Legendary Entertainment Acquires Rights to “Tier One” Military Books

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary Entertainment will adapt a series of military thriller novels after securing film and television rights.

The company has acquired the rights to it Stage one Series written by Brian Andrews and Jeff Wilson.

The news comes a day after Legendary Entertainment completed its acquisition of Wanda Group’s stake in the company, a move that CEO Josh Grode says marks a new era for the studio.

Stage one is a military thriller novel series about John Dempsey as an elite Navy SEAL whose life is turned upside down when his Tier 1 unit is attacked by a terrorist organization. As the sole survivor of the attack, Dempsey is recruited into a shadowy secret unit that sends him on the unlikely journey of becoming an elite spy for the United States government.

There are eight books in the series, with a ninth coming next year.

Legendary Television is currently developing the project. Marcus Blakely (Neuromancer) and Peter Johnson (Supernatural) will produce alongside Andrews and Wilson, as well as Blackstone Publishing’s Brendan Deneen and Josh Stanton.

The Cross Brothers had previously acquired the rights for a series adaptation, but this did not materialize.

It’s the latest book optioned by Blackstone Publishing, the Oregon-based company that hired former Miramax executive Brendan Deneen to run its TV and film division. The company currently has projects at Netflix, Amazon Studios, Paramount, NBC/Universal, Lionsgate and AMC.