Is The School for Good and Evil Based on a Book, True Story, or Comics?

Fairytales are a staple of today’s fantasy genre that involves all of the media. Hans Christian Andersen, Grimm Brothers, and other fantasy fairytale writers bestowed us with worlds that indulged our young minds in worlds that were only real in our heads but still made our childhoods richer. One of the newly announced movies, The School for Good and Evil, is an upcoming fantasy movie that will be released on Netflix on 19 of October, and it already looks really good. This article will discuss whether The School for Good and Evil is based on a book, true story, or comics.

The upcoming Netflix movie, The School for Good and Evil, is based on a series of fantasy books by Soman Chainani. The series includes two trilogies that follow the adventure of Sophie and Agatha, who enroll in the School for Good and Evil, and train to become new fairytale heroes or villains. The first trilogy, The School Years, is the source material for the Netflix movie. In contrast, the second trilogy, The Camelot Years, follows Agatha and her true love, King Tedros, ascending to the throne as King and Queen of Camelot. Meanwhile, Sophie is trying to “restructure” Evil into a new image.

We will discuss this topic more by mentioning each book with a short introduction without spoiling them, talking about the premise of the Netflix movie, and if the franchise was adapted to any other media. If you are interested in The School for Good and Evil content, stick with us until the end of the article.

A short introduction to The School for Good and Evil Netflix movie

The School for Good and Evil is an upcoming fantasy film distributed by Netflix. The movie will be available worldwide on the 19 of October, and fans of the fantasy genre have something to look forward to. The movie’s cast is exceptional, including Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, and Cate Blanchett, who is cast as a narrator.

At the same time, the two main protagonists, Agatha and Sophie, are played by young actresses Sofia Wylie and Sophia Anne Caruso, respectively.

The trailer revealed the looks of the characters and the setting of the Endless Forest, and it seems that Netflix did not hold back with the founding. The costumes, CGI, and set look amazing, and the fans already saw the resemblance with the source material.

The movie’s premise follows the story of best friends Sophie and Agatha, kidnapped and taken to the School for Good and Evil. Their dreams and goals get mixed up, and their friendship is tested throughout the movie.

The School for Good and Evil is one of the most expected movies of this season because of its cast and cool story, which is adapted from another piece of media.

Let’s find out the source material for the upcoming Netflix movie.

Is The School for Good and Evil based on a true story?

The School for Good and Evil is not based on a true story. The writer Soman Chainani did say in an interview with the Guardian in 2015 that he took inspiration from the characters in real life:

“Most characters are composites of people in my life or people I’ve been inspired by, but I’d say Sophie is definitely a mix of Maria Sharapova, Madonna, and me. As my friends say, “Sophie is the real you.”

This quote confirms that real people inspired the writer’s characters, but the story’s plot and setting are mostly fictional.

Is The School for Good and Evil based on the comics?

The School for Good and Evil is not based on comics but book series by the American writer Soman Chainani. The book franchise is fairly well-known in children’s literature, so maybe we can expect some comic book or graphic novel projects in the future.

The movie seems like it will gain media traction, so maybe if it succeeds, we can expect new content in other media. Like Harry Potter franchise – who knows?

Is The School for Good and Evil based on a book?

As we already mentioned, The School for Good and Evil is based on a book series by Soman Chainani. The first series novel was published in 2013, and since then has garnered a loyal fanbase. The School for Good and Evil trilogy called The School Years contains three books:

• The School for Good and Evil (2013)
• A World Without Princes (2014)
• The Last Ever After (2015)

The first trilogy got a lot of success and prompted Chainani to publish another trilogy called The Camelot Years, set in the aftermath of the first one:

• The Quest for Glory (2017)
• A Crystal of Time (2019)
• One True King (2020)

As you can see, there is a lot of content regarding The School for Good and Evil, and the fans are rightfully excited about the upcoming movie on Netflix. The School Years trilogy follows two best friends, Sophie and Agatha, who have vastly different lives and goals. 

Their home, the village of Gavaldon, is surrounded by mysterious Endless Woods, where 12-year-olds are kidnapped and sent to the School for Good and Evil, where they can become heroes or villains. A young girl Sophie has aspirations to be kidnapped and ultimately become a princess, while her best friend, Agatha, is ugly and sulky and lives with her witch mother. 

Of course, the two get kidnapped but end up in the wrong schools: Agatha ends up in the School for Good, while, to her horror, Sophie ends up in the School for Evil. The plot starts there, and readers encounter the test of girls’ friendship, odd people in the school, their classmates, and ultimately, their path to finding who they truly are.

Because of its odd plot, good characterization, and worldbuilding, Chainani gained a lot of success, and his book series is praised for being potentially Harry Potter for the newer generations. It’s high praise, and Chainani managed to keep up the success of his work for years. The good news is the author’s involvement in the Netflix movie adaptation and the care of the people surrounding the project.

If we are to believe the YouTube comments underneath the official trailers and teasers for the movie, The School for Good and Evil has a lot of potential and enormous support from the loyal fanbase.

Some critics are already hailing The School for Good and Evil movie to become this generation’s Harry Potter franchise, but we will be a bit more conservative with our opinions and wait until the 19th of October.