Peacock to adapt YA fantasy ‘Red Queen’, with Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks in Mrs America

NBCUniversal-owned streamer Peacock is developing an adaptation of Victoria Aveyard’s young adult fantasy novel Red Queen, with Elizabeth Banks attached to co-star and executive produce.

Aveyard is co-writing the series alongside former Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz, who will also showrun here, while Mrs America star Banks and Max Handelman will exec produce via Brownstone Productions, whose Dannah Shinder co-exec produces.

Warner Bros. Television, where Schwartz and Browstone and under overall deals, is producing, alongside Universal Television and Brownstone.

The series is set in an alternate version of the US led by a monarchy of superhumans that rule over the powerless populace. However, when Mare, a young woman born into poverty, discovers she has developed powers, she is thrust into becoming the unlikely face of a revolution against the super-powered oppressors.

Aveyard’s Red Queen novel was first published in 2015 and followed by the sequels Glass Sword, King’s Cage and War Storm.

Browstone, meanwhile, is behind Hulu comedy Shrill and the upcoming Over My Dead Body for HBO Max and Flintstones spin-off Bedrock at Fox, to which Banks will lend her voice.