‘Shadowhunters’ set to begin production in Vancouver this May + network revealed, pilot name and character descriptions
While they’ve yet to announce the casting or network for The Mortal Instruments television show titled “Shadowhunters,” it sounds like we have a production start month and filming location.
According to industry insider Lemon_Buzz on Twitter, production on Shadowhunters is set to begin filming in Vancouver this May.
With May just two short months away, I’d anticipate a whole lot of network and casting news to be headed our way.
Get ready, Shadowhunters, it’s happening!
UPDATE:
Thanks to our friends at Idris BR, we found what looks to be a casting notice for Shadowhunters, which details the character descriptions (they’ve been aged up), the pilot name, storyline, producer credits and the network it will be airing on.
According to the notice, Shadowhunters will air on ABC Family and is ordered straight to series, which means that they don’t have to just film a pilot and hope the network picks it up. That means we’re definitely getting a show.
The website also revealed the title of the pilot, which is “The Mortal Cup.”
It sounds like they’re currently casting the roles of Clary, Jace and Simon, as this notice and character descriptions for the three are on the notice.
CLARY FRAY] 18-21 years old, beautiful, fiery red-headed, creative, and intelligent. Clary Fray is a promising art student whose bright future is derailed when her mother is kidnapped and she learns her life has been a lie. Clary discovers a hidden Shadow World full of Vampires, Werewolves, and other unthinkable danger that she quickly learns to navigate. As she is forced into action, she embraces her newfound powers and realizes that she will play the central role in this new world…SERIES REGULAR, PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES
[JACE WAYLAND] Early 20s, narcissistic, and lethally gorgeous, Jace is a determined and expert Shadowhunter. A skilled soldier in a war against demons. After his father is killed, Jace makes it his life mission to seek revenge on the man who is responsible. After years of being the object of every girl’s desire, he finds himself in an unfamiliar position – falling in love with Clary… SERIES REGULAR, PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES
[SIMON LEWIS] Early 20s, intelligent, very handsome in a non-calculated kind of way, Simon Lewis is Clary Fray’s long-time best friend. He’s the first to find humor in any situation. An accounting student by day, Simon spends his free time performing in a band. His loyalty and feelings for Clary are tested as he fights alongside her on an epic journey. Because of this, he is ultimately turned into a vampire and struggles to maintain his humanity while simultaneously accepting his fate… SERIES REGULAR, PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES
There was also a brief synopsis of the show.
Clary Fray is perfectly normal; she’s a budding art student who loves spending time with her friends and family. On her 18th birthday, however, Clary discovers she is part of an age-old battle between demons and an elite race of warriors known as Shadowhunters. When her mother is kidnapped and her home is destroyed, so is her sense of reality. Clary must now understand her new role in an ancient battle, and come to terms with her family’s past…
Also revealed were executive producer credits and casting information.
Executive Producers: Ed Decter, Michael Reisz, Marjorie David
Director: TBD
Writer: Ed Decter
Casting Directors: Alyson Silverberg & Jonathan Clay Harris
Casting Associates: Susan Esrock & Justin Kiang
It also confirmed that production will begin in Vancouver in May.
Here is a screenshot of the site:
TMI Source 
Yipee Kai YAAAY
Yes, but is it still using the pilot script where the Shadowhunters are a division of the CIA and it’s set in Los Angeles?
Hopefully not -__-
I’m excited, as long as they keep true to the books. Here’s hoping that the rumors we’ve heard are false and that the movie portrays the characters, setting, and plot properly. If not, it will be just as unsuccessful as the movie. I’m going to try to remain positive, though. It would definitely help if the production crew involved Cassie in the decisions. Just my two cents.
Completely agree!
I love the one book one season idea. Though this does mean a max of 9 episode per season. Otherwise way too much extra stuff will be added to fill it up. Where they do have more room with characters as Maia, Alec, Isabelle and Magnus (the side characters) it would still mean the more episode the bigger the changes of adding storylines or changing them from the book.
I don’t think adding more would necessarily be a bad thing. In fact, it would open up ways to solve some of the issues that the books have.
Clary has been labeled a Mary Sue character in some quarters. There’s a lot of truth to that. Her character arc isn’t what it should be, and that can be improved dramatically with just a little more backstory and minor but important changes, especially near the beginning of the series.
