Should Malazan Be Adapted: Yea or Nay... A Response to Hood, Himself 

Self-sharpening plushies... The Matron toy is great for hugs - Toc

Yeah, in the fandom we call it *Key chain chemalle* 😛

A Baby K'Chain Che'Malle, aww, how cute

I'm sure Mike ( of Booktube fame ) will appreciate a Kruppe plushie.

A Toc toy that you can hug and squish into different shapes?

Hi Hood. I hope that you enjoyed it and weren't offended.

Oh, not at all! I set out on that video with the intention of being proved wrong categorically at some point, and you sir, (along with many salient arguments I've read) have done it!

@@ACriticalDragon Would you mind if I shared this with Iskar Jarak's Unabridged Burners??

Not at all. Go right ahead.

I've read all mlaz books some several times I think ICE books could be adapted but the BOTF just has too much nuance to put to movies.the pleasure in reading them is in the thoughts of characters more than the doings.no justice could be done to them

Hard covers, coffee table art books, fancy maps, games, jewellery, bookmarks ... and of course the bragging rights and smug rights of book readers over tv viewers 😂 More Malazan is always going to be more gooder 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@@ACriticalDragon A.P. kind of a random question. In some interview or another with Erikson, he mentioned that he used to be an artist. Have you ever seen any of his drawings? More specifically, has he ever drawn any of the various races in the MBOTF? I would love to see his rendition of a Forkrul Assail.

They already did Pride and Prejudice and Zombies... it was... ummmm ... certainly an interesting adaptation and reimagining of the book. But for Malazan Books 1 and 3 are one significant arc, books 2 and 4 are a second elf-contained arc. So the risk to the producers is reduced, unlike say, WoT in which it takes 14 huge volumes to get to the major arc conclusion, and several of the arcs meander and peter out. MBotF can be done in smaller mini-arcs that clip together. So even if the show got cancelled, there would still be complete stories within the series.

@@ACriticalDragon Elf contained, that's elf spelled t-i-s-t-e, 😂.

@@Paul_van_Doleweerd Ahhh my Tolkien was showing. 🤣🤣🤣

@@ACriticalDragon Sounds solid to me! Methinks you’ve given this some serious thought, my friend. Is there a screenplay hiding in your desk drawer?

@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I keep telling you, I can't write for toffee. Structural scaffolding is easy to create, but you need good writers to come in and actually fill in all the details.

I spray Production Goblin Repellent around the property to keep them away.

I think that they would need some actually experienced people running the thing... but it would be incredibly cool to get to visit and talk to the writing team about what they were doing. I would love to see how they put it together and how they decide what to keep and what to leave out. @IskarJarak would do some awesome credits... and ensure that the lasers and fireballs were done right.

@@ACriticalDragon I would love to see you play Tehol in the live adaptation. Please tell me that you can act.

Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time, and LotR prequel all had impressive budgets and that bodes well for investment in a big show. The completed series of MBotF bodes well for solid adaptation that pays attention to character and story arcs. Even a weaker or limited adaptation of Books 1 and 3 would be something to drive up interest in the series and stimulate interest in the genre.

I think A.P's strawman is something akin to the young ones 5th housemate

@@rupertcrump1312 either that or a glimpse into the insanity of my brain.

Do I have a convert? This seems a far cry from your comment of 'I agree with everything you have said' on Hood's video. Have I convinced you?

@@ACriticalDragon I agree with everything he said except those points prohibiting an adaptation. It’s complex, the prose would get washed out, a lot of people would probably be pissed that it wasn’t faithful enough, and it would be absolutely glorious nonetheless!

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 You sir are brilliant.

So do I...

Hi Tai, I think that some of that can be done via dialogue, some through scene framing, some through cinematography, and some through action. But an adaptation would be a different beast, so it would not be the same. But we will always have the books to reread.

@@ACriticalDragon and lets not forget the good ol' "monologue via a narrator".been scaring children witless around a hearth since the stone age! :D

All we need now is a production company to hire me and hand me a cheque for a gazillion dollars and I will get it done 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

It is a fun topic, and a TV series adaptation would be really great. I would love to see an attempt made of adapting Malazan.

