Dark Wolf Addresses Major Book Adaptation Issues

August 18, 2025

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The Terminal List star Chris Pratt has discussed how the prequel series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf addresses two of the major book adaptation challenges. Prime Video’s underrated action thriller The Terminal List debuted in July 2022, with Pratt in the leading role of a Navy SEAL who tracks down those responsible for his family’s murder.

Taylor Kitsch co-stars as fellow SEAL Ben Edwards, whose character meets an untimely death. The Terminal List: Dark Wolf serves as a prequel that follows Ben’s early career as a Navy SEAL, focusing on the darker sides of conflict and espionage. The Terminal List was one of Pratt’s best TV shows, and he reprises his role in Dark Wolf.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Pratt discussed two of the key problems with adapting the source material and how Dark Wolf helped overcome these issues. He talks about how Kitsch’s portrayal of Ben breathed life into a character that was pretty stunted in the books, so to lose him in the narrative, in the way the show did, felt incomplete.

He spoke of how the sequel provided a way to explore more of Ben’s story. He also touched on the fact that The Terminal List season 2 doesn’t directly adapt the book because the producers felt it wouldn’t work visually. Instead, Dark Wolf is used as a vehicle to introduce characters who will be prominent in season 2.

Check out Pratt’s comments below:

ScreenRant: I want to start with you guys as EPs, not as actors. Chris, I know you executive produced The Terminal List. What made Taylor the right person to carry this new chapter, both from an executive producing standpoint and from a series lead?

Chris Pratt: Well, for a series lead standpoint, the producing team was, and this is kind of spoiler territory for people who haven’t seen the first season, we were a little bit devastated that we lose Ben Edwards because he brought so much heart and depth to a character that, at least on the page in the novel, is a little bit one or two note.

Even Jack Carr says Ben Edwards is a little underdeveloped. He’s a guy who’s a foil who kind of ends up pushing the story forward. Not a character-driven character, but a story-driven character. And so he came in so on fire and was so good in the role and brought such heart and humility to a character who ends up essentially having an evil turn at the end, or at least an unfortunate bad turn.

And so we were like, “D—n, it sucks that we don’t get to have Taylor back as Ben.” At the same time, we were developing season 2, which is based on the book True Believer. And there’s a bunch of characters in that book that are introduced, which works well on the page narratively through flashbacks.

And we didn’t think that was going to work very well on screen. Just like me and Tom Hopper in University of Montana with a JanSport backpack and like, “Hey guys, let’s go to the quad,” or whatever. It was Saved by the Bell with two 40-year-old dudes.

Taylor Kitsch: I would watch that.

Chris Pratt: Yeah, you probably would. So we had these two problems and you take two problems, you put ’em together and you find a solution. And that solution was he is deserving of his own show and we’ve got a slew of characters from book 2 that need to be introduced.

And so we said let’s find a way to find out what brought Ben out of the teams, introduce him into the ground branch of the CIA, introduce these clandestine sort of spy operations, open up the whole world, make it more like the light of global espionage rather than the darkness of the psychological thriller of season one.

And so my first call was to Dave and Jared and I said, what do you think of this idea? And they said, ‘It’s really good.’ I said, ‘Alright.’ My next call was to Taylor and I said, ‘Listen, would you consider having your own show?’ It being your show, your spinoff, it’s seven years before and we’re just going to go deep into what made Ben become Ben.

And before we went to the network or anybody, we just needed to make sure he was good with it. By the grace of God he said yes and here we are.

Taylor Kitsch: Boom.

What This Means For The Terminal List: Dark Wolf

Pratt’s comments reveal that Dark Wolf is set to be an important addition to The Terminal List franchise, because of the fact that it brings back Ben, fleshing out his character and revealing what makes him so complex, which enriches his arc. The prequel is also a great way of setting up events and characters ready for The Terminal List season 2.

As it has been three years since The Terminal List season 1, which may be due to Pratt’s movie schedule, this is another way in which The Terminal List: Dark Wolf is important – it does a good job of filling the gap before season 2, and keeping fans and viewers engaged until the new season is released.

Our Take On The Terminal List: Dark Wolf Solving Adaptation Problems

This is one of the positives about Dark Wolf being an original series as opposed to a direct adaptation; it allows for greater artistic license. The fact that Ben dies in The Terminal List also means that Dark Wolf can take more liberties with his backstory, and develop a story that fits with how well the character is portrayed in The Terminal List.

The first three episodes of The Terminal List: Dark Wolf will be available to stream from August 27, 2025, on Prime Video.

The Terminal List: Dark Wolf is a strong addition to the franchise, expanding on the original series, as well as helping to cement Ben’s legacy as a fan-favorite character. It also provides a road map for The Terminal List season 2, and could provide a blueprint for how future franchise spinoffs might unfold, and the narrative direction they could take.