Also, in the books, the characters are coming of age and feeling out their identities, what makes them who they are. It’s certainly possible to expand on that theme without destroying what made the books great.
True, they can add things without changing the over all pictures. But the more episode you have the harder this might be. I do think this is agreat change to explore the characters more and their dynamic. More Jace and Alec for instance you really understand why they are parabatai’s and or best friends, since I never quite felt it in the books. More sibling dynamic or even getting an flashback episode on the circle (which would be so cool!) It has great possiblity.
Alec and Isabelle are not side characters they are main characters and Maia ever since she was in city of fallen angels she has been a main character as well
then we have a different idea of a main character. Clary, Simon and Jace are main characters. Isabelle, Alec and Magnus are side characters, albeit big ones, or you can look at them as smaller main characters. The first three would be nominate at award shows for main character the latter from supporting character. They just don’t have enough POV or storylines to be true main characters. Though they should be.
I agree. Alec, Isabelle and Magnus play just as an important role as Clary and Simon and Jace. Well, as for Magnus, he becomes a main character more and more throughout the series. In the first book he just has one appearance, but that changes. Clary is the protagonist, for sure, but what I love about the series is that those five characters aren´t divided into main and side characters, but that they´re a team. None of them is more or less important than the other.
I’m not saying Alec and Isabelle aren’t important and they do become bigger characters over time. But they aren’t main characters. They are the bonnie and caroline, or Castiel and Crowley (whichever show you watch) Clary, Simon and Jace are the Elena, Damon and Stephan or the Dean and Sam.
The first POV from Alec is at the end of second book, up until then you have never seen him on his own or know what he is feeling( when trust me he should be feeling a lot with everything going on). The same goes for Isabelle and Magnus. We didnt even know Magnus and Ragnor where friends until it was mention, because we are hardly ever in Magnus’s mind until far later on.
That to me makes the difference between main characters and supporting characters.
If they had been main characters we would have read Alec’s own feelings when Clary walked in, or when he first saw Magnus. We would have read Magnus’s thougt when he found his good friend Ragnor dead. And we would have had Isabelle’s pov of her moving on after her brother dies while struggling with all the guilt.
They are a team, but there is a big difference between all the characters and the time you get with them and that is what eventually divides them. The tv show has the change to explore this more which is great and does have the possibily to make them bigger characters than they were in the book and maybe even make them the main characters most people already think they are, but by official guidelines they aren’t.
*cheers* Seconded!
I’ve been in the middle of a job transition so haven’t been able to do much, but I plan to physically go down there and get an appointment to talk to the showrunner. I want to be optimistic, too, but if there’s anything I can do to influence how things come out, I’ll do it.
Living in the Los Angeles area myself has its benefits. That, and being a fanfic writer too…plus knowing how to write a TV script…
That’s really amazing that you’re planning on doing that. Thank you so much. 🙂
Can you convince them to not go to effing ABC Family for God sakes. I’m pretty should they would allow incesterous ideas into any of their tv shows. I mean I doubt Pretty Little Liers had any. I’m afraid their going to make it into another teen-drama like Vampire Diaries no offense to them. I would think Amc or HBO would be perfect for them like Games of Thrones.
So excited!!! Glad to see it on abc family.
How do you know it’ll be on ABC Family? Me, I’d prefer the CW, but I suppose I won’t be choosy as long as it’s on the air (and more faithful to the books, of course).
Abc family has the the fosters and they are doing a great job when it comes to equality, so for Magnus and Alec’s sake this network could be so great, much better than CW who scores rather low on equality and representation.
Okay, granted, but why not put it on the CW to balance things out? And CW started out as a network primarily aimed at female viewers, right?
You’re not saying that the network the show airs on would have an adverse effect on the content of the episodes themselves, are you?
A network is the main decision maker, in the end they make all the decision, episodes, storylines etc. They have the most money to win or lose in the end. So it definitely would have effected the way the story would be handled. CW is aimed at female viewers and the concept would have fitted their network best I do agree with you on that. But maybe they did turn it down for reason we just don’t know yet. But ABC family is a great network, so I’m happy with it
I kinda knew it would be on ABC Since the Runes appeared in a book that Agent Carter (which airs on ABC) was looking through.
I’m not so excited ’cause we all know what they did to the appearance and personalities and storyline of Pretty Little Liars. So…?
