Books The Stormlight Archive Ranking the 5 Most Cinematic Scenes from Brandon Sanderson’s Wind and Truth Which epic fights and key dramatic moments are you most excited to see? By Drew McCaffrey | Published on March 2, 2026 Wind and Truth cover art by Michael Whelan Comment 0 Share New Share Wind and Truth cover art by Michael Whelan I’m sure I’m not alone in my excitement and curiosity over the recent news that Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere is slated for screen adaptations on Apple TV, starting with movies based on the Mistborn books and a Stormlight Archive TV series. It’s a huge deal for one of the biggest authors in the current SF/Fantasy landscape. It seems like a match made in heaven: Sanderson already has some experience with screen adaptations—he was an erstwhile consultant on Amazon Prime’s Wheel of Time show, and by all accounts came away with some strong impressions on what not to do—and even more than that, his books are famous for featuring some of the most cinematically written action scenes in recent memory. How about Kelsier vs. the Steel Inquisitor? Bridge Four’s heroic rescue mission in The Way of Kings? Dalinar’s “You cannot have my pain” speech or Shallan’s encounter with the Midnight Mother in Oathbringer? And that’s not to mention the most recent installment of the series, Wind and Truth. It seems like the perfect time to look back at the five most cinematic moments from the fifth volume of The Stormlight Archive and consider just how awesome this stuff might look on the screen… #5 – Adolin and Shallan Face Off Against Abidi in Shadesmar With how strange, how deeply alien the world of Roshar is, Sanderson has been judicious in how he rolls out new environments in The Stormlight Archive. Shadesmar really doesn’t get much attention in the series until Oathbringer, and it’s not until Rhythm of War that we start seeing extended action scenes in the Cognitive Realm. But Sanderson went all-out with Shadesmar fight sequences in Wind and Truth, starting with the Heavenly Ones attacking Shallan and Adolin and the Windrunners on their journey home from Lasting Integrity. This sequence (found in Chapter 9) stands out to me for a few reasons. There’s the dual-battleground aspect, with the fight taking place both in the air and below the surface of the bead sea. There’s the absurdity of Adolin riding his horse through the air. And there’s the most cinematic element, to me: Shallan unlocking substantiation, the ability to create solid, tangible illusions. You can just picture how that would play out on the screen, maybe cutting to black or cutting away after the shocking revelation that her copy really did stab Abidi. “Reality,” Shallan hissed, “is what I decide it to be.” #4 – Humanity Arrives on Roshar Most of this list is going to be fight scenes—and for good reason, given which author we’re talking about, here—but this one from Chapter 46 is a Big Deal nonetheless. This figure wore a simple blue robe tied at the waist, and had a beard that had barely started to grey. He strained to hold the way open as thousands of refugees flooded around him, clutching their meager possessions. The sheer spectacle of the massive Elsegate opening over the muddy plains of pre-Shinovar, revealing the fiery hellscape of Ashyn. The panic, the urgency, the overwhelming movement of humanity’s survivors pouring out onto Roshar. This is the kind of scene that makes me wish it were even remotely feasible to put The Stormlight Archive on the big screen. Imagine this in IMAX: Dalinar and Navani surrounded by the mass of refugees, Shallan moving through the crowds on the lookout for the Ghostbloods. Ishar, majestic with power. In the background, their world burned. The very sky seemed to be on fire, and the people were covered in ash and soot. We’ll have to settle for the small screen on this one, but it still has plenty of drama and spectacle to offer if done well! #3 – Szeth vs. Rit in the Stoneward Monastery I’d hazard a guess that this Honorbearer duel will be on pretty much everyone’s personal Top Five from Wind and Truth. For one thing, it’s the first of the series of epic showdowns which constitute Szeth’s pilgrimmage. There’s a lot of hype built up going into this showdown in Chapter 41; we’ve known that Szeth was going to cleanse Shinover since 2020, and we knew that he’d have to handle the Stone Shamans. But up through Rhythm of War, we’d never really seen what Stonewards could do. Rit speared straight at him atop her column of liquid stone, and as he dodged, the entire floor rose in a wave. Szeth flew around the top of the vaulted room, but there wasn’t space to flee. He was forced to engage her as she rode the center of the wave of stone.