Ask any fan of The Expanse, and they will tell you the science fiction series is one of the most exciting, ambitious, and sophisticated franchises ever created. That devoted fanbase is well-earned, and the reason the show survived its acquisition and return to Amazon's Prime Video. But that success story may also be one of the biggest struggles for any future adaptations, and the creators know it.

Struggles or challenges aside, there is still no reason for fans to give up hopes of The Expanse returning for Season 7 (or any other continuation of the TV show's adaptation of the core novel series). But even as the show's continuity has continued in outstanding Expanse comic sequels, and demonstrated the show's growing audience and accolades, the creators of the franchise grasp why realizing the full Expanse universe in live-action could be getting harder, not easier. And this risk may not be as easy to overcome.

The Expanse's Sequels Prove The Biggest Challenge For Any Spinoff

The Creative Team its The Expanse's Main Cast Is Now A Limiting Factor

When word broke of Kickstarters for The Expanse comic sequels, the fans came through in force, shattering records to make it reality. Speaking on the the missing story finally told in The Expanse: Dragon Tooth, the biggest problem was giving the main cast a part in it:

Andy Diggle: "The initial pitch for a shorter story would've been those guys just trying to cross the Laconia gate. A sort of interstellar version of trying to cross the Berlin Wall during the Cold War... a spy story, rather than an action thriller, or anything like that. Trying to figure out how to make it about The Roci crew was the difficult bit, because I could quite happily have written the entire comic about the Martians. But at some point you actually need you guys to turn up, and save the day or whatever."

Ty Franck: "And I it I find that frustrating."

And with that observation alone, Diggle perfectly explains the biggest challenge The Expanse is going to encounter if it hopes to grow its adaptations beyond the regularly acclaimed, beloved, and 'cult hit' TV series.

The Expanse co-creator Ty Franck (who co-authored the books with Daniel Abraham under the pseudonym James S.A. Corey) was quick to immediately acknowledge Diggle's point. At the same time, akcnowledging that it is a limiting factor when discussing what an adaptation 'should include' in the eyes of those bankrolling it:

Ty Franck: "There were a number of times when they were pitching ideas for comics... and some of the most interesting ones were the ones that didn't have anything to do with The Roci. But there was this feeling that if The Roci crew wasn't involved in every story, then people wouldn't buy the comic. The box that creators get put in by that, I find very frustrating. My frustration with this box of, 'if it doesn't involve The Roci crew, then it isn't an Expanse story' felt very much like the box Star Wars is in with its main characters. I found it very frustrating.

The argument makes sense, since the core characters of The Rocinante are the ones audiences will feel most connected to. But as Franck, Chatham, and Diggle all recognize, the same can't be said of the novels themselves.

The Expanse Books Made The Universe Bigger Than The Main Story

Creators Made A Point of Avoiding This Problem in The Actual Book Series

It is almost always the case that the source material is more nuanced, more explorational, and simply more filled with characters than a live-action adaptation, and the same is true for The Expanse. Not only in of the volume of characters and subplots in the core novel series, but the additional short stories and novellas written to expose readers to new sides of The Expanse universe. Wes Chatham points to these stories as proof that the 'Roci-only' thinking is flawed, no matter what adaptation is in question:

Wes Chatham: "I always go back to the novellas. You look at the novellas in The Expanse, and they're some of my favorite books... If you really focus in on these ancillary stories, and they're just as good as the other stories, it builds everything up. It builds everything together. "The Churn" is one of my favorite novellas in The Expanse, and it's one character. Then you get to meet all these other characters, in all these other worlds... I don't understand, because the novellas do really well, they're successful, why you can't just look at that model going forward with the comics."

Importantly, Chatham points to not only the strength of the stories, but the commerical element as well, noting that it isn't as if the novellas were rejected or ignored by fans. It isn't a guarantee that the same would be true for comics, but at the same time, fans who Roci-centered stories aren't proving they're the only valuable ones... if those are the only ones they're being given. Unfortunately for Expanse TV and film hopefuly, all the same logic and risk applies there, too.

Will The Expanse Remain Small, or Be Able To Adapt Its Entire Universe?

The Expanse is More Than Just One Show, But Its Creator Knows That's A Hard Sell

In many ways, The Expanse: A Little Death is a sign that publisher BOOM! Studios is listening, creating a shorter series centered squarely on Amos Burton, with Diggle and Chatham co-writing. Will it pave the way for a completely new, completely standalone Expanse adventure disconnected entirely from the Roci fan-favorites? The creatives know why that's crucial in the long term... but also why it's built on a risk:

Ty Franck: "I think any time the publisher is making a big bet, they are trying very hard to hedge that bet as much as possible. And I understand it, but I'm frustrated by it."

Andy Diggle: "Do you think it would be possible to do comics that focused in on individual characters the way the novellas do? Because it does seem like there is so much potential to explore all those interesting little side stories. But the idea that 'every story has got to have everybody in it' could make it start to feel like a small universe."

Ty Franck: "It very much does. Yeah, I agree. In fact, my frustration with large cinematic universes is exactly that. That there is this fear that if they don't put every character in every story, some portion of the fandom will be upset. So it does start to feel like a small universe. Because everybody is always in everything. I would love it if it could be... not that."

Fans of The Expanse can get their next standalone story following Amos Burton when The Expanse: A Little Death releases from BOOM! Studios.

Source: Ty & That Guy