000 people on Goodreads; 120,000 of those reviewers gave it 5 stars, and it has also received serious recognition for various awards. He secured the 2023 Aurealis Award, which is an Australian-based award that recognizes excellence in the broad fantasy genre. As things stand, Islington has sold north of 2.5 million books, and said books have been translated into seventeen languages.

Sony now has the rights to develop films based on Islington’s Hierarchy world, and Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter detailed what they’ll be working with. “Set in a Roman Empire-style civilization but infused with magic, the Hierarchy series follows Vis, a young man hiding a life-threatening secret, as he’s forced to investigate a death while also infiltrating the all-powerful regime that feeds on the mental and physical energy, dubbed the Will, of the masses. Vis uncovers conspiracies that pull him into a rebellion that could upend the world order. What began as a mission of survival becomes a sweeping fight against a world built on exploitation, where loyalty, power and truth are all weaponized.”

Not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, awesome that more people will be exposed to this fantastic series. On the other hand, the story’s way too dense and would be more suited to a 15-episode season on HBO Max, Apple TV etc.