I’ve never read it, did they really change that much? I know CW has a horrible reputation with keeping true the books, just look at the vampire diaries and you can tell right away. Which had some dire effects on the writer of the bookseries. HBO does pretty well, but they would have never even considered this show an option.
What about the brother-sister situations? I Am confident that ABC Family isn’t going to let that go or the intensity of the evil or the sick-minded people in the book.
Really exited…. I just hope they stay true to the characters!
I’m excited for this! But not so much about the aging of the characters. But whatever, at least they are maintaining Simon’s humor!
Hmm…urg. If they’re already casting then I’d better work fast.
And it looks like it’s definitely ABC Family.
Just curious but would ABC Family be able to pull off the special effects?
I have found the Casting Agent, Jonathan Harris Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts. He looks like a really hot, young guy with good taste and he is the casting agent for a lot of big shows and movie. He has shows on the CW and ABC Family so I’m sure he knows what he is doing and if they wanted him to do it on the CW instead of ABC Family they would since he does casting on both. I hope he does a good job. Fingers crossed
https://instagram.com/jonathanclayharris/
https://www.facebook.com/jonathanclayharris
Did anyone else notice the fact that they’re all like,18 and college students in the TV series?!
Yup, they are ageing it up. I read someone they chose to do so they could sex the show up. But I’m not sure that is really the reason. I hope not.
I don’t like the fact that in the movie, and now in the TV show, that they are making the character ages higher. I get that it makes it easier to find actors who can play the roles, but the characters are supposed to be teenagers, so as the storyline progresses, it shows how much they’ve grown and matured and how the events of the series has effected their young lives.
I totally and completely agree, but I don’t think they’re going to change just on our say-so.
I’ll have time tomorrow to physically go down to Constantin Films and talk to people, tho, so cross your fingers.
Another interesting thought, while I’m at it. Who ends up with control over subsidiary rights to TMI, for things like merchandising, computer/mobile games, etc.? Is it Constantin? ABC Family?
I’m wondering since I’m also a web developer, and have occasionally dabbled with making computer games. :p
I just realised they made Simon 20 and he would officially be too old to drink from the mortal cup to become a Shadowhunter at the end of City of Heavenily Fire 😦
That’s assuming they keep that bit of canon, which they likely won’t. Or maybe they’ll say it works up till age 24 or something like that.
That also takes away the sting of Valentine wanting to use the Mortal Cup haphazardly on underage children, and not caring who survives the process. So they’ll likely dump that bit of canon, too.
and it would make you wonder why they all still live at home. Especially Alec and Isabelle, shouldnt they be traveling the world and making their own earnings if they are adults now. Plus Alec was the only one fighting during the war in City of Glass because he was the only adult. Will they change the legal age of being an adult to 21 to keep the same storyline working? So many aspect were based on being underage or barely an adult or not, that it does have consequence now that they are aged up. Like you said. What will they keep and what will they remove or alter to fit the changes.
That’s also important because in the books, Alec was just old enough to attend the Clave meetings.
Excited to see all the new info coming out about the TV show!
Damon I always enjoy your posts over at fangirlish about the books, glad to see u here.
I am curious, being a female fan of the series myself, how do u think that they should attract the potential male audience?
This series in my opinion is one of the few ‘YA’ series I’ve read that is ‘gender-neutral’, meaning that girls AND guys could relate to certain situations described in the storylines.
I’ve never heard of Clary being described as a Mary sue, I’ve heard rose Hathaway of the vampire academy series a Mary sue many times before lol.
I know I am about to make a bold claim, but I predict that shadowhunters could overtake pll as the most popular/tweeted about show on ABC family.
My hope among other things is that they get the mythology right of the shadow world. And for goodness sake use the right terminology (paratarbi, downworlder, clave etc.)
One thing I’m really worried about is how ABC Family would be able to pull off the special effects.
Well ABC has shows like Once Upon a Time, so I think it should be fine! 🙂
Thank you Midnight Rose, I feel so warm and fuzzy now. :3
As far as attracting a male audience goes, I don’t have a pat answer for that. But first of all, let’s compare J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. She was a female YA author like Cassandra Clare, but chose to use a male main character rather than a female one, along with a female supporting lead. You would think that that would balance out the readership/viewership, but I’ve read that the viewership for the Harry Potter films was skewed 80% female. Go figure.
