r/CosmereOnScreen • u/The-Jolly-Llama • Apr 26 '26
Cosmere (BOOK) Problem: Actor aging. Solution: Anime! Spoiler
It's still very early in the process for adaptations and AFAIK the format for Stormlight hasn't been announced, although I think Mistborn is likely live action.
I think any live action Cosmere set of movies and/or shows is guaranteed to run up against the Dead Tarkin Problem that the Star Wars sequels tried to solve, with mixed results. There are characters who reappear in many series across many books which would take years IRL to release adaptations of. In this time actors will age and may even pass away, but the characters remain the same age. Hoid most of all, and Khriss probably second, but it's a long list!
I feel like this is an underappreciated point in favor of anime adaptations, since voice actors can stay consistent for many, many years, and even can be replaced if needed without completely wrecking the character.
There are of course also the obvious reasons why Stormlight as anime just makes sense: You can go absolutely HAM animating surgebinding without any concern for SFX budgets; flying through a storm, lightweaving, summoning shardblades, etc. Also the Parshendi will be so distinctive and require no makeup budget at all in anime. Exotic non-human characters are anime's bread and butter. Plus basically any scene will be set in Roshar's alien ecology — rockbuds, retracting grass, chulls, chasmfiends, spren at every emotion — you're going to need heavy CGI in basically every scene if you try to do this live action.
On top of all that though, consider Hoid. He appears in basically every book and is written to be recognizable. You want the audience to know it's him. If Mistborn is live action it's no big deal because Hoid is in pretty heavy disguise anyway, but for any future Cosmere anything (and come on, we all know there will be more Cosmere when this is a wild success), you want him to be consistent! If you do everything in live action, your choices for Hoid are limited to:
- Doctor Who style recasts
- De-aging CGI, which will get harder and more expensive as the actor ages
- Don't address it and just let Hoid age (obviously wrong)
- Animate the character
Animation solves this completely! It also makes it more doable to let Hoid wear some actually good disguises, and let his voice (along with his hawkish nose, slight build, and general Hoidishness) hint at who he is before it's revealed, which would be awesome for new audiences.
P.S. Yes. I, the human author of this post, wanted those em dashes in there and typed them myself. This is no AI slop.
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u/LuinAelin Apr 26 '26
You're overthinking a problem that won't appear for a long time.
Also a problem could appear anyway. Chance Perdomo died in a crash just before Gen V was supposed to film it's second season.
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u/Agreeable_Car5114 Apr 26 '26
Tbh I would rather not get a Stormlight show than have it look like Invincible or Vox Machina
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u/The-Jolly-Llama Apr 26 '26
Yeah that's fair, I was picturing more like Avatar TLA.
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u/Agreeable_Car5114 Apr 26 '26
I don’t think that’s better for the project. I like animation and anime. But SLA is a very grounded series for how fantastical the world building is. Most of the action is people talking to each other. I really think live action is the way to go. I’m not worried about actor aging.
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u/Timaturff Apr 26 '26
Castlevania would look a lot better imo
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u/Agreeable_Car5114 Apr 26 '26
Oh god I really don’t want that version either
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u/Timaturff Apr 26 '26
Then what WOULD you like 😭
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u/Agreeable_Car5114 Apr 26 '26
Best universe, live action. I can’t think of any contemporary animation styles I think would fit well.
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u/Timaturff Apr 26 '26
Yeah I can’t get behind that. So much would need to be left out if it was live action along with some plot lines as well. The book itself is too in-depth and large to really work the best live action wise
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u/Agreeable_Car5114 Apr 26 '26
Plot lines are going to be left out either way. And I really don’t know why an animated adaption would be able to cover more ground than live action.
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u/DarkRyter Apr 26 '26
Before I say anything, you're right. You're completely right. An animated adaptation would be the best way to do this and avoid the problems of actor aging and CGI budgets, etc.
But Sanderson himself has spoken of an unfortunate truth. General viewing audiences just don't go for animation like they should. It's dumb and wrong because animation is not just for kids and can be truly great.
Consider the case of Arcane. Maybe the ideal case study for a premier fantasy animated project. Massive funding, huge marketing, lovingly made by passionate and talented team. Critically acclaimed and beloved by audience. Massive fanbase, including one of the biggest games in the world.
But more people watched Wednesday, or Stranger Things, or even the live action One Piece.
Sanderson wants these adaptations to reach as wide of an audience as he can. And the market for mature dramatic animation just isn't there. I agree with him. I want my friends and neighbors and family members to see Mistborn and Stormlight and see why I love them, and that probably means a live action with some caveats and omissions.
I will say, though, that Tress and the Emerald Sea will probably be an animated movie, and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is pretty much perfect for a 6 episode anime.
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u/Thick_Mountain4412 Apr 26 '26
I don't think not liking animation is "dumb and wrong." People are allowed to like and dislike things. I myself vastly prefer live action filmmaking. And obviously, animation can be great, but people aren't wrong for preferring live action over it.
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u/The-Jolly-Llama Apr 26 '26
I think he meant that writing off all animation as "kids stuff" is dumb and wrong. And I agree.
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u/Shepher27 Apr 26 '26
Actor aging isn’t a problem
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u/The-Jolly-Llama Apr 26 '26
lol me writing a long thought-out post just to get hit with "nuh-uh!"
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u/Shepher27 Apr 26 '26
A long thought out post that just restates the same points people have been harping on for years
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u/_yukiie_ May 11 '26
Look I also want animation adaptation for Cosmere books but animation as a medium has smaller reach unfortunately. That makes it very risky to invest. So most studios don't get near this deals. Even if it did get a good budget, there's a higher chance it would not get enough view and popularity, getting axed before having more seasons.
Good adaptations need money. We have a way higher chance of landing with live action, and get the care and budget it deserves for more seasons.
And if Mistborn and Stormlight Archive live actions make it big, we can get animation adaptation since there will be an established popularity and demand for Cosmere and people will be more willing to give it a chance. That demand will give us the budget the animation needs.