Ana Huang already had Netflix adapting her Twisted Love series.
Now, Amazon MGM Studios has come for her Gods of the Game trilogy, and they’re not doing just one film. They want all three. The Anaverse is officially taking over Hollywood, and at this point nobody should be surprised.
Amazon MGM Studios has set a film trilogy adaptation of Ana Huang’s bestselling sports series Gods of the Game, with the studio landing rights to develop three films based on the two already released books, The Striker and The Defender, as well as the upcoming third book, The Keeper, which will debut in October 2026.
The author broke the news herself on Instagram, and the reaction from her fanbase was immediate, overwhelming, and extremely loud. She also made one thing very clear to readers:
“Note: NO ONE has been cast yet. As always, you’ll get the latest updates straight from me, so don’t believe anything unless it’s announced by Amazon and/or me on our official, verified accounts.”
Noted. But that hasn’t stopped the internet from having very strong opinions about casting, and it won’t.
Who Is Ana Huang?
If you somehow still haven’t encountered Ana Huang, here is the situation: she is one of the most commercially dominant romance authors alive right now, with a fanbase that operates at a scale most authors can only dream of.
Amazon MGM is turning Ana Huang’s EPL romance trilogy into three films, backed by a 27-million-copy fanbase and a BookTok following with billions of views.
She is a number one New York Times, USA Today, and Sunday Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, best known for her viral Twisted Love and Kings of Sin billionaire romance series.
The Gods of the Game series marks her pivot into sports romance—specifically, the world of English Premier League football—and it has pulled her existing fanbase along while bringing in an entirely new wave of readers.
The Gods of the Game deal is Huang’s second major adaptation milestone in under 18 months. Netflix acquired the rights to her Twisted Love novel and its sequels in a seven-figure deal announced January 9, 2025, with that series’ writers’ room actively developing scripts.
The simultaneous pursuit by Netflix and Amazon MGM positions Huang’s Anaverse as one of the most aggressively contested IP portfolios in contemporary publishing, and marks romance fiction’s deepening role as a primary acquisition target for studios competing for global subscribers.
Film One: The Striker
The series opens with the story that launched the Blackcastle universe and introduced readers to a cast of characters they immediately became obsessed with.
The Striker follows Asher Donovan and Scarlett DuBois. Asher is a professional footballer who can’t get Scarlett out of his head. This is a significant problem, because she is his rival’s sister and therefore completely off limits in every direction.
For fans of the broader Anaverse, The Striker is also set after King of Sloth, meaning familiar faces from earlier Huang series make appearances throughout, giving the books a sense of a living, interconnected world that fans have found enormously rewarding.
Film Two: The Defender
The Defender centers on the romance between Blackcastle coach Frank Armstrong’s daughter Brooklyn and football captain Vincent DuBois.
Vincent is Scarlett’s brother, which means readers have been quietly desperate for his story since The Striker introduced him as one of the most compelling supporting characters in Huang’s recent catalog.
The novel also includes a suspenseful subplot involving Vincent’s stalker, a dark thread that gives The Defender a tension and edge that feels distinct from the first book’s dynamic. One reviewer described finishing it as “warm, mildly feral, and clapping like a seal.” That is, honestly, the ideal response to an Ana Huang novel.
Film Three: The Keeper
The third and final book in the series centers on Blackcastle’s goalkeeper, Noah Wilson, and his family’s nanny, Carina Vu. If Huang’s fanbase is any indication, this might be the most eagerly awaited installment of all.
A grumpy single dad who has built walls around himself as disciplined as his positioning in goal and a nanny who is far too appealing for her own good. The chemistry is through the roof on this one.
Amazon secured the film rights to The Keeper before the novel had even reached shelves. This is a significant move that signals how seriously the studio is taking this franchise. The book publishes on October 10, 2026.
The Production Team for Gods of the Game Movies:
The Gods of the Game films will be produced by Premeditated Productions’ Liz Pelletier and Sherryl Clark under the company’s first-look film and television deal with Amazon MGM Studios.
This partnership is extended for five additional years in March 2026, locking it through the summer of 2032. Jackie Levine and Rachel Ghiazza will also produce for Audible, which distributed the audiobook version of the series.
The Premeditated Productions connection is significant. This is the same company currently adapting Fourth Wing for TV, which is arguably the most hotly anticipated fantasy adaptation in development anywhere right now.
Pelletier, who also serves as publisher at Entangled Publishing, has a track record of understanding genre fiction’s commercial power and treating it with the creative seriousness it deserves. Huang will serve as executive producer, meaning the Blackcastle universe will have its creator’s eye on every casting decision and script choice.
As Huang announced, no cast or release dates have been confirmed yet. As of writing, the projects are still in development, with all three films being planned simultaneously.
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