Disney Live Action Acquires Film Rights to Rebecca Ross' Divine Rivals
Disney is seeking a new screenwriter for the adaptation, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Pouya Shahbazian staying on as producers.
Disney Live Action has acquired the film rights to Rebecca Ross' fantasy romance novel Divine Rivals, according to Deadline. The studio is now looking for a new screenwriter, since the project's earlier development did not carry over to Disney.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Pouya Shahbazian remain attached as producers. Ross will executive produce alongside Stephen Shafer. Allison Erlikhman, Disney's SVP of Production, is overseeing the project and reports to Daria Cercek, President of Disney Live Action. Katherine Curtis of New Leaf Literary & Media brokered the deal on Ross' behalf.
The acquisition follows an earlier attempt to bring the book to the screen. In June 2025, Paramount won the rights after a bidding war, with Sofia Alvarez attached to adapt. Those rights lapsed after Skydance's acquisition of Paramount became official in August 2025.
Divine Rivals, the first book in the Letters of Enchantment series, was published in April 2023, with sequel Ruthless Vows following in December of the same year. The first novel has sold more than 1 million copies and has spent 104 weeks on the New York Times Young Adult Bestseller List. Ruthless Vows debuted at No. 1 on that list in January 2024 and has spent 42 weeks on it, selling over 500,000 copies.
Ross' next novel, A Bittersweet Spell, is scheduled for release on April 6, 2027.
Quick answers
Who is adapting Divine Rivals for Disney?
Disney is seeking a new screenwriter for the adaptation. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Pouya Shahbazian are producing, and Rebecca Ross will executive produce with Stephen Shafer.
Was Divine Rivals previously set up at another studio?
Yes. Paramount won the rights in June 2025 with Sofia Alvarez attached to adapt, but the rights lapsed after Skydance's acquisition of Paramount became official in August 2025.
How many copies has Divine Rivals sold?
The first book in the Letters of Enchantment series has sold over 1 million copies and spent 104 weeks on the New York Times Young Adult Bestseller List.