Brandon Sanderson’s New Skyward TV Series Gets Exciting Pilot Episode Update After Delays
Hannah Gearan (she/her) is has been writing for ScreenRant for over three years. Her deep cinema love traces back to age 11, when she equipped herself with a spiral-bound notebook, rated all the films she watched, and declared herself a critic. About a decade later, she received a BA from Wesleyan University, where she studied Film, Environmental Studies, and Writing. Hannah’s short film, Toxic Faucets, has screened at numerous film festivals, including the Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston). As a Movie News writer now, she draws upon her vast experience studying, making, and analyzing film as she approaches dynamic breaking stories.
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The Skyward TV series will reach for the stars in its pilot, according to a new positive report from Brandon Sanderson.
Sanderson is the bestselling author of multiple high fantasy and science fiction books, including the Stormlight Archive and the Mistborn series. Multiple of his works are currently being adapted for the screen, most notably through an early 2026 Apple TV deal that would adapt all the works in Sanderson's Cosmere universe, which include over a dozen novels set in the same interconnected universe. In addition to this Apple TV deal, earlier this year it was announced that Sanderson's Skyward book series was also in development by Tomorrow Studios.
Per a livestream on Sanderson's YouTube channel, the Skyward series has an exciting update despite delays. Sanderson admitted that the series development was delayed due to personal issues on the part of the selected showrunners. Still, things are moving forward as the showrunners have given Sanderson "their latest pitch on the pilot." Indicating things going along smoother now, Sanderson said "they're great' and "know their stuff really well." Check out the full quote from Sanderson below:
Brandon Sanderson: We picked our showrunners. But then the showrunners ended up having some personal things that slowed them down. So there's nothing really to report, nothing bad nor good, other than that they've had some personal challenges, some family things, so we said to take some time off. I think they took like three months for that. I've now had some emails from them recently, they gave me their latest pitch on the pilot, and I'm like, 'Great.' Cause I'm not writing this one, [Maurissa Tancharoen] and Jed [Whedon] are writing it. They're the showrunners who ran Agents of Shield. They're great, they know their stuff really well. So that's where we are, they're working on the pilot – which I will write a little bit of, but basically they'll save me a scene.
The Skyward showrunners will be Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. As Sanderson references, the married couple previously served as co-showrunners on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D TV show. The pair has also worked together on other series, including the action epic Spartacus. This well equips them for work on Skyward, as both series are high-budget shows of significant scale, which Skyward is sure to be.
Whedon and Tancharoen will also serve as writers for the series. It sounds like Sanderson has a lot of faith in them, which is certainly a good sign going into development on the series. The author will have to cede a lot of control, but based on his description, he is still heavily consulted. He will also have a hand in the pilot, noting that the showrunners will "save [him] a scene." It will be interesting to see how much this influence is traced throughout the show itself.
While Sanderson seems hopeful about the quality of the show and the pilot development, it still might be a while before Skyward sees the light of day. There have already been clear delays, and Sanderson himself may be busy writing and consulting on his Apple TV deal. Nonetheless, it is great news for the series to know that pilot ideas are being actively pitched, and that the behind-the-scenes team has the beloved author's approval.
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