Divine Rivals Adaptation Moves to Disney: What Changed?

Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals adaptation has moved to Disney Live Action after Paramount’s rights expired, according to reporting from Deadline summarized by multiple entertainment outlets. The project is being developed as a feature film, with a new screenwriter being brought in and the original producers remaining involved.

For readers waiting to see Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt on screen, the biggest change concerns the screenplay: Disney is not inheriting Paramount’s previous development work. The acquisition gives the adaptation a new studio home, but a release date remains unannounced.

What changed with the Divine Rivals adaptation?

The reported changes are easier to follow when separated into the studio, screenplay, and producing team.

Filmofilia’s account of Deadline’s reporting makes a useful distinction: the rights acquisition does not amount to a production greenlight.

Why did Divine Rivals leave Paramount?

Paramount originally secured the rights in a competitive bidding situation in June 2025. Sofia Alvarez, whose credits include To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, was attached to adapt Ross’s novel.

The project was in development before Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount became official in August 2025. Paramount’s rights subsequently lapsed, creating an opportunity for Disney to acquire them.

That timeline does not establish that the corporate takeover caused the rights to expire. The reports reviewed do not provide a definitive explanation for why Paramount did not retain them.

For readers, the practical consequence is that updates identifying Paramount as the adaptation’s current home are now outdated.

Who is involved in Disney’s version?

Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Pouya Shahbazian remain attached as producers. Rebecca Ross will executive produce alongside Stephen Shafer, according to What’s On Disney Plus’s account of the deal. Disney senior vice president of production Allison Erlikhman is overseeing the project.

Ross’s involvement gives readers an author connection to the adaptation. An executive producer credit, however, does not by itself establish that she will write the screenplay or have final approval over casting and creative decisions.

The next useful creative update will be the identity of the new screenwriter. That announcement should offer a clearer sense of who will shape the book for film.

Is Divine Rivals becoming a movie or a Disney+ series?

The current reporting describes a live-action feature film.

Disney’s acquisition should not be read as confirmation of a Disney+ television series. A theatrical release plan or streaming premiere has not been announced in the reports reviewed.

As of October 31, 2026, those reports also provide no announced cast, director, filming schedule, or release date. Readers should treat suggested actors as fan casting unless a reliable announcement identifies them as attached.

What is Divine Rivals about?

Published by Wednesday Books in April 2023, Divine Rivals introduces Iris Winnow, an eighteen-year-old journalist trying to secure a columnist position at the Oath Gazette while coping with her mother’s addiction and her brother’s disappearance from the front lines.

Iris writes letters to her missing brother, but a magical connection delivers them to Roman Kitt, her rival at the newspaper. His anonymous replies begin a relationship that develops against a war between gods.

The premise offers an adaptation two connected scales: the intimacy of private correspondence and the danger of a conflict reaching into ordinary lives.

Books of Brilliance’s take: the letters present the most interesting adaptation challenge. A film will need to make the growing trust between Iris and Roman compelling on screen while preserving the contrast between their written exchanges and their newspaper rivalry. Casting matters, but how the screenplay handles that relationship may matter just as much.

Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Want to meet Iris and Roman before the adaptation arrives? Find Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross on Amazon.

Will Ruthless Vows also become a movie?

There is no confirmed Ruthless Vows film announcement in the coverage reviewed. Reactor specifically notes that the sequel does not appear to be part of the reported deal.

The book is the second volume of the Letters of Enchantment duology and concludes Iris and Roman’s story. Its existence gives the filmmakers further source material, but it does not establish that Disney has commissioned a second film.

For readers beginning the books, the order is straightforward:

1. Divine Rivals
2. Ruthless Vows

Ready to continue after the first book? Find Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross on Amazon.

What should readers watch for next?

A named screenwriter, director, or cast would provide meaningful new information about the project. A production announcement would be another significant step beyond the rights acquisition.

For now, the development to understand is specific: Divine Rivals has a new studio home, its original producers remain involved, and Disney is taking a new approach to the screenplay. Readers can follow those changes without putting an unannounced release date on their calendars.

What would you most want the film to preserve: the letters, the newspaper rivalry, or the wartime setting?

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