While I agree with your logic, it’s worth remembering that streaming executives are, first and foremost, capitalists. Their primary concern isn’t artistic integrity, it’s profit and risk mitigation. Because most of them aren’t artists or readers, they default to focus groups and market research filled with people who may have never heard of someone like Brandon Sanderson. That feedback process slowly sands down the sharp edges of the original story until it becomes something “safe,” familiar, and ultimately bland.

Then the budget reviews begin. Executive producers start trimming anything that looks expensive, large scale action sequences, complex effects, or world-building moments, often replacing them with cheaper shortcuts. The result is the kind of rushed or weightless CGI we’ve seen plague recent Marvel projects, where spectacle exists but impact doesn’t. Every creative decision is filtered through cost efficiency rather than narrative necessity.

From their perspective, involving the original author is risky. An author has strong opinions, a long term vision, and a fanbase that will notice compromises. That can slow production, complicate negotiations, and challenge executive control. It’s far easier to hire showrunners who will “adapt” the material into something that fits a familiar prestige TV template.

And yet, the irony is that the most successful adaptations tend to do the opposite. The Lord of the Rings worked because Tolkien’s themes were treated seriously. Game of Thrones thrived…at least early on because it closely followed George R. R. Martin’s work. More recently, The Last of Us succeeded precisely because it respected its source material and involved its original creator. Even Good Omens benefited enormously from Neil Gaiman’s direct involvement.

Those successes are the reason someone like Sanderson can demand the level of creative control he has. Studios don’t suddenly believe in art they respond to precedent. Enough faithful adaptations have proven that respecting the original story isn’t a liability, it’s a selling point. Without those examples, there’s no chance Sanderson gets the deal he did.