Netflix picks up the adaptation rights to Redwall, a series of books about mice with swords

Everybody that runs a movie or TV studio has been desperate to find the next Lord Of The Rings—a ready-made, long-running series that can be turned into multiple movies or seasons of a TV show without having to do too much hard work. Disney had some success with the Chronicles Of Narnia movies, HBO had a few good years with Game Of Thrones, and Amazon is just straight-up doing Lord Of The Rings again, but now Netflix has found its own thing that has the potential to be way better than all of those combined. Because, see, they all share the same fatal flaw: They’re (mostly) about humans. They have human actors playing humans or human-like characters who generally fall within the predictable height range of human-like characters, and they all love to talk about how they don’t have tails. Boooring!

Well, get this: Netflix has just picked up the adaptation rights to Redwall, a long-running series of fantasy books that span years and years of history in a fictional world, with knights and pirates and iconic heroes going on noble quests and fighting against ruthless villains, and it all rules. (For the most part.) Oh, also, all of the characters happen to be woodland creatures. We’re talking mice with swords and badgers swinging big lances around, and again, it rules.

Variety says Netflix is planning to make both a movie and a TV show based on Brian Jacques Redwall books, with the movie focusing on the first book, Redwall, and the TV series adapting Martin The Warrior. Patrick McHale, creator of Cartoon Network’s beloved Over The Garden Wall, will be writing the movie. Three Redwall books, including these two, were previously adapted for a 1999 TV series (see below). Variety doesn’t say if Netflix has plans to adapt the remaining 20 books in the Redwall series, but it did pick up the rights to all of them, so it’s clearly keeping that door open at least.