Clary, on the other hand, is a young girl trying to figure out her place in the world when the rug is pulled out from under her and she discovers that her own personal history is a lie. *Can* that be appealing to guys? Maybe not in the same way that, say, a male superhero wearing tights would be (I’m looking at you, Flash).
I think if the showrunner makes each member of the cast important, with their own unique issues that they’re struggling with, not just make them secondary characters or eye candy, then you’ll see at least some interest from male viewers. And I think that’s easily doable — in fact, I get the feeling that that’s one of the few things that the show will get right, regardless.
As far as whether Clary is or isn’t a Mary Sue, I’ll just say that *in my own personal opinion* (YMMV), she’s rather more courageous than someone who grew up without a father around and with somewhat unstable finances should probably be. Cassandra Clare writes that she’s the child of a single mother, but we don’t see any of the trauma that that might have caused her, or her overcoming that trauma. It just seems too-good-to-be-true Mary Sue-ish to me. I would much rather her see her wrestle with inner demons, in addition to just wrestling with outer ones. It would make her a more compelling character, imho. The same could be said for Simon (who is also the son of a single mother). Jace is the only one who legitimately seems to have built up this emotional wall around himself as a result of his parents dying when he was ten, and who processes through that wall as the series goes on.
By the way, someone mentioned to me earlier today that after Buffy the Vampire Slayer got out of high school, the series wasn’t as interesting for her, so I hope that Decter will be open to hearing that opinion.
In the books Clary never missed her father because she had Luke, right? He came around when Clary was 5 and stayed with her ever since. Clary always considered him as her father and Luke also speaks about her as his daughter. So maybe that’s why we don’t see the trauma of not having her father with her.
Point very well taken about Luke being a surrogate father. Even though he takes pain to claim that he’s not really he uncle in the books, I think his being around does make a difference, so I’d agree with you there.
That being said, I still think she shouldn’t start off being as courageous as she is. Either that, or we should have at least a little backstory showing WHY she’s already that courageous. It just feels like her character arc could use a little work near the beginning.
As a massive buffy fan the over all opinion is that the later seasons are better. Which would be when they are out of high school. So I think the writers should definitely look to Joss Whedon for help and inspritation. But she might have been an Angel fan and he left after three seasons for his own show, so that could explain her preference for the first seasons.
I think Isabelle has the potantial to be interesting for Male viewers as eye candy (as long as they don’t treat her like that it’s fine with me) and maybe if Jace is casted right they can relate to Jace,
The LGBTQ community and allies are rather larger as well, so if ABC family get Alec and Magnus right, (Like the Shameless writer) a lot of people will tune in as well. Including males.
I must confess to not knowing enough about Buffy to comment. ^^;;
In any case, I’ll take your word for it. You’d be in a far better position to know than I would.
As far as Isabelle goes, I think many young male viewers will have trouble NOT seeing her as eye candy, but then again, the TV series should definitely play up her raison d’etre and show how she’s deliberately avoiding being feminine because sexism is still a fairly big problem in Shadowhunter circles.
As far as the gay relationship in the story goes, I hope that they don’t let it overpower the rest of the relationships in the story. On the other hand, I hope they give it enough depth and attention to get it right.
Consider that Alec is just *barely* of age in the books, so the relationship is just bordering on pedophilia. The TV series should take pains to show why it’s not, and that Magnus, being about 300 years old, isn’t the sort that simply goes after young boys. He’s a lot deeper and more complex than that. (Consider his relationship with Camille, a fellow immortal female, for instance.)
I still think they shouldn’t age up the characters, but I freely admit that properly handling the Malec relationship will be that much harder with younger actors.
I’m actually worried about Isabelle’s character. Apparently the main goal in aging the characters is to be able to introduce more sex. In the books Isabelle is the one who is known to have several relationships with people her parents wouldn’t approve of, such as Meliorn, just to spite them. It’s just mentoned though, we never see it. I’m worried the show will focus on that part and turn Isabelle in something she’s not.
As for Alec I hope the show will remember he’s very conflicted about his sexuality and won’t make him jump in Magnus bed right away
Here is the casting director’s Instagram and twitter. Please pick the right people Jonathan!
https://instagram.com/jonathanclayharris https://twitter.com/jonclayharris
Niiice!