@@ACriticalDragon I feel like the structure of the chapters lends itself really well for a TV show

Cold iron versus tepid iron? 😂😂😂😂

Definitely cold iron 😂

So did I change your mind and make a believer out of you?

@@ACriticalDragon I dare say you (and some others) have made a believer of me good sir!

Just imagine all the ochre... ochre as far as the eye could see...

Hi Andrew, but that is precisely the point with an adaptation, you find ways to streamline the whole narrative, you create natural conclusions and season arcs so that you can have a satisfying show without necessarily adapting every part of all ten books. To argue that you shouldn't adapt it because some things would have to be cut makes no sense. Every adaptation cuts things.

Hi Jay, I am glad that I convinced you. Now I just need a bunch of Hollywood producers to be equally convinced and excited by the idea.

Im an actor, so I’ll work for free if this ever happens!! Even if I turn out to be a random solider that gets killed in the first five seconds haha!

Thank you very much.

Hi Husk, like most adaptations (and GoT is a great example), you would conflate certain roles to save on character actors. You would trim scenes, you would use extras in the background to give a false sense of scale, and so on. Yes there would be a large cast, but I doubt it would be larger than GoT. There are a lot of different ways to do it. Think of the Lady Stoneheart storyline that was essentially axed, or how the Sandsnakes were reconceptualised. We often get hung up on literal translations and forget that we can take a step back and restructure it to focus more on the narrative events and a smaller core cast... Which, oddly, caters to the very things that so many readers actually want. To reach a broader audience you would streamline and simplify some of the narrative elements.

But I want to see your video and how you would do it. I already know what is in my brain, now I want to hear everyone else's ideas that aren't 'anime'.

Hi Benjamin, I hope that you enjoyed it. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment. I greatly appreciate it.

@@ACriticalDragon sir I appreciate your insights, please never stop with the content.

Of course. Invisible Strawman is happy to help out.

There are loads of different ways to adapt the series, and it can be fun to think them through.

Keep reading my young Bridgeburner. It ages like fine wine.

Well he is one of the PoVs of the series, so it would be likely if close third was the chosen narrative style that he would be one.

Cryogenic suspension has come a long way. Alternatively close to speed of light travel with have a dilation effect that will shorten the wait time. 😁

@@ACriticalDragon haha if disney would pick up the series, they could offer cryogenics as a package deal. subscribe to disney plus now and we freeze you over till your show of choice airs. now that's great maketing!!

@@kifonis Note to self: Step 1 - Steal Trip's idea. Step 2 - Market it to Disney. Step 3 - Profit.

@@ACriticalDragon a.p.: puts little finger to mouth and laughs evilly :'D :'D

@@kifonis That is why I attended Evil Graduate School to get a PhD in Evilness.

Hi Rox, you are absolutely right. Anyone adapting this would be crazy not to utilise the talents of Erikson and Esslemont. To be honest, most of the paraphernalia I could take or leave, but I would dearly love some coffee table books of the art and maps, and maybe an illustrated encyclopedia.

@@ACriticalDragon those are some great ideas!! There are print shops that could print high quality images all over a long dress or a ladies's summer t-shirt, or on a skirt, or on a hoodie, or a men's shirt, on blankets, pillow cases, bean bags, rucsacs, teddy bears, cups, phone cases etc. Even coloring books for stressed people. There are SO many possibilities for merch, it would be amazing to finally get some official merch, and I am aware that can only happen when the books get screen time and a wide audience.(which I'm sure it would happen)

@@ACriticalDragon "coffee table books of the art and maps, and maybe an illustrated encyclopedia" - that along with an official Malazan RPG release are the top of my wishlist constantly. I really wish that an official RPG setting book would come either rules agnostic or even GURPS.

@@RoxanaMagdaD I like the blanket idea. I have a Doctor Who blankie, so why not a Malazan one?

@@marsrock316 aww, I have a Doctor Who Time Lord Fairy Tales book. I'd buy Malazan merch in the blink of an eye. Hahaha, now I imagine my own Kurald Galain blanket :P

Thanks Jack. There are lots of ways to do it, and very few fantasy series are unadaptable.

