Will There Be A Movie Adaptation Of 'Once Upon A Broken Heart'?

Question

Saw 'Once Upon a Broken Heart' trending and adored the fantasy romance. The story and characters seem perfect for a film series or tv show. Is any adaptation officially announced yet?

Kimai Warren · Answer

This is part of the Caraval universe created by Stephanie Garber, so any adaptation news would likely come through official film studios, but so far, there has been no announcement. However, this would be an amazing story for screen, because it’s already a really fantastic, high-fantasy, fantasy-romance set in a really amazing world, and it captures that feeling of a kind of fantastical quest that the protagonist is on because of this desperate, personal need. Another story that kind of does this is ‘To Mend A Broken Heart’, where a character makes a deal with a mystical entity to reverse a betrayal, and she has to travel through this kind of living, magic world, negotiating these very mysterious, fae-like deals. It’s a really high-stakes, very emotionally-driven story.

Una · Answer

As a bookseller, I can answer this question about twenty times a day. Often enough, a movie deal follows very quickly to cash in on a book’s explosive sales. There are many reasons for this, not least that a bestseller has already got a ready-made audience for the film. But of course, any adaptation of a book can water down its unique characteristics. So, hopefully, Jacks will be cast with the right amount of nasty in his eye, and Evangeline with just the right amount of stubborn hope, but I’m putting my money on it being a fairly average, sanitized princess tale sort of thing.

Zion · Answer

Since Once Upon a Broken Heart first hit the scene, rumors of a movie adaptation have been circulating among fans of the book and the author. While he stopped short of confirming anything during a recent livestream, he hinted that ‘on-going discussions’ had taken place regarding the possibility of bringing the unique story to the big or small screen. With Hollywood currently fixated on the subgenre of fantasy romances – think Twilight meets A Curse So Dark and Lonely – it seems a pretty natural fit.

However, adaptation is notoriously a slow process and a movie could easily be optioned already while scripts, casting, etc. are being worked on with a possible release date for 2026 or even later. There are tons of examples of great novels being turned into movies years and even decades after the novel was published (e.g. ‘Shadow and Bone’ took over a decade to adapt). I just hope if it does get made, they capture the delicate, whimsical cruelty of the novel — the way love and betrayal can be twisted up in these sort of thorny, vine-like curves.

Yara · Answer

Author is subtly advertising on their Twitter account by ‘favouriting’ very cryptic film gifs. I believe the author wants us to read this. This book is a fairytale, complete with curses, balls and tragic lovers. It will translate well to the big or small screen. Scenes such as the lucky-kiss and the showdown on the clock-tower would look amazing on screen. Netflix are currently struggling to find a hit YA fantasy after The Witcher failed to set hearts aflame. Here’s to hoping they resist the overused blue-filter ‘moody’ look of so much YA on screen and instead opt for the book’s sumptuous jewel-toned backdrop.

Kelsey · Answer

A report recently emerged in industry leaks of major studio bidding for rights to Once Upon a Broken Heart. Although there has been no official announcement, fans are holding out hope for A-list casting of Evangeline and Jacks. Could author Jaclyn Moriarty’s blend of Gothic romance and fantastical fairy tales secure the star power of Florence Pugh and Timothée Chalamet? With expensive settings, a big budget is required for a film of this nature. We will bring you updates as they emerge on Deadline.

Gemma Inot · Answer

Stephanie Garber seems pretty connected to her fans. So, if any of these discussions were really happening, one would hope that the author would drop some hints or that her publisher would start touting the final book as “now optioned for film” or whatever, in order to make a few extra sales. Often authors have very little to do with films optioned from their work, though they are generally kept apprised. Garber’s social media focuses entirely on her writing and her books, and there is no mention of meetings with producers. My take is that we are currently in the “we’re interested, can we option this?” pre-option phase of film adaptation, and the real indicator of whether or not anything will actually come to pass will be a shift in Garber’s public tone or a dramatic increase in her silence on the subject.

Joan Geneblaza Porcia · Answer

The silence is killing me. Just one crumb of news please. Any insiders at Variety willing to leak some information? I’m only half joking. The not knowing is the worst part. It allows for all this endless speculation and debate which is fun for a while but then becomes background anxiety. Will it happen? Won’t it? It would be so much to manage expectations of the publisher and of Garber if he just said yes they are talking or no they are not. But that’s not how Hollywood works. Everything is shrouded in secrecy until the big press release. Now we’re stuck in limbo and have to read between the lines of the occasional obscure tweet or interview.

Chime Chinonso · Answer

Evangeline’s journey to break the curse and learn to fit into this new world of magic is essentially an episodic structure. Therefore, a series would be a more natural fit for this book and all subsequent installments in The Visual History of Deviant Magic series. Adapt this book into a high budget, faithful series, not a movie. Petition for a series, not a movie. Start chanting into the universe that you want a series, and maybe the right producer will hear you.

Leona Jackson · Answer

Perhaps it’s already being secretly developed, and this secrecy is actually part of the overall strategy to announce a project once it has a fully formed package (i.e. a director, lead cast, etc. and a start date). Maybe a streamer has held the rights to a property for a year or so and is secretly working on scripts. It would be pretty typical of a newer, ‘buzzworthy’ property for a streamer to try and protect. Perhaps the first we hear of a project will be the (no doubt) internet-breaking casting announcement. In many ways, that would be the ideal way for a project to be announced: after years of pondering the rumor, we could just have it confirmed with the project now actually being made with real people attached to it.

coombsnatalie9 · Answer

So I suppose it’s worth acknowledging the vast amount of other films currently trying to reach the same audiences to bring the next big fantasy series to life, the next Harry Potter or Twilight. Lots of YA bestsellers are getting considered right now (like Fourth Wing, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and The Cruel Prince, to name a few of the many). There’s only so much to spend on movies and attention to grab from the audience, so in the end it’s a race to see who gets the best script written first and can secure the right actor to star in it. It’s not just about the best idea or book, it’s also about luck and how everything falls into place at the right time.

setonjiludovic231 · Answer

This makes dollars and cents. While many YA fantasy adaptations are unsuccessful, the ones that are extremely successful (The Hunger Games is coming back to screen, Twilight is being made into a TV series) are all romance-forward fantasy and thus OUABH could be a brand new, big-franchise-for-a- studio. In terms of production costs, OUABH is a much more contained movie than a huge war-based LOtR-style fantasy film. The movie could be all about costume, setting and the romance between the two leads. In terms of business, this would make a lot of sense for a studio to pick up as it’s a much smarter bet than most other big-franchise-style fantasy films out there.

Raquel · Answer

I feel like I already have the perfect adaptation of The Ten Thousand Doors of January in audiobook form. Rebecca Soler does an incredible job as Evangeline and Jacks. Sometimes I think the best way to adapt a story is to leave the visuals to the reader’s imagination. It can be even more powerful than any CGI. Not every great story needs to be translated to screen with all of the inner thoughts and magical nuances of the story. Most of the time, there would be too much pressure to include everything. The way I feel about the audiobooks is that they are complete just the way they are. A film would be fun, but it wouldn’t be the same as having the audiobooks and being able to imagine things for myself. In a way, I’m already satisfied.

Will There Be A Movie Adaptation Of 'Once Upon A Broken Heart'?

12 Answers

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