Legendary Pictures has once again made headlines with a move that is as bold as it is expensive. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has invested over $3 million to secure the film rights to Alchemised, an upcoming dark fantasy novel by Portland-based author SenLinYu. 
What makes the deal particularly eye-catching is not only the price tag – potentially the most expensive book-to-film rights acquisition on record without adjusting for inflation – but also the fact that the book has not even hit shelves yet. Its official release is slated for September 23, 2025.
So why such confidence in an unpublished work? The answer lies in the fascinating origins of Alchemised. Though the story now stands on its own, it traces its roots back to fanfiction. Specifically, it began as a Dramione tale – fiction centered on a romantic dynamic between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. Over time, SenLinYu, known simply as Sen by their fanbase, transformed this premise into something original, replacing Hogwarts with Paladia, a war-torn realm filled with necromancy, alchemy, and intrigue. At the heart of this reimagined world is Helena Marino, a protagonist grappling with lost memories and hunted secrets that tie her to the larger conflict.
The official book description paints a picture of an epic debut: a woman piecing together her fractured past amid a dangerous landscape where survival depends on mastering ancient arts. For fans of dark fantasy, it promises a mix of gothic atmosphere and character-driven storytelling – qualities that have fueled Sen’s rise from writing stories in their phone’s Notes app to commanding millions of readers worldwide.
Indeed, Sen’s previous fanfiction work Manacled has become a phenomenon in its own right. It holds a 4.63-star rating from nearly 140,000 Goodreads reviews, has been translated into 23 languages, and has amassed more than 20 million downloads. This established track record explains why Legendary has such faith in the potential of Alchemised. The studio is betting that Sen’s devoted global audience will follow them into this new literary universe, creating a ready-made fanbase for a future blockbuster adaptation.
Sen expressed gratitude and excitement at the announcement, telling THR, “I’m honored by Legendary’s incredible enthusiasm for the project and can’t wait to see the world of Paladia come to life.” Still, it may be years before a cinematic version emerges. In the meantime, the novel itself will soon be in the hands of readers eager to see how a fanfiction seed has blossomed into an ambitious original saga.
It’s worth noting that the entertainment industry has long borrowed from fan communities, but rarely with such direct acknowledgment. Alchemised represents a cultural moment where what once lived in online archives is now commanding multimillion-dollar Hollywood deals. For fans, skeptics, and industry watchers alike, this development signals just how blurred the lines between fandom and mainstream publishing have become.
1 comment
i was just on goodreads reading bout this other day, wild seeing it here too