By the way, still waiting to hear how you feel about losing your arm...

@@Paul_van_Doleweerd The maelstone is particularly brilliant.

@@ACriticalDragon Cookies, bah. 😂

Kruppe bobble head for the win.

Because I know what the original screenplay was, and that wasn't the subject of the video. The original feature they co-wrote was essentially the Daru sections of GotM.

The Boys and The Expanse have been pretty good.

That would be brilliant.

@@ACriticalDragon this is from sister .. Very interesting. I disagree with some of his points though, especially about it being no big deal if a movie or adaptation is different from the books, because people can still go read the books? I disagree. I think that any book, once made into an adaptation, stops people from actually going back and reading the books because they have a visual short hand instead in the movie. So IF the adaptation is terrible then it does ruin the books. I have never read Lord of the Rings after watching the movies because I have an easier and more digestible version in the movie; after Game of Thrones came out as a TV series, I stopped reading the books at about book 4 because I just would rather wait till the visual adaptation came out. What I am trying to say is that it is in fact important that any adaptation of Malazan be done CORRECTLY, because it will ruin the experience of the books and I wouldn’t return to the books with it circulating visually/in film. In that respect, I do think it is simply to challenging to adapt Malazan. It’s just too complex and expansive. I just don’t know how they would do it and if they did do it I would worry that they wouldn’t do it right. 🤭😉

@@Mr13chapters and yet I have seen multiple versions of Batman, Superman, James Bond, James T Kirk, and two different adaptations of Dune and LotR (I am particularly fond of the animation). We don't always have our imagination colonised.

@@ACriticalDragon I am with you sir 🤓

I have lots of plans to do this in the future, but I am still working through Malazan, and that is taking some time. But I will get around to it.

@@ACriticalDragon Awesome! Yeah, I can imagine that there's a lot to talk about regarding Malazan. I look forward to all of your videos!

Thank you very much, Todd. I will try to vary the content in the future.

I've only read the first Farseer trilogy but to me it's the complete opposite to Malazan in many ways :)

I was thinking about what Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is doing, and thought why not that? A party based, heavy story RPG, with an army battle system similar to Heroes of Might and Magic. Wrath is even including Mythic Paths, so those who are Ascending could have mechanical benefits from their choices. Or for something completely different: A Paradox game. You could just about run the entire thing as a CK3 mod.

A video game series, Witcher style, would be awesome. Wonder if an MMO would work?

A 20 film series would be amazing, with each film essentially covering half a book's worth of content. Unfortunately that would not be feasible or realistic. But I think that a TV Show is entirely possible, and could produce something really interesting. A Witcher 3 style game would also be great.

Given that the theme is not a significant one until midway through the series I don't see it being an issue. And even then, it is not the focus of the narrative, it is one of several themes explored.

@@ACriticalDragon oh. I agree. I always saw it as a better critique of the late British Empire than Americana anyway. 😉

If we could get the first four books adapted, then I would worry about the rest. Getting the first four would an achievement in and of itself, and if that was all we got, I think it would still be rewarding.

@@shawngillogly6873 Malaz is an island nation... and I think Erickson said in an interview that the Letherii Empire was modeled on the British. "As a nation, the Letherii believed in constant progress and expansion without end. They revered coin above all else." (from the wiki)

@@marsrock316 yep. But the actual conquest was based on a "What if the Dakota Uprising overthrew the US Government"?

I would audition for Dead Soldier No. 6... I would like to try for Dead Soldier No. 4 but I know my range.

MJ Daniel, that's the spirit.

Only the finest examples for my discerning audience.

Damn... I have been found out.

@@ACriticalDragon who's channel is hosting discussion of that one? You may want to volunteer in case, you know, you may need to mute somebody... or even fade them to black. On other hand, that may be a bit similar to what the character does...

If other fans don't want it, then let us have the adaptation and they can decide not to watch it. Simple. Everyone is happy. They keep their memories of the book pure, and I get my Dragnipur to hang on the wall. 😂😂😂😂😂

@@ACriticalDragon but would malazan still be cool if adaptation fans started reading the books? 🤔🤔🤔

@@ACriticalDragon would it still be cool if I didn't have to expend as much effort to get people I know would love it to read it like some kind of weird missionary with a 20 something book long bible? 🤔🤔🤔

@@darkportents9835 Yeah, we will just tell them that the best bits were left out of the adaptation and for 20 easy monthly payments of $19.99 we will send them the secret decoder ring and guide to unlocking their inner Malazan.