Now if we can only convince the showrunner to ask the casting director for younger actors… 🙂
I´m so excited about the news!!! 😀
But I don´t really understand the age changes. I mean, if they wanted to age it up for a broader audience, I don´t think that´s necessary. In the book, they are teenagers. But they are not pubescent, immature teenagers. They are strong and independent and they make mistakes, but they grow to a better person. The age is important to the storyline, as some of you have already mentioned above (Alec being the only one old enough, the ritual for the Mortal Cup,…) and it shows that the characters are on the way to find out who they are.
I’m super excited to see how this turns out, but it sounds too much like the film and that’s what I’m worried about
My gut is telling me that they are going to write a series based loosely on the books and not follow the true story. Aging up the characters shows that right off the bat they are not sticking to the story. They have to be young. They would have a challenge to find actors that can stay young for a potential 5-6 years of television to cover shut a short time frame put together in the books. But their ages are critical to the story. I was hoping FX would pick it up.
In some ways, I can understand and even appreciate that they’re aging the characters up. I mean, they’re NEVER at school in the novels–and never really even seem to even mention it much, until maybe CoFA–and that never made sense to me. So having Clary’s life getting interrupted right before she signs up for college, or something, seems just a bit better.
Also, Jocelyn wanting to take Clary away from University, instead of just some unimportant summer classes, at the start of the book might have more of an impact, as well.
Also… I’m not gonna lie. Some of the Jace and Clary sexy times makes me really, REALLY uncomfortable, as an adult–and it makes me feel worrisome about what younger viewers might take from it. I mean, doesn’t Clary have sex with Jace in CoHF when she’s only sixteen? That’s not cool, in my opinion, so that’s another reason I’m kinda glad the characters will be older…
I’m just hoping, however, that they’ll still keep Clary and them underage in the CLAVE’S eyes somehow. They could change the Shadowhunter rule to “You can’t join in battles until you’re twenty-five”, or something like that? That way they can still keep the core and important story attributes that come with the characters being kids in that manner?? IDK.
Aaaand I’d just like to point out, that even though it sucks immensely, most people in America assume that if something has kids or teenagers in it as their main characters, that it’s not aimed at them, and therefore must be childish. I wish it wasn’t that way, as I GREATLY prefer stories where the characters are teens (and anime is a great example of how shows even with a “younger cast” can tell a mature story, like with Puella Magi Madoka Magica or Attack on Titan), but sadly… this is just the way it is. Maybe that idea and stereotype will change in the future. But as of now, if we want most adults to give this show a chance, it’s probably best that the characters be older.
…To be fair, though: the fact that it’s on ABC Family somewhat messes with that image about it being aimed at more mature people, though…
Oh, and in addition–as a side note–I REALLY hope that Clary and Simon will still be anime fans in the show, and that they’ll reference some animes or mangas at least a couple of times. That’s an aspect that I LOVED about their characters in the source material (and that I could even go into great detail about why I do), but I won’t bore you all with that. Here’s hoping something’s at least referenced in it once, though, so that I can die happy. *cough* Attack on Titan *cough* That’s what Max can be reading instead of Naruto, since that’s now over and somewhat dated.
Also… Angel Sanctuary BETTER make an appearance in here, seeing as how that manga is EXACTLY like TMI, and Cassandra Clare was a genius in sneaking that hint into the books.
Yeah…
I definitely agree that they should update the cultural references in the TV series, just like you said. Same thing for technology (iPhone vs. flip phone, etc.).
Regarding characters having “sexy times,” I agree that that’s at least one reason why the showrunner is aging up the characters. I understand that it bothers you that characters younger than eighteen are having sex, and that you don’t want to send the wrong message about underage sex to a family audience. On the other hand:
1) Clary admits to not being religious. Simon is, but she isn’t. Are we to impose a certain morality on her that she herself doesn’t subscribe to?
2) Part of the reason Clary is attracted to Jace in the first place is that he really helps her to make sense of the sudden revelation that she’s not who she thought she was. She’s not being intimate just because he’s her boyfriend, but for a much more complicated reason.
3) For nearly all of the books, she and Jace *couldn’t* be intimate. Either there wasn’t time, or…to avoid spoilers…other circumstances kept them apart.
I think this could still be handled tastefully, and the same goes for Malec and Sizzy.
