For readers who thought Rune and Gideon’s story had ended with Rebel Witch, September has brought a rather dramatic reversal.
Kristen Ciccarelli’s The Crimson Moth is being developed for television, with a pilot already written and currently being presented to potential buyers. At the same time, Ciccarelli has confirmed that two more novels featuring Rune Winters and Gideon Sharpe are on the way.
The first of those books already has a title: Dark Descent.
It is an unexpectedly large expansion for a series that was originally conceived and published as a duology.
The Crimson Moth TV adaptation is in development
Writer-director Georgia Lee, whose credits include The Expanse, The 100 and Carnival Row, has acquired the television rights to The Crimson Moth alongside Joe Henderson and Chad Kennedy.
Henderson is particularly familiar with adapting supernatural material for television, having served as co-showrunner on Lucifer.
Kim Shumway, whose credits include The 100, is writing the adaptation. More significantly, this is already beyond the stage of simply announcing that adaptation rights have been purchased: Shumway has completed a pilot script.
Ciccarelli has read the script herself and confirmed that the project is currently being shopped to prospective buyers.
That distinction is important. The Crimson Moth does not yet have an announced television network or streaming service, and there is currently no confirmed cast, production date or release window. A pilot script and an experienced creative team make this a serious adaptation project, but there are still several stages between its current status and an actual series reaching television.
For now, readers should treat The Crimson Moth as a TV series in development rather than a fully ordered production.
Heartless Hunter could be particularly well suited to television
The first novel, Heartless Hunter, introduced Rune Winters, a witch living in a society where witches have gone from rulers to hunted outcasts following a revolution.
Publicly, Rune hides behind the persona of a frivolous young socialite. Secretly, she operates as the Crimson Moth, helping other witches escape persecution.
Her efforts eventually bring her into conflict with Gideon Sharpe, a committed witch hunter trying to discover the Crimson Moth’s identity. Rune attempts to manipulate Gideon by courting him for information, while Gideon has reasons of his own for getting close to her.
The resulting witch-and-witch-hunter relationship gave the series an immediately recognizable enemies-to-lovers premise, but the books also have the kind of political conflict, secret identities and escalating magical stakes that could give a television adaptation considerably more to work with than the central romance alone.
The series has also already demonstrated a substantial international audience. Both Heartless Hunter and its sequel Rebel Witch became major bestsellers, with Rebel Witch reaching number one on the New York Times bestseller list.
And that readership has now changed the future of the books themselves.
The Crimson Moth is no longer a duology
When Ciccarelli finished writing Rebel Witch, she believed she was saying goodbye to Rune and Gideon.
The author has explained that The Crimson Moth was genuinely planned as a two-book story. She had completed Rebel Witch before Heartless Hunter was published and before she knew how strongly readers would respond to the series.
That makes the next development considerably more interesting than a conventional sequel announcement.
Two additional Crimson Moth novels are now planned, extending the series to four books.
Wednesday Books will publish the new novels in North America, while HarperMagpie has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada. Rights to the continuation have also sold in numerous international territories.
The third novel is titled The Dark Descent.
The Dark Descent continues Rune and Gideon’s story in 2027
Rather than introducing a new generation of characters or telling a separate story in the same world, the third book continues directly with Rune and Gideon.
The official description reveals that Rune’s death and resurrection have changed her. Something dark is growing within her, while political pressure on witches intensifies and witches begin disappearing across the country.
Rune is also now married to Gideon, the former witch hunter whose relationship with her has driven much of the series.
At the same time, a foreign empire arrives offering protection to witches, forcing Rune into increasingly dangerous choices about the power she possesses and the person she wants to remain.
Wednesday Books lists the North American hardcover at approximately 400 pages. The publisher has also assigned ISBN 9781250456199 to the edition.
A cover reveal has not yet taken place, although Ciccarelli has confirmed that one is coming.
Book four already has a title
The continuation does not stop with The Dark Descent.
The fourth novel is titled The Deadly Duet.
HarperMagpie has confirmed that it acquired books three and four under those titles, meaning readers already know the name of the next installment even before The Dark Descent reaches bookstores.
Far less is known about The Deadly Duet. A publication date and full synopsis have not yet been announced, so any details about where Rune and Gideon’s story goes after book three remain firmly under wraps.
For a series that was considered complete after two books, however, its trajectory now looks very different.
There are two more novels ahead, and a television adaptation is actively being developed at the same time.
What to watch next
The biggest question surrounding the TV adaptation is who, if anyone, buys it.
A studio or streaming deal would move The Crimson Moth into a much more concrete stage of development. After that, the major milestones would be a series order, casting for Rune and Gideon, a director, production dates and eventually a release window.
On the book side, the next major reveal should be the cover for The Dark Descent. More information about The Deadly Duet, particularly its publication date and synopsis, should follow as the expanded series moves forward.
What began as a completed two-book romantasy has suddenly become a much larger franchise.
For The Crimson Moth, it appears that Rebel Witch was not the ending after all.