In one of the biggest rights deals for a debut novel in recent memory, Legendary has acquired the film rights to Alchemised, the forthcoming dark romantasy novel by author SenLinYu, in a deal that insiders say exceeded $3 million. The preemptive acquisition was designed to suppress competition, sparking a whirlwind of industry interest and negotiations.
SenLinYu, who uses they/them pronouns, is a familiar name in the world of online fanfiction. They rose to fame in the Dramione fandom — centered on the imagined romance between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger — particularly for their dystopian fantasy Manacled, which amassed over 10 million reads on Archive of Our Own (AO3) and earned over 100,000 five-star ratings on Goodreads. Their broader body of fan work, including Star Wars fics, has drawn more than 20 million downloads globally and has been translated into 23 languages.
Now stepping into the world of traditional publishing, SenLinYu is set to release Alchemised through Penguin Random House imprint Del Rey on September 23, with an ambitious first printing of 750,000 copies and translation rights already sold in 21 languages.
The story, which originally began as a Dramione concept before being transformed into an original dark fantasy, follows Helena Marino — a gifted healer with forgotten memories — who is sent to a crumbling estate ruled by a necromancer assigned to uncover the secrets hidden in her mind. As the official blurb teases, “Helena’s fight — to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self — is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own … secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.”
The acquisition is timely for Legendary, which is riding high off its output deal with Paramount and the box office success of Minecraft: The Movie. While the studio declined to comment on financial details, sources confirm the deal was an outright purchase that could rank among the highest film rights sales for a single book, not adjusted for inflation.
SenLinYu is represented by WME and attorney Matthew Sugarman at Weintraub Tobin. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the author said, “I’m honored by Legendary’s incredible enthusiasm for the project and can’t wait to see the world of Paladia come to life.”
With echoes of previous publishing-to-film success stories like Fifty Shades of Grey — which famously began as Twilight fanfiction — Alchemised appears poised to be the next phenomenon bridging fandom roots with blockbuster aspirations.
Discover more from Allycaral
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