As far as the characters never being at school, imho, that’s a bit of a problem that the author really didn’t address very well. What would make it more compelling would be to have her actually attend an art class or two as the series goes along, but then to contrast her new life with the mundane classroom setting around her. And also, when it’s time for the school year to start, for, say, Hodge to help her forge a signature on paperwork so she can be “home schooled.” That would be before Hodge does what he does, of course. :p
Also, the books are filled with characters who are, in my opinion, from various ostensibly marginalized social groups. Raphael is a Latino vampire from East Harlem, iirc. Magnus Bane came from Chinese immigrants. Why not make Clary “odd” in a very mundane but relatable way, having her be “home schooled”? And then have the show periodically make reference to her rather different kind of education?
It would be a nice contrast to see, say, Simon and Eric start going to school, and then Simon suddenly have to drop out when he becomes a vampire.
Again, in my opinion, we watch TV shows like this because there’s something in the show that we can relate to. So why not make it even more relatable.
They’re never in school because the books start in summer when there aren’t any classes and then, by CoFA when classes have started Clary is at the institute learning to be a shadowhunter. Each book, CoB takes place over about 3 days sans Clary passing out and the epilogue. CoA does this, and so does CoG, Isabelle tells Clary in CoG that she has known Jace for about a month. That is pretty much all the time between CoB to CoG a month. And in the middle of all that craziness it would have been really bad to have Clary go to an unimportant art class, it would have also made no sense.
Amellekyre, google “mortal instruments timeline” and click on the second link, the one where Cassie Clare herself explains what happened when. According to her, CoB takes place in August, and CoA starts in very early September, about a week at most after CoB ends. Generally high school classes start in late August, so the art classes would have happened during the early to middle parts of CoB. Would there have been opportunity for her to have taken them, and for the reference to having paid for art courses at the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts in New York to not have just been left dangling? I think so, especially in the early parts of the TV series.
In film especially but also in television, one of the things you learn is that it’s very important to not leave plot elements dangling, because you have limited screen time to develop a story. So a minor detail like that could easily be cut…or it could be fleshed out into something more meaningful.
Part of Clary’s ability as an artist comes from her…shall we say…”special” heritage. In the books, we only see one aspect of her exploring that particular kind of art, but in the TV series they could make that a more well-rounded expression. Why? Because being an artist *is something people can relate to*.
It’s all about relatability, imho.
Welllllllllllll I *do* have some major concerns over the characters being aged up just because as it has been pointed out above, it throws off many of the intricacies of Cassandra Clare’s magnificent tale. It *may* be salvageable if some of the age limits and traditions are also likewise adjusted upward. It may still work. I am not going to hold my breath, BUT, I will still hope, hope, hope that the story is not corrupted by having older characters. I know members of the fandom that will not be as open-minded and hopeful as me who will SCREAM fire and brimstone if/when they read of this (though I won’t be the one to tell them because I would not be able to get away from ground zero of their ire fast enough)!!
Simply put. I really have no complaints and am really looking forward to this as a series as I really think it will do a whole better as a TV show than a movie with all the world building and mythology behind it. So what if they upped the age a bit? They can up the age for Clave Laws if need be. So let it be as it is and let’s the good times roll 🙂 ❤
Warlockbane I absolutely agree with what u said, so excited for the show👍
Everyone has to be beautiful obviously it’s television hah. It’s just startlingly obvious how they care about looks before personality in these descriptions.
Being a huge fan of the series and the great Cassandra being my favourite author I have a great deal to say about this. For one, there not giving Cassandra much say of what should happen with her book, she practicaly knows as much as we do! It’s unfair in my point of view. I sincerely hope that they don’t screw this up, the books are amazing and that’s the way they should stay. They should not be potentially ruined by being chopped up in into a television series for the publicitys sake in entertainment. Whatever happened to just reading a good book and enjoying it? Once a book becomes bestseller out pops a movie, or a tv show. It sucks that I can’t enjoy a book anymore without it being turned into something else.
ABC family is the last network I thought they would broadcast it on. It was an udder disappointment when I just read this tid bit of news. Not to be rude, but that network it notorious for failing shows.
I hope this doesn’t ruin the book for me. It’s a beautiful series and that’s the way it should stay.
I sort of get what you’re saying about it failing shows, but the shows it does have for long periods of time are amazing and also, something very important to this series, they are very good about representation and equality (The Fosters, etc.) so that means Malec is one less thing we seriously need to worry about. I’m happy with it I don’t get why so so many people are disappointed by it????
