What Erin Hunter Warriors Books Have TV Adaptations?

None of Erin Hunter's Warriors novels have been made into a TV series or TV movie. I mention this to my book-loving friends over and over again. It would make such an amazing series, but as far as I know, none of the Warriors novels have been optioned for TV yet. Although I have added many of the books to my wishlist, it's with the somewhat dolorous realization that my wallet is not endless.

And yes, there are tons of amazing short little videos made by amazing fans. These can be really short little live-action videos, short little animations on YouTube, even huge roleplay “stories” which can be read chapter by chapter. So many of these have been made for certain arcs such as “Into the Wild” and even all of “The New Prophecy”. And while these are super cool and sort of fulfill my need for something Warriors “on TV”, most of them are made by individual fans, so they can look however they want and usually are just little bits.

There are, however, a load of other books, comics and other things out there by Erin Hunter which are worth looking at. There are loads of graphic novels for example. Some of them are even shorter than others and designed to fit into certain sized books. Then there are the special editions which are about as cool as you can get for book lovers. And of course, there are the audiobooks, read by full cast performances. I think the audiobooks are really great for long journeys in cars, or while knitting tea cosies. But again, these aren’t TV shows.

So, for the time being, the best way to keep track of any TV Warriors adaptations is to follow Erin Hunter (and her publisher) on social media, follow the author team’s feeds, and see what the major streaming services announce in terms of optioned properties. In the meantime, I recommend checking out the many fantastic and creative fanmade projects – some of which are genuinely cinematic. Meanwhile, I shall continue to pin my take on a potential film cast to Pinterest, and nurse the dream of a bigscreen transfer of the world of the Clans under the moons.

As many know, I speak regularly with the kids I volunteer at the library about ‘Warriors’. Often the topic of TV shows will arise with the readers of the series and I tell them with a bit of disappointment in my voice that there isn’t a ‘Warriors’ TV show – no series has been produced for mainstream TV to date. None can be found on Netflix or Amazon for example. My last ‘research’ of potential TV adaptations was done in 2024.

There are however plenty of books available such as the graphic novel and manga versions of the series, and there are also many of the Warrior books available as illustrated editions. Also, many of the Warrior books are available as audiobooks, which are great for car trips. I try to read the books on CD to my kids on long trips, and it makes the books come alive in a way. Plus, many of the fans have made their own short films of their favorite scenes and characters. We’ve even had a couple of the fans make short films for us to show in our reading club and then discuss what they did differently from the book and why they made those choices.

But the rest of the franchise has translations in all sorts of other formats. There are graphic novels and manga-style versions, illustrated editions of favorite books and even audiobooks. And the audiobooks are particularly great for family car trips. Because the books are so long, it can take hours to get through one, but listening to it on CD or download while driving makes the time fly by. Kids are frequently so drawn into the world of the book that they promptly go home and re-read the rest of the series. And then there are the fan-made videos, on YouTube, which are always a fun way to look at favorite scenes – even more so if you can combine them with an illustrated “slideshow” of the rest of the book.

So to answer your question, I don’t know what Warriors books will be made into TV shows but in the meantime the fan creations and other ways to enjoy the Warriors books are great. I hope a proper studio picks up the series and make a great TV show but until then, I hope you enjoy all of the ways that you can currently enjoy the Warriors books.

The bottom line here is that, as of mid-2024, there is still no Erin Hunter 'Warriors' book adapted into an official television show or TV series. While there has been lots of interest and lots of talk of a possible adaptation being in the works, none of the Warrior books have yet been optioned and developed into a finished TV series which could then be streamed or broadcast as a TV series. That means that while there have been reports of a TV series being in development, and there have been lots of stories about a TV series in the press, there is still no finished, studio-backed TV Warrior series.

There are three ways to look at adapting big book properties into television shows: optioning them, developing them into scripts, and producing and releasing them. (Lots of big book properties are optioned but never end up being developed into TV shows, for example.) All of the above have happened with the Erin Hunter 'Warriors' books over the years - different production companies have read the books and started to develop ideas about how they could be adapted into a TV series. But, so far, none of them have actually gone into full production and been released as a TV series that can be watched by fans of the books.

Because the book follows dozens of named characters in their internal monologues, it is quite challenging to translate to screen. A lot of fantasy series benefit from being a serial, perhaps only released in certain lengths and with some time in between episodes/seasons. The studio would probably go for a multi-season show instead of making a single film. It would definitely benefit from having a clear and defined target audience, but the book already has a huge following of fans, which makes it an even more tempting candidate for an adaptation.

Until then we have the option of graphic novels, short manga-style adaptations and audio books. There are also plenty of amazing videos and audio dramas made by dedicated Warriors fans. Until an official TV series is made and we see teasers with the showrunner announced, I’ll be sitting quietly here, imagining how I think it could be done and dreaming of who could play certain characters.