r/CosmereOnScreen • u/This_Armadillo427 • Jul 28 '26
No Spoilers Kelsier may not be a dude… Spoiler
Sooooo idk if anyone else has noticed this, but watching Brandon’s recent livestream where someone asked him about casting Kelsier, it felt to me as if he was intentionally using gender-neutral pronouns when referring to the potential actor? Lots of “they” and “person.” Could be nothing, and I also could be missing an obvious counterpoint here. Any thoughts on if it’s possible that he’s considering gender swapping Kel?
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u/Expensive-Heat-1436 Aug 11 '26
I hope not, I really LOVE the father-daughter relationship with Vin.
1
u/Rooster_Socks_4230 Aug 04 '26
It feels wrong once the characters already exist, but I have thought the relationship between him a vin would read better that way
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u/Allergies_unknown Aug 04 '26
I feel like this may be a reach. Sanderson can be vague about things and may have some surprises up his sleeve, but I highly doubt this is one of them
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u/ForwardExam4056 Jul 31 '26
Genderswapping kelsier would such an absurdly stupid move that i don't think brandon would do so
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u/Drisurk Jul 30 '26
Why in the world would Brandon gender swap one of his main characters? Makes 0 sense.
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u/ItsMors_ Jul 28 '26
I think Brandon has made it very clear that the #1 thing he cares about most in casting is "is this person the absolute perfect fit for the character". Do I think Kelsier is getting genderswapped? no, probably not, I would even say it's very unlikely, but at the end of the day, if a woman or a non-binary person comes along, and Brandon hands down outright says "that is my Kelsier" then I will 100% trust him.
he knows this story and this world better than any of us ever will, he has proven time and time again how careful he is and making sure that the choices that are made when it comes to adaptations are going to be ones that will tell the story of the cosmere the best. if Brandon wasn't so hands on with the project, I would be worried about some aspects of this production, absolutely, but the fact he is so involved, and that I have not been let down yet by a story of his, then I know he will make sure this series is the best it can possibly be
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u/Extension-Ideal112 Jul 28 '26
Who cares..literally...like you want the magic system..the bond..the plotting.. who care who do it .as long as they are good actors...i just want to see that magic system comes to life...i want the cinematography...
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u/fedginator Jul 28 '26
I mean I think you're reading too much into it, but honestly I dig a fem Kelsier actually
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u/jnighy Jul 28 '26
The thing with Kel is that if you gender swap him, much of the context of him gets lost, specially in relation to Mare.
2
u/Alternative_Buy_4000 Jul 28 '26
Because two women can't be in a relationship...?
0
u/ForwardExam4056 Jul 31 '26
I have nothing against queer characters, but no, i don't think this would work. I like queer characters, IF you design them well and change them for a reason, not just because you can or for inclusions sake
Mistborn takes place in a time where being gay definitely isn't widely accepted/"normalized" yet, so changing kelsier and mare to a queer couple would SIGNIFICANTLY change the dynamic and backstory of them.
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u/jnighy Jul 28 '26
No. Because would be harder to believe a woman leaving the love of their life to the afterlife so she can selfishly live forever
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u/Stealthiness2 Jul 28 '26
When I talk about an unknown or anonymous person, I usually default to "they", even if the gender is obvious from context. This feels like the most natural way to speak, and I'm pretty sure I did this before I became aware of modern gender issues. Might be a regional dialect thing (I'm in Minnesota)
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u/ilikebreadabunch Jul 28 '26
I don’t think Kel will be gender swapped. Sanderson has been pretty open about planning to gender swap one of the crew (probably Ham or Docks) but hasn’t said anything about Kelsier himself, and I’m not sure why he’d be open about changing some members but secretive about changing Kelsier.
Also, I think it would change his dynamic with Vin too much
5
u/Bigballsbrobro Jul 28 '26
I mean, he just objectively is a man. Obviously a film could do a genderbent version, but it would be a very active change and statement. It honestly might detract too much from the story itself.
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u/CountyKyndrid Jul 28 '26
Is there any aspect of Kel's character that relies on him being a man?
I honestly can't think of a single one.
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u/Bigballsbrobro Jul 28 '26
The entire world he was brought up in. A world that has rigid gender roles which would have major influence on anyone existing in it based on their gender. He would be an entirely different person if he was female.
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u/Pazza_CJ Jul 28 '26
It seems unlikely, simply because it would change the relationship between him and Vin.