Why!!!!! Why change the ages!!
NO! They can’t change their age. If Clary will be 18, she can’t be Simons parabatai and if Simon will be older, he can’t be Shadowhunter because he will be too old :'((
I get the feeling they will probably change the age the Clave sees as “adult”. The fact of them being underage is so important to the story, even besides the parabatai thing (Alec being just old enough to start going to Clave meetings and fighting, everyone not being aloud to do those things because they’re too young, etc.) that it’s one of those things they can’t change and still manage to keep the plot even close to the books. They will probably just change it to be like 24 or something. If not I don’t see how them keeping this accurate is even a possibility at that point.
Ease do t change the ages from the book, it ruins some of the plot like how they can’t go to council meetings because they’re under age and stuff like that, please I am a committed mortal instruments fan and I would love it if you didn’t mess up the tv show like the film was messed up. Please please STICK TO THE PLOT, I understand some things need to adapt for tv seeing but not the whole plot like you did with the films, please get this right and you’ll have a amazing tv show, but thank you for making a tv show and not abandoning how e on it.
Jess ➰ x
I just realized how they could:
1) Not age up the characters to start with.
2) Deal w/ the fact that they’re filming one book a year, meaning the actors will be five years older by the time it’s over.
3) Allow for a longer period of time for all of them to mature. Meaning the latter series can legitimately get sexier and darker.
4) Explain why Simon is able to drink from the Mortal Cup at the end (sorry, spoiler alert, but it’s been mentioned before so eh).
They can change the time period over which all of the books happened and spread it out over 2-3 years rather than just four months. Jonathan Shadowhunter, the original Shadowhunter, drank from the Mortal Cup when he was an adult. So there’s already precedent for that sort of thing happening. Whatever explanation the studio chooses for it working on him, could be adapted for having it work on Simon. Same thing for forming parabatai relationships (e.g., Simon and Clary after the book series ends). This removes a lot of the pressure from the studio to somehow cram six years’ worth of shows into 3-4 months of time in the characters’ lives.
It’s not ideal, but it makes things simpler in the end.
i’m confused. i heard it was going to be an MTV show. now it’s ABC Family?
@stephanie yes i heard that too. weird. It wouldn’t go there anyway MTV is develpoing a Terry Brooks tv show based on one of his books.
hopefully ABC Family casts people who can act! like, I love PLL, but no one on that show is really a good actor. I’m trying not to have high hopes for this show, but I would love it if it turns out to be a success! I just thought MTV would do better casting (cause Teen Wolf is awesome) but maybe I’m wrong though.
@stephanie it seems like the deal with amazon fell through, or perhaps ABC family simply had a better offer for ed deckter and constantin. I am curious about how much of a budget ABC family will put up, alongside contantin’s contribution.
I would MUCH rather it be an MTV show. I don’t find ANY of the shows on ABC Family the least bit interesting and I am SO afraid that ABC will stray from the books and turn the characters into something they aren’t.
Also, it seems to me at least that MTV already has a wider audience. Guys watch shows like Ridiculousness, and both girls and guys watch Finding Carter. So maybe just the fact of it advertising on MTV would get both guys and girls interested in the show enough to at least watch an episode or two.
And if the show is anywhere near as amazing as the books, an episode would be enough to get anyone into it.
Apart from that, the ages of the TV characters is driving me INSANE. Just thinking about it makes me so mad. The books have a lot to do with becoming an adult and becoming mature even though they are still technically kids. There are plenty of brave and heroic adults out there, but how many teenagers are there that are willing to give up their whole life, risk their lives, put trust in strangers with powers they never imagined, AND all of the emotional trauma and stress they receive later on in the series? Not many. That is part of what draws in interest- the fact that these teenagers are not normal, and that they are so brave and willing and loyal. The show shouldn’t be like some soap opera about the drama of adults, but a story about a team of kids coming together and being brave.
I’ve been excited for a while for The Mortal Instruments to be made into a TV series. IT IS MY FAVORITE BOOK SERIES! I really, really, do not want to see it ruined even more than that horrible movie did. I’m positive most fans of the books would agree.
And also, Alec, and Isabelle should NOT have any accent other than an American accent. They live in New York, and even though yes, they are from Idris, in the book it says that they hardly ever get to visit Idris, and Alec only lived there when he was very young. Jace, however did live in Idris until he was ten, so some form of accent rather than an American accent would make sense. In the movie, all the random accents really bothered me. I get they were probably trying to make the Shadowhunter world seem more foreign to Clary, but still, I hated that.
