The Miranda/Rothfuss “Kingkiller” Partnership Is Shaping Up To Be Magical

Earlier today Lionsgate announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton, will be the “musical mastermind” behind the much-anticipated screen adaptation of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle.

Miranda will be writing original music for the score as well as taking the role of “creative producer” to influence the overall tone. Sound amazing? I promise you, no one is geeking out harder than Rothfuss himself. This was his announcement post on Twitter earlier:

Patrick Rothfuss is, in addition to being a talented writer, a giant dork. I mean that as a compliment, and I think he’d take it as one. He goes to comic conventions and is a regular at Wil Wheaton’s annual geek concert W00tstock. The first book in his Kingkiller Chronicle, The Name of the Wind, came out in 2007 and was pretty much immediately a critical darling. It made the New York Times Bestseller list. After Game of Thrones proved that audiences were ready for complex worldbuilding on a weekly basis, people started making noise about getting the Kingkiller Chronicle on screen.

Last year, fans got their wish. Lionsgate bought the screen rights, intending to do a film with a related series (because we live in a magical world where that happens now). We’re also getting a video game. Those in the know have been waiting to see who would handle the musical score, which is pretty intensely central to the mood and story of the series.

I think none of us expected to get Lin-Manuel Miranda. That’s like asking for someone to illustrate your fanfiction and having Saga’s Fiona Staples DM you.

Rothfuss’ tweet proved he shared our geeky excitement. Miranda responded to his post with his usual eloquence, beginning an increasingly delightful exchange:

Did anyone else stop reading and grab their Wacom right there? Just me? Okay, carrying on.

Hey, it wasn’t just me!

I’m particularly excited by Lin-Manuel’s inclusion as a Creative Producer for another reason: my feminist heart. Rothfuss is a loud and proud feminist and has called other creators out on their sexist crap. I love his work and I cheer whenever he shows up at W00tstock. He has a great charity, Worldbuilders, that supports Heifer International. Patrick Rothfuss is Good People.

That said, the fact remains that The Name Of The Wind doesn’t have a lot of awesome female characters. This is a result of the world-building, really, since he went for a really tangible medieval feel. As the series goes on you can see Rothfuss realizing and addressing the lack, but it is one of the very few flaws of the novel. I think with Miranda at his side (not to mention writer Lindsey Beer doing the screenplay), Rothfuss will be able to push the ladies he does have to better and more fully realized roles on screen.

Have you read the Kingkiller Chronicle? What do you think about the crew so far? Let us know in the comments section below!

Author: Khai

Khai is a writer, anthropologist, and games enthusiast. She is co-editor (alongside Alex DeCampi) of and contributor to “True War Stories”, a comic anthology published by Z2 Comics. When she’s not writing or creating games, Khai likes to run more tabletop RPGs than one person should reasonably juggle.

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