Disney Sets New Adaptation Of Bestselling Fantasy Novel Series

Published Oct 27, 2026, 1:01 PM EDT Jeff Dodge (he/him), a published author and graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena. Fun Fact: he’s been to every single Idol Live! Tour. Sign in to your ScreenRant account This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.Disney has adapted several beloved and popular fantasy stories throughout its existence, and now the House of Mouse is doing it all over again with a brand-new project. Deadline reports that Disney just secured the rights to Divine Rivals, a fantasy romance novel by Rebecca Ross. The story revolves around two rival journalists, Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt, who establish a strong connection with each other through magic. Iris' brother is missing after fighting in a war, and she copes with the ordeal by writing letters that vanish inside her wardrobe. They end up being transported to her rival, Roman, setting off a chain reaction amid a war between gods. The novel leans into the popular enemies-to-lovers trope that's popular in the romantasy genre, like with Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorns and Roses. After Divine Rivals came out in spring 2023, Ross wrote a sequel called Ruthless Vows that wraps up the Letters of Enchantment duology. Her novel Wild Reverence takes place in the same universe. The author has also published the Elements of Cadence duology, which includes A River Enchanted and A Fire Endless; The Queen's Rising duology, consisting of The Queen's Rising and The Queen's Resistance; and the novels Sisters of Sword and Song and Dreams Lie Beneath. Ross' next novel, A Bittersweet Spell, will be released on April 6, 2027. This isn't the first time that a studio has attempted to adapt Divine Rivals. Just over a year ago, there was a bidding war over the film rights, with Paramount coming out on top. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Pouya Shahbazian had signed on as producers, and Sofia Alvarez would have served as screenwriter after writing the scripts for To All the Boys I've Loved Before and To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. The project never moved forward at Paramount, though. Now that Divine Rivals is at Disney, there are some behind-the-scenes changes being made. While di Bonaventura and Shahbazian are still producers, Alvarez will be replaced. Other executive producers include Stephen Shafer and Ross. More to come...