Legendary Entertainment has preemptively secured the rights to develop a feature film adaptation of Alchemised, the highly anticipated debut fantasy novel from author SenLinYu. The acquisition marks one of the largest rights deals for a debut novel to date.
SenLinYu first gained widespread recognition in 2023 with Manacled, a dark fantasy that attracted over 10 million views on AO3 and more than 100,000 five-star ratings on Goodreads. The momentum around their work has carried into Alchemised, which has already been hailed as a global publishing phenomenon with translations set for 21 languages and a U.S. first printing of 750,000 copies by Del Rey.
The novel follows Helena Marino, a former alchemist who awakens in a war-torn world without her memories. As a prisoner of both circumstance and her own fractured past, Helena must unravel the secrets of necromancy, alchemy, and her captor’s hidden truths. The adaptation will bring this expansive world of Paladia to the screen, blending fantasy and psychological tension.
“I’m honored by Legendary’s incredible enthusiasm for the project and can’t wait to see the world of Paladia come to life,” said SenLinYu.
Alchemised will be released in the United States on September 23 through Del Rey, an imprint of Penguin Random House’s Random House Publishing Group. SenLinYu is represented by WME and Matthew N. Sugarman of Weintraub Tobin.
