Catch up on the essentials
- Disney Live Action has acquired the film rights to Rebecca Ross’s fantasy romance novel Divine Rivals , according to reporting published on October 27, 2026.
- Disney’s version of Divine Rivals is described as a restart from scratch, with a new writer being sought.
- Divine Rivals , the first book in Ross’s Letters of Enchantment series, was published in April 2023.
Selected from this article · 2026-10-27
Read on for the full pictureDisney takes on the fantasy romance adaptation
Disney Live Action has acquired the film rights to Rebecca Ross’s fantasy romance novel Divine Rivals, according to reporting published on October 27, 2026. The studio is beginning development on the project with a new screenwriter being sought, while original producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Pouya Shahbazian remain attached.
The acquisition marks a change in the project’s creative path after Paramount initially acquired the rights in June 2025. Paramount had Sofia Alvarez, known for To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, attached to write the adaptation. That development was not inherited by Disney, and Alvarez is no longer involved in the reported project. Ross and Stephen Shafer will serve as executive producers.
Disney is restarting the project with the producers retained
Disney’s version of Divine Rivals is described as a restart from scratch, with a new writer being sought. Allison Erlikhman, Disney senior vice president of production, is overseeing the project and reports to Disney Live Action President Daria Cercek, according to Deadline’s report.
Di Bonaventura and Shahbazian developed the project for Paramount and remain involved with Disney. The reported deal also credits Clare Reeth and Emily Dayton with facilitating the rights acquisition for Disney Live Action, while Katherine Curtis of New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. brokered the deal for Ross.
The novel has an established sales and readership record
Divine Rivals, the first book in Ross’s Letters of Enchantment series, was published in April 2023. It follows rival journalists Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt, whose romantic relationship is linked to a magical connection and a war among gods. The novel has sold more than one million copies and spent 104 weeks on The New York Times Young Adult Bestseller List, according to the reporting.
Its sequel, Ruthless Vows, arrived in December 2023 and debuted at No. 1 on the same list in January 2024. The sequel sold more than 500,000 copies and spent 42 weeks on the list. Ross also released the prequel Wild Reverence in 2025. Deadline reported that the books have developed a following on TikTok, particularly in the BookTok community, while the author has sold three million copies worldwide.
The film remains at an early development stage
The acquisition establishes Disney’s ownership of the adaptation rights, but the reported reporting does not identify a release date, cast, director or confirmed production schedule. A new screenwriter is still being sought, and the project has not been reported as having entered filming.
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