The fantasy genre is making its grand return to the forefront of Hollywood's movie and TV slate in 2026 and beyond. In an age before the MCU and superhero blockbuster supremacy, the fantasy genre was all the rage in Hollywood, driven in part by many studios' desire to replicate Warner Bros.' Harry Potter success. While Peter Jackson began charting his journey through Middle-earth and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings before the Wizarding World ever came to screens, ventures like Fox's Percy Jackson and Disney's Narnia were driven by hopes of finding the next young adult fantasy phenomenon.
One could argue that 16 years ago, around 2010-11, marked the culmination of Hollywood's fantasy craze, as the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows finale landed in theaters in back-to-back years. While Fox hoped to ride on its coattails with Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, that would never truly get off the ground, and Disney called it quits with The Chronicles of Narnia after Voyage of the Dawn Treader. However, the genre lived on in some ways from 2011, when Peter Jackson began filming The Hobbit trilogy, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones launched its eight-season HBO run.
Fast forward 16 years, and the Hollywood landscape has evolved drastically, with superhero fatigue setting in to cause problems for Marvel and DC. As studios scramble for the next big thing, many are instead returning to something old, as four upcoming fantasy adaptations harken back to this forgotten time...
Harry Potter
Leading Hollywood's second fantasy charge is Harry Potter, Warner Bros.' second attempt to adapt J.K. Rowling's seven-book Wizarding World saga. After the groundbreaking success of the original eight movies (released from 2001 to 2011), the studio hopes its new HBO show will generate the same level of interest.
HBO's Harry Potter is seeking to differentiate itself from the movies by expanding on the mythos and more faithfully adapting Rowling's beloved novels. Season 1, based on The Philosopher's Stone, has almost wrapped filming and will premiere on December 25, while HBO has already renewed the show for Season 2 to adapt The Chamber of Secrets and will begin production later this year.
Percy Jackson
While Percy Jackson has already released two Disney+ seasons based on The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters, the next will be a turning point. The 20th Century Fox flicks only got as far as adapting Rick Riordan's opening two novels, but Season 3 will finally mark the first adaptation of The Titan's Curse.
Disney+ is expected to continue Percy Jackson through to Season 5, with adaptations of The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian expected to follow after Season 3 lands later this year. In the meantime, star Walker Scobell has hyped up The Titan's Curse as the "most book-accurate season" yet.
Narnia: The Magician's Nephew
Netflix is the latest Hollywood studio to take a stab at C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, following Disney's three movies from 2005 to 2010. The streamer is taking the world behind the wardrobe to the big screen in a theatrical IMAX release on February 12, 2027, with Barbie director Greta Gerwig leading the charge.
This time, Netflix's Narnia isn't starting with Lewis' first novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but instead the chronological start, The Magician's Nephew. Sex Education star Emma Mackey is playing the White Witch, while The Devil Wears Prada lead Meryl Streep is reportedly set to voice Aslan the Lion.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
The 2000s brought Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which he followed in the 2010s with a three-movie The Hobbit adaptation, and now, the reins are passing to Venom: Let There Be Carnage director and Gollum actor Andy Serkis to lead The Hunt for Gollum, coming to theaters on December 17, 2027.
Development is also underway to continue The Lord of the Rings saga through Shadow of the Past, written by the Tolkien fanboy talk show host Stephen Colbert. The tale is set fourteen years after Frodo's death as Sam, Merry, and Pippin retrace the steps of their first adventure, depicted in Jackson's OG trilogy.
More Hollywood Fantasies Are Joining the Big Four Upcoming Adaptations
But those four are far from the only fantasy adaptations in the works at Hollywood, proving that the genre is finally coming back in a big way. For one, the Game of Thrones saga is showing no signs of slowing down at Warner Bros., with more to come from House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, along with an Aegon's Conquest blockbuster movie officially in the works.
Even Apple TV+ has found its Harry Potter replacement in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn franchise, as it similarly relies on the familiar "Chosen One" trope, albeit with a unique spin: "What if the Dark Lord won?" Regardless, the notion of studios seeking their own Harry Potter is very reminiscent of the late 2000s.
After Percy Jackson became a hit on Disney+, the House of Mouse has found its next big fantasy show in Eragon, which follows a young boy who becomes a dragon rider and learns magic to rebel against a tyrannical king. The series is the second attempt to adapt Christopher Paolini's novels after a 2006 movie.
It's also easy to forget that DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon is loosely based on fantasy novels by Cressida Cowell. The animated trilogy may be over, but Universal's live-action remakes will continue with How to Train Your Dragon 2 in June 2027, with the trilogy-capper likely to follow.
