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I’m completely fine waiting for the eventual book-to-screen adaptation if it’s a book or series I absolutely love, even if it takes years. I mean it when I say that I’d rather it be done right or not done at all. I would absolutely apply that thinking to Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe series. The young adult sci-fi story is one of my favorites, so I’m really hopeful for a great adaptation. While there has been a notable update on what’s going on with the adaptation, there’s something else in store for fans of the not-so-dystopian YA series — Prequel books!
What The Arc Of A Scythe Series Is About
If you’ve read the books, feel free to skip this part!
Neal Shusterman’s Scythe trilogy is set in a future when death has been conquered. No disease is fatal, and there’s virtually no injury that can’t be healed. People still age naturally, but they have the option to return to a younger version of themselves when they want. Sounds great, right? It certainly has its perks, but it’s not without its drawbacks – including the impact it has on the world’s population.
Because people no longer die naturally, a group of people known as Scythes are tasked with taking lives to keep the earth from becoming overpopulated. The main characters of Book 1 (Scythe) are two young adults who become Scythe apprentices. Amidst learning the process of gleaning and their important role in society, there are complicated politics and a growing tension that could put the whole system at risk.
What We Know About The Scythe Adaptation
There has been talk of an adaptation of Scythe for years. At one point, word was that Universal had plans to turn it into a movie, however as Neal Shusterman said in a TikTok in March 2025, the studio decided to do a TV show instead. And now it appears that plans may have shifted again:
Shusterman shared an update about his progress on the prequel book at the start of 2026, and he also mentioned the adaptation as well. The text on the video says:
While the film is in development I have news. There are new Scythe prequel books coming. First Blades — Book one is called Rising Thunder. About how the AI of the Thunderhead came to power and the original Scythes.
Based on that, it would seem that the adaptation is back to being a film. And it’s still in development, so we’ll have to wait for more updates on that front, but it’s probably safe to say that we won’t be seeing it on the 2026 movies schedule, but we at least know it’s still among the upcoming sci-fi movies in the works.
In the meantime, as you may have noticed, there are also some exciting tidbits about the prequel book, which apparently is not going to be just one book?…
First Blades Book 1 Is Coming
In the January 2026 Instagram video, Shusterman says, “there are new Scythe prequel books coming,” then goes on to refer to it as First Blades – Book 1. So First Blades is presumably the name of the series, with Book 1 being called Rising Thunder.
Now, this is obviously just speculation here, but based on what Shusterman said in this post and in a previous TikTok when he first announced the prequel he was writing, I’m guessing that First Blades is a reference to the very first Scythes. He mentions the original Scythes in the Instagram post, and he also brought them up in a bit more detail back in 2024, when he said this on his TikTok:
It’s gonna go back to the very beginnings of the Thunderhead, and the first Scythes, who were all teenagers and met on social media.
Now, to be clear, he said that in March 2024, and it’s entirely possible that the part about them meeting on social media has changed since then. But everything else he said nearly two years ago sounds like it lines up with the more recent update, including the title of the series (First Blades) and Book 1 (Rising Thunder).
The fact that it’ll be multiple books is even more exciting. One of the things I love so much about the Arc of a Scythe trilogy (and Gleanings) is how thought-out the setting is. With that in mind, I can’t wait to learn more about what the world looked like at the start of everything — not just the start of Scythes, but the start of humanity’s transition into what is essentially immortality (assuming you aren’t gleaned). There’s so much potential to flesh out the canon, and I have no doubt that Shusterman’s new book will deliver and surprise in the best ways possible.
So… when does Rising Thunder hit shelves? I haven’t seen a release date anywhere, and I’m not seeing it available for pre-order at the usual places just yet. Shusterman’s Instagram post includes the announcement that the first draft of the prequel is finished, so it may be a while before a release plan is locked down and we can begin a proper countdown. But the fact that the draft is written is one exciting step closer to me getting this story into my imagination, and that’s good enough for me!