A Chain of Dogs film has been mooted several times by different people, but I think that people overlook how you would have to rewrite and restructure it given that the other threads in DHG are used sometimes to add levity, or to change the tone or pacing. You would need replacements for those scenes and threads in order to make the Chain of Dogs work as a standalone. Or at least, I would think you would. Duicker would likely have to be present from the very beginning of it. you would probably need a bit more comedy/levity early on. You would need to increase the presence and importance of a few characters. Probably have to introduce the nobles and their storyline earlier and make it more prominent. And so on.

@@ACriticalDragon I agree you would have to change a lot, maybe too much. At least one other plot would need to be added, probably a new one since the others in DHG make things more way more complicated. But I would love to see this intense unfolding of events, it always felt very cinematic to me when I read it. And the ending... well theatres would be flooded with tears... Thanks for making these videos!

Talk about a niche adaptation. It would be fun though, and the budget would be a lot more reasonable.

Bauchelain and Korbal Broach played by Bert and Ernie? Kruppe as played by Fozzie Bear? Who would Grover play? Or Big Bird? Or Oscar?

Big Bird would clearly be a K'Chain Che'Malle.

Thank you very much, João.

Adapting to anime would limit viewership, potentially cost a lot more, and, depending on style of animation, be very divisive. The media format with the broadest appeal is live action. Focusing on a storyline that has not been written is not an adaptation, and I wouldn't be against it as a spin off after the adaptation was a wild success and took the world by storm. But it is hard to market a new story in an existing franchise before you have created the existing franchise.

@@ACriticalDragon style of animation would be a big factor for me. I'm not opposed to stylized art, but not a fan of some of the recent scratchy inkpen primitivist styles. I'd want something painterly and rich. The upcoming What If... series from Marvel looks promising in that regard.

Watercooler talk and Dragnipur hangers... Best reasons for adaptation.

Would I have to do the impressive trailer voice? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

World War Z was also, in some ways, very different to the book, and yet I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adaptation. But Apocalypse Now was a really interesting adaptation. Of course, Avatar was a very poor adaptation of Word for World is Forest.

So not an adaptation but a new screenplay set in the world. Why not just adapt the Darujhistan thread into a feature then? It would save writing an entirely new narrative.

@@ACriticalDragon you're right, and it would. But-- Don't you think Erikson would enjoy writing something new for the big screen? A new narrative would add more content in the Malazan canon , and can be written specifically for film/series, to save from chopping up and cutting out from source material.

@@alynam82 but Gardens of the Moon was originally a screenplay and is quite different to the novel. It was primarily the Darujhistan sections of the book. Personally I would love to see an adaptation first, then see the world explored through spin offs. That would leave Erikson and Esslemont free to write more novels (the things that I like more than TV in the first place). There is already so much material from which unique adaptations could be crafted that I don't see the need to write brand new material at the moment. But I understand your position.

It doesn't have to be on screen. They can report that it is happening. Plenty of Zombie series and films that show far worse on screen, and prove very popular. And, if it is off screen, imagine how much more horrific it would be in the viewers' minds? 'This stuff is so dark even Malazan can't show it'... nightmare fuel that you never have to show...

@@ACriticalDragon yeah, I guess. It would also be good for the budget. But part of it has to be shown when they attack the city unless there are some drastic cuts and/or changes.

@@kingplunger6033 That is why you get a good production team and some good writers. That is a practical hurdle about how best to adapt it, and there are loads of techniques. Getting it accepted for adaptation is the first hurdle. How they film some of the zombie assaults and that sort of thing provide some good examples of different approaches to this sort of thing. Plus historical fiction adaptations also manage this (with varying degrees of success). The great thing about adaptation is that is does not have to be literal, you can change PoVs, you can reframe things, so there are lots of options.

Exactly, and that is why they hire professional authors to write the novelisations of films and television productions.