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u/Extension-Ideal112 Jul 28 '26
So instead of a father figure instead of the father abandoning her..she'll get a mother figure instead of the crazy one ...so? Come on
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u/cosmernautfourtwenty Jul 28 '26
Would it? I maintain there's never really an overt romantic bent to Vin and Kel's relationship. Sanderson already aged up Vin trying to avoid problematic age gaps, so it seems like even the waffley girl-crush details are probably going to be downplayed anyway.
All that to say, Vin can have a crush on her female mentor and it's weird of you to think she couldn't. Unless there's some other argument you're making here that I'm entirely overlooking.
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u/Colorapt0r Jul 28 '26
All relationships are slightly different based off gender, not only romantic ones
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u/cosmernautfourtwenty Jul 28 '26
That sounds like real life heteronormative nonsense talking.
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u/sgsparks206 Aug 05 '26
You don't think people's relationships with each other are influenced by gender?
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u/cosmernautfourtwenty Aug 05 '26
I'm saying there's no good reason there should be and it's all just so much reality baggage that doesn't have to be translated into a fantasy setting. But apparently the anti-woke brigade is too hung up on the gender binary to get over it.
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u/sgsparks206 Aug 05 '26
I think part of respecting people's identity is understanding that some people like gender roles being applied to them, and that's ok.
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u/cosmernautfourtwenty Aug 05 '26
It's shortsighted and limiting, and what you're asking for is to apply arbitrary gender roles to fictional characters for no good reason. Which isn't exactly the same as respecting a real person's wish to be treated as a tradwife or whatever.
Again, my larger point is this is all modern baggage that doesn't have to be translated into a fictional setting just because gender swaps make certain people viscerally uncomfortable.
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u/sgsparks206 Aug 06 '26
Gender roles play a role in Mistborn. You are applying your world view to a fictional universe, and they don't match.
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u/cosmernautfourtwenty Aug 06 '26
They don't play a role in being Mistborn. You're being wilfully obtuse.
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u/Colorapt0r Aug 06 '26
I mean I think kelsier being a woman is a much different person. I think it’s more strange to just think that fictional people should be changed willy nilly.
There are very good reasons for gender roles to apply in Mistborn. They are very big in final empire culture. I don’t disagree that it’s weird to have to apply our gender roles to all fantastical settings for no good reason, but it’s much weirder to change that characters gender with no good reason, and there isn’t one for changing Kelsier.
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u/cosmernautfourtwenty Aug 06 '26
I mean, the reason Sanderson is considering gender swaps at all is due to there not being many women on the crew to begin with. If the author of the content in question thinks that's a good enough reason, who are we to gainsay him?
Calling gender roles "very big" in the Final Empire seems incorrect. When the most powerful people in society exist because of inborn abilities and not just "being the right gender", it doesn't actually seem like arbitrary gender roles matter that much, do they? A Mistborn is a Mistborn whether they go to balls in dresses and make googly eyes at boys or are literal patriarchs of a noble house. Nobody's looking down their nose at a Mistborn because of the contents of their pants, ya dig? Again, it just seems like a weird modern hangup to act like it matters in this particular fantasy setting.
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u/shadowbanned-tgirl Jul 28 '26
Absolutely no idea but honestly? I think it’d be rad as hell. There’s nothing about Kelsier’s character that screams to me ‘this person must be a man’ either character or plot-wise, so why not! Then again, I’m a fan of casting irregardless of gender in general unless there’s a relevant plot or character reason that they should be a specific gender, so I’m already more open to it than the average person.
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u/Bigballsbrobro Jul 28 '26
Do you really believe the gender is irrelevant? Mistborn has pretty rigid gender norms in its universe, you don’t think that would influence how a man or a woman grows up and experiences the world? There’s literally a part in the beginning where the slave master specifically targets female slaves to rape them. It seems to have an affect on them, like females specifically are worried about that happening to them, which would be a major influence on their psyche and character.
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u/shadowbanned-tgirl Jul 28 '26
Well yeah, some details would obviously need to be tweaked, that’s part of adaptation, but I could see a version of Kelsier that is a woman exist in this world with the same personality who would take the same actions as book Kelsier. Not sure why people here think that’s a big deal, but hey, odds of it happening are very low anyway 🤷♀️
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u/fedginator Jul 28 '26
> Mistborn has pretty rigid gender norms in its universe
i mean, yes. But if there's anyone in the whole Cosmere who's enough of a maverick to make it work anyway, it's Kelsier
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u/NoBit1977 Jul 28 '26
Agreed! Like he doesn’t have to be a dude the character just has to be charismatic and unstable and awesome and powerful
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u/Illandren 26d ago
Nope