Paramount has teamed up with Francis Lawrence for a Red Rising feature adaptation, with Justin Rhodes writing the script and Lawrence set to direct. The film will be based on the first book in Pierce Brown's series, putting Darrow's story back on track after years in limbo.
That is the reason fans of Pierce Brown's books are looking again now. Red Rising has grown into a six-book series with more than six million copies sold, and a seventh book is due at some point next year. The new adaptation gives the property another shot at reaching the screen after a feature version in the 2010s at Universal fell through before production.
For Lawrence, the project fits a career built on major dystopian stories. He is best known for directing The Hunger Games movies, and he worked with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. He also directed Constantine and I Am Legend in 2005 and 2007, and he is attached to direct Constantine 2 starring Keanu Reeves. Last year, he left The Hunger Games behind to direct The Long Walk, which became one of the most-watched movies of the year on streaming in 2026.
Red Rising is set on Mars in a future where society is split by color-coded class, with the Golds at the top. Darrow is a young miner who belongs to the Reds, the lowest rung, and the story turns after he sees his love die and learns the truth about his existence. That scale is part of why the series has kept drawing interest, but the old Universal attempt shows how hard it has been to turn the books into a film that actually gets made.
What comes next is the missing piece: a production start date and a release plan. Paramount has the director, the writer and the first book, which is the strongest sign yet that Red Rising is moving, but the next public milestone has not been set.