And WHY WHY WHY did Jocelyn have an accent in the movie? Yeah, I get she was from Idris too, but if she really wanted to hide her whole past from Clary, I”m sure she would’ve tried to ditch the accent. Wouldn’t Clary be wondering by then why the crap her mom and Luke had accents and she didn’t?
I really hope that ABC family doesn’t screw that up.
Now, I don’t know anything about the actors in any of the shows from ABC, but i do know that MTV’S Kathryn Prescott has an English accent and she plays carter from Finding Carter with an American accent. So even if the only actors that are remotely good have non-American accents, they better be able to cover that up or I will be extremely annoyed.
I hope they get the ethnicities correct too. Like Magnus is Asian, and Maia is black. Little things like that are really important to not only me, but the other fans as well.
There’s a lot to cover in this series and i really, really, hope they do it well.
Success!!! Okay, I didn’t get to talk to Ed Decter but I did get an email address. 🙂
Wish me luck…
Good luck!
benjamin stone for jace….
@misty I always thought that it was so messed up that maryse told isabelle whenshe wasjust 13 that…..
*spoiler alert*
her father robert had an affair and that “you just could’nt trust men'”, that really colored her outlook on men she dated for a long time (until Simon) 🙂
By the way props to the people over at MTV for getting great actors for the Terry Brooks fantasy books. Sorry to the fans who wanted Austin Butler to play Jace, he’s in that show for MTV.
doesn’t Clary turn 16 in City Of Bones
I’m so glad we finally have some information that we’ve waited so long for!! One thing I’m worried about, though, is that they are aging up the characters. In the books their age plays a big part in their development as characters, and how they grow and mature as responsible young adults that have learned from their past mistakes. I also hope that they don’t change the plot too much because I don’t think they will get nearly as much success and positive feedback from fans if they change it too much. That’s the main reason why the movie wasn’t a success.
It’s gonna be on ABC Family SWEET!!! I’ll be able to watch it. Thank the Angel! 🙂
Fingers crossed they don’t screw this up. Or there will be many angry Shadowhunters.
So far , so good !
I don’t really mind what they do in the show as long as they stay true to the characters. Like I won’t mind of the plot is screwed up or the timeline is backwards or whatever as long as all the characters keep their strong personalities. For example in the movie I felt that Izzy and Alec (my favorites) were really really weak and we didn’t get their personalities at all. The biggest reason I love tmi is the characters, how they all have certain strengths and weaknesses that compliment each other, and and the insecureties and all the little things that make them all so beautiful and wonderful. But I really don’t want it to be like in the movie where pretty much everyone except Clary and jace were ignored because Izzy and Alec have strong personalities and roles that I think are very important. I’m just really hoping all the secondary characters get the attention and strength in character that they deserve because that is what makes the story.
Love it, but PLEASE get the ages right
There is a small problem, it’s better to say – a huge mistake. The director doesn’t listen to TMI fandom… Again. I believe Dector has an interesting vision of the plot, but I don’t care about it. I want to see the world, which I saw in the books. I adore it, I love the characters. And I won’t forgive stupid changes (like in the movie). One more thing: superhero can be gay. Deal with it. Magnus and Alec are the first and the last reason, why I’ve read books and why I’m waiting for the show.
Hi,
Does anyone know who will be the actors?
Reblogged this on Oh, books;.
I can’t believe that the directors will not let Cassie help plan the show. Did they forget that without her, they wouldn’t have the books to screw up? The ages are very important to the development of the story. And yes, Jace must be beautiful, but he also needs to be hard and cold at first. And Clary was described as a tiny freckled ginger, not a beauty queen. Is
Isabel is the beauty queen. And Alec is supposed to be tall skinny and awkward.
Magnus is meant to be a fabulous Asian “freewheeling bisexual”. In my opinion, the Simon in the movie was very good. His ethnicity and awkwardness was almost perfect. I hope they consider keeping that actor as Simon. And, please, DONT MESS UP SEBASTIAN. He was one of my favorite characters, and I hope they keep his depth and pain along with his evil and sadism. He was the perfect bad guy, because he knew he was bad but had no conscience to tell him to stop. Please, please, don’t mess him up!!!