Amazon MGM Studios has acquired the film rights to Shannon J. Spann's young adult fantasy novel "A Stage Set for Villains," moving the bestseller into feature development.​

The project will be developed as a live-action film under the Amazon MGM Studios banner, adding another high-profile book adaptation to the studio's growing slate. The deal covers Spann's debut novel, which has drawn attention in the YA fantasy space for its dark, theatrical setting and appeal to both teen and adult readers.

Production company Premeditated is attached to produce the feature, giving the adaptation an early creative team even before a writer, director, or cast has been named, according to Deadline.

"A Stage Set for Villains" takes place in a traveling Playhouse where powerful, near‑immortal performers known as Players are revered and feared by mortal audiences. The story centers on Riven Hesper, an eighteen-year-old who is cursed after a deadly encounter with a Player and is slowly dying as a result.

When the Playhouse announces a one-night event offering a mortal the chance to steal a Player's immortality, Riven enters the high-stakes competition as her last chance to survive.

Inside the Playhouse, Riven forms a risky alliance with Jude, the Playhouse's brilliant but ruthless Lead Player, whose influence complicates her plans, GoodReads reported.

As the spectacle unfolds, she uncovers unsettling truths about the Players and the nature of the curse, forcing her to confront whether she is meant to be a savior or a villain in her own story. The book blends dark fantasy, romance, and moral tension, using the theater setting and masked performances to explore identity and power.

The acquisition arrives as Amazon MGM Studios continues to invest in genre and YA-driven franchises, including rights to Elise Kova's fantasy novel "Dragon Cursed" for feature development.

Publisher Entangled has emphasized the novel's cinematic qualities, describing a world where the old gods are gone, and only the Players remain to shape the fates of mortals.

No production timeline, casting news, or release date has been announced yet, but the deal signals confidence in Spann's debut as a potential launchpad for a new fantasy property on screen, as per Entangled Publishing.

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Book, Movie, Film