Kait Mae

After reading Caraval, I found myself wanting more from the series. More stories following the characters, more twisty magical mysteries, and more Scarlett specifically. I loved the series’s enchanting world, the morally grey characters, and never knowing what was going to come next. So, I decided to write down how I would adapt it because somebody has to.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t read this series yet, be warned, I reveal a few details that won’t ruin the entire plot but may change the way you read the series.

What Is ‘Caraval’?

Caraval, Spectacular, and Finale are the three books in the trilogy following Scarlett and Tella Dragna as they get entangled in the annual game of Caraval. The first book follows Scarlett’s journey to win and get Tella back.

The second book focuses on Tella’s journey as she uncovers the past of Legend, the master of Caraval. And the third sees the sisters team up to save the world they know and love, even if they must make sacrifices to do so.

Twentieth Century Fox picked up the rights to adapt it before the first book was even out, but there hasn’t been any news since. And that’s a shame because it would be a hit.

How Would I Adapt ‘Caraval’?

I normally go with television shows when it comes to wanting to adapt fantasy series, but Stephanie Garber just writes perfectly for translation into movies. So, I’m breaking from my usual formula and saying this should be a movie trilogy – a real trilogy, not what they kept doing to trilogies around 2016 and splitting the last book into two.

As for the vibes, costuming, and aesthetic – I think costume design across all three movies should be done by the same designer from Marie Antoinette, Milena Canonero. The movie won an award for its costuming for the very same reasons I want her doing the design for all of Caraval.

Who Am I Casting?

For our sister duo, Scarlett and Donatella, I needed actresses who look similar enough but still stand apart like the characters. Plus, they needed to show they could believably play the characters’ every side.

For Scarlett, I went with Sadie Laflamme-Snow, who I found when I discovered the show The Way Home. As for her headstrong younger sister, Donatella, I went with Jenny Boyd because Donatella is very similar to her Legacies character, Lizzie.

As for their love interests, Julian and Dante. I wanted them to look related but not too similar. For Julian, I think Diego Tinoco from On My Block is perfect. His character in the show, plus his character in Knights of the Zodiac, combine perfectly for this character.

And for Dante, Gavin Leatherwood looks similar enough and is extremely talented. I have no doubt he’d do the character justice. You might recognize him from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or Sabrina Carpenter’s “Touch” music video.

Two of Caraval’s performers – Jovan and Aiko – were pretty easy to cast once I looked at the character art. When looking at Jovan and revisiting her scenes, I knew Reiya Downs would be great – check her out in Degrassi: Next Class.

As for Aiko, I knew almost immediately after looking at the art that Kiko Mizuhara would be amazing in the role. She played Mikasa in the Attack on Titan 2015 live-action movie. After seeing clips of her in other projects, too, I knew she was perfect.

Now, Jacks, the Prince of Hearts – who we’re introduced to in the second book. I had seen this actor in Love & Gelato a few months prior to reading the books, and then did a rewatch over the summer – and I knew he was perfect for Jacks. His character in Love & Gelato just reminded me so much of the character.

Moving on to two key players in the third book – Gavriel and Anissa. For Gavriel, I went back and forth with several actors for the role. But I essentially landed on Rob Raco – who looks similar enough to the artwork and looks both early 20s and mid-30s depending on how he’s costumed.

As for Anissa, the Lady Prisoner, I will admit I didn’t go off artwork at all. I went with an actress who played a character similar already – Hunter Schafer. More recognizable for Euphoria, her portrayal of Tigris in Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes sold her to me for this character. Both characters are a bit cunning but appear soft-spoken.

When I was reading, I knew exactly who I wanted as The Undead Queen based on this actress’s extensive credits and talent in similar-tempered characters. For this cunning and powerful character, I choose Lucy Liu.

And for the Poisoner, who kept making me laugh for reasons I couldn’t put my finger on, I would cast Kunal Nayyar. I personally recognize him from The Big Bang Theory, but you might recognize him from a few other movies or his voice from the Trolls movies.

And lastly, I wanted to kind of cast a character we don’t actually see much of. And that’s Paloma – Scarlett and Tella’s mother. She’s described as looking extremely similar to Scarlett – so I’d use the same actress but with a few prosthetics and makeup changes to make them look slightly different.

Have you read this series? What about the sequel series, Once Upon a Broken Heart? Keep an eye out for my hypothetical adaptation of that series soon.