Netflix is shelling out big bucks for the rights to a book series that went viral on TikTok earlier this year. If one is familiar with BookTok, one might have heard of the fantasy book “Quicksilver,” released on June 3, 2024. Written by “Blood & Roses” and “Dirty Nasty Freaks” author Callie Hart, Quicksilver exploded in popularity, quickly became a bestseller and, within its first two months of release, garnered 3 million mentions on TikTok. The story of 24-year-old human rebel Saeris Fane inadvertently reopening a gateway between two realms and accidentally binding herself to a handsome but mysterious Fae warrior named Kingfisher was prime material for an adaptation, and Netflix has now set its sights on the property.
Deadline reports that Netflix secured the rights to “Quicksilver” and its two planned sequel books, with the streamer paying seven figures for the rights. The series author, Callie Hart, will be the executive producer, and Elizabeth Cantillon, who was recently an executive producer on Alien: Romulus, will produce for The Cantillon Company. It is unclear at the moment if the plan is to adapt the story as a feature film or as a television series.
The massive deal for the rights to Quicksilver will certainly remind fans of the young adult (YA) fantasy boom of the 2000s following the success of Harry Potter. Franchises like Twilight and The Chronicles of Narnia were quickly snatched up and turned into blockbuster movies. However, there were plenty of failed attempts, including The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and The Golden Compass. Netflix tried to relaunch the YA dystopian genre of The Hunger Games and Divergent with Uglies earlier this year, though critics and fans poorly received the movie.
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On the surface, Quicksilver seems likely primed for a television series. Netflix likely wants its own high-profile fantasy series to compete with Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Max’s upcoming Harry Potter series, and Disney+’s intention to adapt Eragon as a series. With The Witcher wrapping up and The Sandman seemingly facing multiple delays that keep it from becoming the next big fantasy franchise, Quicksilver can fill the void in Netflix’s programming block.
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In many ways, Netflix’s acquisition of Quicksilver is the continuation of a recent trend where studios are looking at more recent and popular books and securing their rights. Amazon Pictures will adapt a similar popular fantasy book, “Fourth Wing,” as a television series. Since It Ends with Us became a surprise hit at the box office, three books by author Collen Hoover are being developed as feature films.
Other popular contemporary novels like Ali Hazelwood’s “Love Hypothesis” or Emily Henry’s Beach Read are also being developed as feature films. The idea of investing in newer books that are exploding in popularity with readers is what gave rise to successful film franchises like Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games, and there is a possibility Quicksilver could join that list soon.