Hi Rob, Personally I liked the Dresden Files adaptation and think that it could have been great if the network had been a bit more confident in it. If it were made now there is every chance that it would actually be a great success. Streaming services have significantly altered the approach to making some filmic narratives that aren't then dependent on ad revenue and regular time slots. There are plenty of paranormal romance series that have been fairly successful, ,as well as a number of horror/fantasy films, and we have an appetite for big budget spectacle now due to the popularity of comic book films. So the market is actually quite different. The Witcher series is still ongoing and I really enjoyed season one, so I wouldn't rule it out just yet, it is early days. WoT and LotR the Prequel are yet to come out but do demonstrate a willingness to engage in big, epic scale adaptations. Neither of which are fantasy light, and neither of which have a lot of nudity or graphic violence (I am assuming given the source material). The Hobbit had a lot of issues that had nothing to do with adaptation, and a lot of those had to do with stretching material from one book to fill three after a two film structure had been created, then shoehorning in LotR connections which were tonally discordant with the family friendly fun of the children's book, changing director mid production, and sticking in an entire third film that was almost all CGI battle. So studio versus creative differences, logistical issues trying to capitalise in too short a time frame, changing the narrative, the narrative structure, and the tone multiple times through production. Trying to be both a prequel and a children's film at the same time. And having to make stuff up on the fly due to the changes at the last minute. The Witcher 3 game adaptation brought significant numbers to the book sales, as did the first season of the TV show. Particularly for a series of books not written in English. So I wouldn't say that it hasn't been successful. But you are absolutely right that there are bad adaptations out there too. If it was poorly adapted I would be disappointed, but I would still be pleased that it got a chance at least. I would even settle for a small niche success. I just want it to have a chance. And someone arguing that it shouldn't be adapted or even attempted rubs me the wrong way... especially when the arguments were not convincing. We have another adaptation of Dune coming. Will it be good? Will it be bad? Who knows. But I am excited to find out.

@@ACriticalDragon I do lean to your side of the argument - there's no reason Malazan cannot be adapted, or shouldn't. But as someone who is skeptical /pessimistic by nature I see it having slim chances - and can understand fans who'd rather have nothing than a bad one. Yes, we'd still have the books, and it needn't take anything away from our experience, but replacing the dream of a possible adaptation with the bad taste of a failed is a bitter pill. I do admire your optimism in this, and think that's exactly what is needed to make an adaptation a success.

@@robpaul7544 nothing ventured, nothing gained. Yes, a bad adaptation would suck, but we will never know unless we try.

I'd say remove Witcher from your "bad, mediocre or a small niche success" list. It was a successful adaptation and successful business decision by Netflix, which is dominant and not niche in streaming. That success measured by the amount of memes and the "Toss a coin to your witcher" song," of course... :) You could subjectively argue that you didn't like the adaptation, but that's another matter.

@@ACriticalDragon "WoT... neither of which have a lot of nudity or graphic violence." But will there be a lot of crossing of arms under breasts?

Not sure I agree. I am not a fan of most anime styles.

I will get the branding and marketing team on it right away... they have come back with 'Malazan'... not original I grant you, but effective.

Book of the fallen still works. I don't know how to describe it without major spoilers, but it dosent need to be changed imo. ( just remember or look into who's writing the book from the stories perspective)

@@Epyon1201 I've read the series, its ok, he will do the director commentary in the special features on the dvd release.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 It would be a disatrous adaptation then. 2hrs of slowly analysing a symbol then hand waving away all the action.

@@ACriticalDragon oh you're doing yourself a disservice. You just elucidated your acute understanding of a translation to screen. I'm English, I know all about our tendencies to downplay!! You rock, let it be so

Oh if only.

Hi Johan, I am glad that you enjoyed the video. Now we just need to convince a million more people and that should be enough to convince a few producers. 😁

The Internet lost it's shii... uh, composure, when the Red Wedding happened on GoT. I imagine (still a newbie) there are a few RWs in Malazan that would suffice.

@@marsrock316 Oh yes... The internet would lose so much sh*t, diapers would be in short supply.

@@JohanHerrenberg Oh no! Would it also entail another toiler paper panic!?

