Alex Aster kept ‘Starside’ secret for years as Jacob Elordi emerges as dream casting

Alex Aster did not write Starside the way she writes most of her books.

The bestselling author worked on the novel in secret for years, at times keeping it even from her agent, because she wanted it to remain something that was entirely her own. It was not planned as a major rollout or written with an audience in mind.

At least initially, it was just for her.

That is part of what now makes the conversation around Starside feel different.

From secret project to screen conversations

Despite its quiet beginnings, Starside is already being discussed in terms of a potential adaptation.

Aster has said she sees the story working best as a television series rather than a film, largely because of its scale. The novel spans multiple worlds, complex relationships and a central revenge-driven arc that would be difficult to condense into a single feature.

With both Lightlark and Summer in the City already in development, the idea of Starside following that path no longer feels far-fetched.

The casting detail that changed the conversation

What has pushed the discussion further is casting.

Aster has said she would want a new face for Aris, the novel’s central character, so audiences can discover her without expectations. But for Harlan Raker, the brooding knight at the centre of the story, one name has already taken hold.

Jacob Elordi.

The suggestion came from her agent, but Aster has said she could immediately see it, pointing to the character’s intensity and presence.

It is the kind of casting idea that does not stay contained for long.

Why ‘Starside’ feels bigger than a single release

At its core, the novel follows Aris, an orphan navigating dangerous worlds on a mission shaped by loss and revenge. The story blends large-scale fantasy with a character who is already fully formed, not discovering herself, but pushing through what she has already survived.

That shift toward a more mature, layered protagonist helps set Starside apart from Aster’s earlier work. It is also why she has described it as both her most personal and most challenging book to write.

The momentum is already building

Even without an official adaptation announcement, Starside has already entered the phase where readers begin to visualise it on screen.

Between Aster’s growing track record, the scale of the story and a clear fan-casting hook, the conversation has moved beyond the book itself.

For now, it remains hypothetical.

But it is no longer just a private project.