Brandon Sanderson’s X-Men Comparison Pinpoints The Mistborn Movie’s Best Directorial Candidate

Brandon Sanderson recently compared his Allomancy magic system to Marvel’s supervillain, Magneto, and it raises an idea for a compelling Mistborn movie director. The possibility of a Mistborn movie has been in various stages of discussion for years, with 2023 seeing it almost come to fruition before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The author revealed in his annual State of Sanderson blog post that the Mistborn movie is currently scrapped and back to square one, but that just means more time for speculation on the most appealing ways to see his story developed.

Out of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe and numerous other works of fiction, Mistborn is still his most widely read work. Elantris was his first published novel, but the original Mistborn trilogy was the saga that put him on the map, allowing him to progress forward with his interconnected storytelling across other titles like The Stormlight Archive. A common praise for Mistborn is that it has one of the most intricate and fascinating magic systems in fantasy, which is a huge element of what would make it appealing in visual media.

Brandon Sanderson Compared Mistborn’s Allomancy Magic System To X-Men’s Magneto

Allomancers Share Some Similarities With The Famous Mutant Villain

On Brandon Sanderson’s YouTube channel, the author has been sharing clips from his lectures, providing viewers with insights into how he approaches writing novels. In a recent clip, he speaks about the unavoidability of having tropes in stories and how, despite trying his best to create something unique in Mistborn, his publishers immediately noted the similarities to X-Men’s Magneto. With the powers of Allomancy involving the moving of metals, this is a fairly simplistic but appropriate comparison to make.

Readers have long speculated about how Allomancy might look in live-action. Combat in the Mistborn series is naturally cinematic, involving high-octane movements across Luthadel’s urban landscape. Wire-fu movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon could be an interesting style to pursue, but there’s more to it than that. The Magneto comparison is oversimplified, but there are some aesthetic choices to consider that have proven to be effective in movies before, particularly in the superhero prequel movie X-Men: First Class.

X-Men: First Class Proves Matthew Vaughn Could Be Great As Mistborn’s Director

First Class Showcases Superpowers As Part Of Its Narrative

Matthew Vaughn is a celebrated filmmaker known for his work on the Kingsman franchise and 2011’s X-Men: First Class, the first in the Fox X-Men prequel series. It’s not the most talked about superhero movie ever, but there are attributes that make it compelling as a blueprint for Mistborn, mostly surrounding its usage of powers. Vaughn does a phenomenal job at making each of First Class’s mutants exciting to watch, including the ones audiences were already familiar with from the previous trilogy. Magneto even uses a coin as a weapon, though admittedly in a different way than an Allomancer would.

Magneto doesn’t just look cool with metal from the start; he progresses in his abilities like Vin would in the Mistborn movie.

Book readers already know how fun Brandon Sanderson’s magic systems can be, but the film adaptation needs to make them appealing to broader audiences. Mistborn’s action can’t be generic if the intention is for the film to stand out and start a franchise; the powers have to feel fulfilling to watch. Matthew Vaughn finds the perfect formula in X-Men: First Class in making powers not only fun but also narratively crucial. Magneto doesn’t just look cool with metal from the start; he progresses in his abilities like Vin would in the Mistborn movie.

How Mistborn’s Magic System Differs From Magneto’s Mutant Powers

Allomancy Is Much Different Than Magneto’s Abilities

Custom image by Kiersten Hall

As mentioned, Mistborn’s magic systems and Magneto’s powers share the quality of manipulating metal, but there are major differences. First, an Allomancer in Mistborn can’t just move metals around freely like some sort of telekinesis. Each of the magic functions in Mistborn has a push/pull mechanism that’s far more stilted than what Magneto can do. That being said, they can also gain strength, manipulate emotions, increase their senses, and more, so Allomancers have some abilities in their bag that Magneto can’t access.

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The Mistborn movie will also have to incorporate the element of metal consumption, as an Allomancer expends resources as they use their abilities. This is something that an extraordinarily powerful mutant like Magneto doesn’t have to worry about, creating heightened stakes for magic users in the Brandon Sanderson adaptation. The Magneto comparison is just one of many components of his series, but the Matthew Vaughn idea is certainly interesting for bringing the Mistborn books to life, at least whenever another movie opportunity comes around.

Mistborn

Created by

Brandon Sanderson

Character(s)

Vin, Kelsier, Sazed, Marsh, Elend Venture, Waxillium “Wax” Ladrian, Wayne, Steris Harms

Summary

The Mistborn series, created by Brandon Sanderson, is a high-fantasy saga set in the world of Scadrial, where magic is powered by metals through a system called Allomancy. The series focuses on political intrigue, heists, and the battle between good and evil. The first trilogy, Mistborn: The Final Empire, follows the struggle to overthrow a tyrannical ruler, the Lord Ruler. Later books in the series, including Era 2, take place hundreds of years after the events of the original trilogy, expanding the story into new settings with new characters, all while maintaining connections to the original storyline.

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