[…]A moment later, jets of [the floor] launched upward like streamers, trying to catch him—splashing against the ceiling, then hardening. And whoo buddy, does this live up to the hype! The way this scene is written, with Szeth flying around, the floor shifting and warping, Rit re-creating the entire inside of the monastery… it honestly reminds me of the sheer dynamism of the fight between Kelsier and the Steel Inquisitor in The Final Empire. Sanderson excels at these high-movement fight scenes. It’s clear what’s going on, despite the chaos, and it’s the sort of visualized action that’s practically made for the screen. On top of that? It all leads up to Szeth finally unlocking Division. Finally. Szeth swelled with a power that was immediately familiar. The stone had captured him, holding him, but that allowed him to touch it. Time to burn. Burn, baby, burn. #2 – Adolin vs. the Thunderclast If there’s anything in Wind and Truth that comes closest to the spectacle of a Michael Bay movie, this is it. I mean, right? From Chapter 82: Adolin pulled the chain out of the crumbling facade of the building, then spun to see a terrifying sight: a hand, large enough to blot out the sky, swinging for him. Giant freaking rock monster plowing through the city, wreaking havoc, leaving total carnage in its wake. Adolin rigging a trap, multiple Shardbearers working together to take it down. Heavenly Ones zooming around overhead, using boulders as bombs. Tons of splashy visual effects potential there, plus the added emotional weight of Adolin’s loss at the conclusion of the sequence. The thunderclast reached down and grabbed the chain in its fists. Then, straining for a moment, snapped the chain with a sharp peal of breaking metal. It threw the remnants to the street, then continued on, relentless, toward the dome. Great stuff. #1 – Szeth vs. Pozen and the Edgedancer Yeah, this scene (found in Chapter 53) stands head-and-shoulders above everything else for me: The adrenaline pulse of Szeth abruptly yanked into the Cognitive Realm and ambushed. The visual possibilities offered by this setting. The pure competence of everyone involved, as they manipulate Shadesmar around them. The always-exciting breathless momentum of an Edgedancer zooming around. The walls of the large tube hardened, and Szeth now scrambled on curved, solid ground. He ran for the open end of the tunnel as—just behind him—the wall crashed open and the Edgedancer entered. She skated along the side of the tube, her powers giving her grace and speed. Szeth spun and Lashed himself backward to stay ahead of her, but the tube kept extending, beads falling into place. And Nightblood. Oh yeah, Nightblood. For how long has this fandom been asking Sanderson what Nightblood looks like in Shadesmar? A decade? Now we know, and it’s glorious. Szeth ripped his right hand from the beads.And released an explosion of light.In that hand he held not a jet-black sword, but a blazing, radiant line of golden light. Glowing like the sun itself, so bright it made the Edgedancer gasp and stumble back, shading her eyes with her left hand. I can see Szeth shifting through the bead sea, using the tunnels around him, deflecting and anticipating the Edgedancer Honorbearer. Finally wielding Nightblood in a blazing spectacle to kill the Honorbearer—permanently. If done right, the lead-up to this could lead to one of the most talked about moments in the whole show. Honorable Mentions There are plenty of other great scenes in Wind and Truth that practically beg to be adapted to the screen. I debated including Szeth’s final fight with all the Honorbearers, using Nightblood to wield all the Surges. Or how about Lift saving Zahel from the Feruchemist Axindweth? Another that stood out was Adolin’s “Momentum” chapter, early on in Azimir. (That one could even integrate flashbacks to Dalinar in The Way of Kings; that’d be a great visual adaptation twist.) What would make your list of best scenes to adapt from Wind and Truth? What key moment did I leave off that deserves a spot? And what scenes in general are you most excited in the upcoming adaptations? Let me know in the comments![end-mark] The post Ranking the 5 Most Cinematic Scenes from Brandon Sanderson’s <i>Wind and Truth</i> appeared first on Reactor.