Netflix reportedly cancelled its planned adaptation of Brian Jacques’ Redwall series, despite securing rights to the books in 2021 and proposing both a film and a prequel series. The article argues that the decision is a missed opportunity, presenting Redwall as a richly imagined, all-ages fantasy property with a longstanding readership and strong potential for a cinematic adaptation.

Redwall follows anthropomorphic animals living around Redwall Abbey and Mossflower Woods as they defend their communities from hostile forces across generations. Its stories combine quests, battles, feasts and folklore with child-appropriate treatments of war, murder, tyranny and enslavement, while Jacques’ detailed worldbuilding covers history, mythology, geography and language. A three-season Canadian television adaptation was released in 1999, but earlier efforts to make a feature film had not succeeded.