For the record I've never read a Sanderson novel, but I've heard they were rather socially conservative for the most part. No sex, no modern politics, no R-rated scenes. Moderate T for Teen level content.
Sanderson has also been pushing for Hollywood deals for a long time, but had no luck.
The most recent book suddenly had homos and non-binary and all that stuff. Then boom, TV deal signed.
Thoughts?
Publishers probably had a hand in that too. Doesn't mean that Sanderson didn't sell out, just that they're some of the main players trying to push and promote it (for DEI bucks or whatever).