@@marsrock316 but think of the publicity. We would have thousands of new viewers wanting to know what the new Red Wedding was.

Well, if it ever gets adapted I will call the production company and let them know to hide the show from you. 😁 Everyone wins.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

That is the best reason yet. I am stealing that.

Thank you very much Andrea. I hope that you have a great weekend.

Hi Henry, thanks for the great points, and thank you for watching. As for Malazan, we never know what will come up in the future. We are still getting more and more superhero films and TV and it has been over twenty years of superheroes dominating cultural narrative.

I don't play favourites anymore. Not since the incident with Deadhouse Gates starting a fight with Reaper's Gale, and Toll the Hounds getting caught in the crossfire. That was not pretty. Shredded paper everywhere. Bookmarks out of action for weeks.

@@ACriticalDragon Yh that happened with Dune for me. I told the original Dune that I am starting to like God Emperor more and it attacked it in broad daylight. My books are still recovering

One convert! Huzzah, take that people who said I would never convert anyone. I am glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

That would be a fun side-effect.

Well, it would be nice to get one in the bag first before worrying about a second one.

I am a fan of The Expanse and The Boys, I don't think that either would have been improved by being anime.

Huzzah. Now, someone find a Hollywood producer that doesn't have an epic fantasy project yet.

@@ACriticalDragon... and if Hollywood plays hard to get, we can always try the Chinese. After all most of their dramas are the fantasy type.

That is a very valid concern. There could be a number of different make-up techniques used, costume decisions, or CGI effects used. Plus, in terms of casting, then the Andii could all be played by PoC but with enhanced makeup to make the Andii more alien looking. But it is an aspect that would require a fair amount of thought and consideration. As would the Jaghut, Jhag, Napan, and T'lan Imass. There are complex elements in each, not necessarily related to perception or portrayal of race.

@@ACriticalDragon Totally agree! And one reason I would trust an adaptation of Malazan being carefully thought out and considered like you mentioned is I don't see how it could be anything BUT a passion project. It's not something anyone would take on lightly!

Awwwwww. I want an art of Malazan coffee table book, and an encyclopedia.

Another one for the win column.

Like I said, this was just one way to do it. Off the top of my head I can think of a couple of different structures and arcs you could do. My major point was that it could be done, and it could be done well, and it could be a satisfying project with only 2 seasons, 4 seasons, 6 seasons, or all ten. I build in redundancies to make it more palatable to risk averse production companies.

@@ACriticalDragon Yeah I get you. Well another fantastic video AP! Your channel is one of my favourites and thanks for being so great with responding to comments. Shame analysing fantasy literature is so niche because your channel is the best out there. Probably a big task, but could you maybe do a video on how to start deep reading? I’m fairly experienced myself but I’d like to see your approach. Thx again P’rofessor Fireball!

@@ACriticalDragon I forget what he called it, but J. Michael Straczynski built redundancies in his story structure for Babylon 5 in case they lost actors. Sometimes it was a big change, like replacing the station commander. Other times it was an underling that went missing. The underlings themselves were backups for the Big 5: the ambassadors could have been replaced by their assistants (except for Kosh, who was just a voice). The exigencies of complex productions are at the mercy of real world problems, like actor contracts, that have nothing to do with how well the story is structured. I usually wonder when an actor departs a TV show if it's an HR issue. One case that springs to mind is a season ending episode of Arrow, where the entire cast was stranded on an island... then the island blew up. Oliver himself, the main star, was on a boat, incidentally. So afterwards, the producers turned to the cast of actors (evil rubbing of hands included) and said, "All right, who wants to come back next season?"

@@marsrock316 I think that he called them trapdoors. The replacement of the psychic officer was one that came up early.

@@cap-tavating5862 I will certainly have a think about it. Most of my videos show me doing it slowly and in real time so that people can actually follow along. But I will have a think about specific techniques.

RPG or more books.... Tough choice.

Production Goblin Repellent.. I need to set up a store to sell this to people. I could make a fortune. I currently have a few LotR and Silmarillion Goblins wandering around outside looking forlorn.

@@ACriticalDragon Damn you outsmarted the goblins. Please give me your recipe