Kait Mae

With Hulu set to adapt Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses and the future of a Throne of Glass adaptation unknown at this point – pretty sure it’s never going to happen – I’m putting myself to the task of creating a hypothetical show based on the books. From how I’d break down the books to who I can see being cast, I have so many ideas that if given the chance, I would do this series justice.

SPOILER ALERT: I don’t go into too many details, but you might find a few spoilers if you haven’t read the books yet.

‘Throne of Glass’ Only Works as a Show

If I could adapt the entire series – ‘The Assassin’s Blade’ to ‘Kingdom of Ash’ – I would make it a live-action show. Throne of Glass to Queen of Shadows would be one season each (about 13-20 episodes each).

Then, Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn would be combined into two seasons. I would take each part one from both books and combine that into season five; the second parts would make up season six. Following that, Kingdom of Ash would be the final season. (And yes, if I were adapting it, the show would end much better than Game of Thrones did.)

I also just found out there are deleted scenes from some of the books floating around the internet. And I can personally say I would include those in a screen adaptation because they add some insight that you wouldn’t get otherwise.

I recently re-read the series just to mark down where I would divide chapters and scenes into episodes; I don’t think I’ll go back to the way I read before. It got me on a roll, so watch for a ‘How I Would Adapt’ series on this blog.

What About the Prequels?

Now, you might be wondering why I didn’t include the prequels. That’s because I would take each story in The Assassin’s Blade and intersperse them throughout the first few seasons as short films.

Each of the stories is so full of detail that doing it any other way – like adding it as episodes within some of the seasons – wouldn’t make sense or do them justice.

As for when these would be filmed, I’d have all of them filmed either right before or during the same time as filming the first season. Filming them all at once would be a great choice because it means the look of Celaena and other characters would stay in line with how they look in the show.

Read More: How I Would Adapt ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’

What Would the Show Look Like?

Before I get into casting, let’s get into vibes and what the show itself would feel like. I see it as a Game of Thrones-esque show that switches between storylines as the show progresses past the first show, much like the books do. Even more so, each kingdom would have a distinct inspiration from real-life countries like GoT did.

Based on the description of Eyllwe in the books, I would base the entire kingdom on various African countries. Adarlan, on the other hand, seems so European and England-inspired to me that I would go the basic fantasy route and follow suit in the show.

Terrasen itself always radiated Scottish and Irish inspiration to me. When Aelin sings a song for Nehemia in Crown of Midnight, I immediately thought of Celtic songs, so that’s what I would base Terrasen on for the show.

For the Khaganate, I would take inspiration from Indian and Egyptian cultures to create the melting pot of a kingdom. Wendlyn and Doranelle are similar to Adarlan and Terrasen in various ways, so I could combine both inspirations for each of these kingdoms.

Read More: How I Would Adapt ‘Crescent City’

Who I Would Cast

Now, to one of my favorite parts, casting this hypothetical project. I try to keep the “big names” out of my castings because I want these actors to really embody the character without bringing other characters to mind. That said, I’m not ruling any popular actors out just because they’ve had recognizable roles before.

First up, let’s start with Celaena. I once saw a photoshopped picture of this actress during a TikTok fan casting, and now I can’t see anyone else as Celaena. That actress is Lola Flanery. She’s about the right age to play Celaena and has already shown she has the acting chops to carry out any scenes needed for the character in her various projects.

Next up are Dorian, Chaol, Rowan, and Lorcan. I’m lumping all four together because I want brand-new faces to play these men. I have scoured the internet, from others’ fan castings to just scrolling through IMDb, and I can’t find anyone just right.

Let’s move on to Nehemia. I’ve found two actresses I think could handle the role: Dominique Thorne and Joy Sunday. You’ll recognize Joy from Netflix’s Wednesday as Bianca, and Dominique is the MCU’s Ironheart.

On to the King, when I read the books the first time, all I saw was Alan Van Sprang. I’d prefer a more established actor who has proven he can play evil and twisted like Alan did in Shadowhunters and Reign.

Let’s move on to Perrington, Cain, and Kaltain. The only thing I could imagine Perrington looking like was the Duke of Wesselton from Frozen, but based on his actual description, Michael Cudlitz is a good fit. Cain, for me, would have to be a professional wrestler only because I can’t find anyone to fit him better than those muscular men.

As for Kaltain, I want a complete unknown for her – that said, the closest I’ve found for her looks-wise is Mackenzie Foy (yes, Renesmee from Twilight).

I could go on for days about who I want to see, but these are the major players in the first book. If you’d like a full cast, let me know, and I’ll do my best to find the perfect actors for this show.