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Fantasy Series - Great Films (If Only They'd Stop Messing Around)

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JMQwilleran Let's Hop to It! Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Singularity
Let's Hop to It!
#1: Dec 29th 2012 at 7:26:26 PM

What are some fantasy series that could make a great film franchise, if only they'd stop messing around and just did it? Here are my top choices:

The Bartimaeus Trilogy: A film development deal for The Amulet of Samarkand was announced in 2008, but since then, there's pretty much been doodum. This is a gripping series with a strong character in Bartimaeus and this could be a truly entertaining film franchise if made and marketed right.

Septimus Heap: Again, said to supposedly be in development, but so far, no dice. A seven book series, like Harry Potter, but in many ways different from Potter and with a unique storyline and some gripping adventure moments that could translate quite nicely to film.

Redwall: Long-running series by the recently deceased Brian Jacques. Had a TV series, but it's not hugely well-regarded. Anything you may see about a "film" was actually just a compression of the TV series.

The Inheritance Cycle: Okay, so let's face it, the film of this was pretty much garbage, agreed as such by both critics and fans. And as controversial as the series is, if it were rebooted properly, there is potential here. You've got dragons, magic, epic adventure, all of the elements, so the trick is to find the heart and combine it with actually decent special effects and a writer and director that can actually do the job.

terlwyth Since: Oct, 2010
#2: Dec 29th 2012 at 11:10:05 PM

The Inheritance Cycle is inherently going to suck,it can only really go under So Bad, It's Good turf at best ala the first Twilight movie. No,no,no that would certainly go off wrong

If the sequel got canned,Percy Jackson might be a contender

However The Cronus Chronicles is a gold mine of good stuff,two very compelling leads,between the level headed,British kid and the snarky red-head it'd go down great. The main villain could be modeled like Voldemort (because Philonecron really is just that except even more power hungry) and the special effects for shadow-eaters would be amazing.

By the looks of it The Dresden Files,yeah I know it got a TV show,but I'm sure the first book could be adapted again.

Fablehaven I've heard is being made,lots of good stuff there. 5 books by Brandon Mull about a bunch of caretakers of containing all sorts of magical creatures,...lets see a good giant milk cow,all the demons,lots of good snark,and lots of good driving scenes could be filmed courtesy of Drives Like Crazy Vanessa being a character

edited 29th Dec '12 11:13:09 PM by terlwyth

Lightflame Stick of the Fallen from where you can't find me Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: Drowning in your pond, hoping you'll notice me
Stick of the Fallen
#3: Dec 30th 2012 at 9:01:49 AM

  • The Chronicles Of The Imaginarium Geographica: J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis team up with H. G. Wells to fight bad guys. Sweeping epic. Dragons, mythological creatures, massive battles. All that good stuff.
  • Maybe a hilariously screwed up adaptation of The Wheel of Time? Just to see how much they can mess up.

"Oh great! Let's pile up all the useless cats and hope a tree falls on them!"
JMQwilleran Let's Hop to It! Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Singularity
Let's Hop to It!
#4: Dec 30th 2012 at 5:20:50 PM

Okay, I am definitely putting that Chronicles series on my list to read— don't know how I missed that before. Looks excellent.

TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#5: Dec 30th 2012 at 8:35:43 PM

1632.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo?from=Main.SixteenThirtyTwo

Anything that puts a twenty first century slice of small town America back in the middle of the worst war in Europe that didn't involve use of chemical weapons or the Nazis fits the definition of fantasy in my book.

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#6: Dec 31st 2012 at 3:51:42 PM

I'd have to say the Keys To The Kingdom series. There are so many scenes in it that would look amazing on film.

Also, Artemis Fowl.

JMQwilleran Let's Hop to It! Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Singularity
Let's Hop to It!
#7: Dec 31st 2012 at 4:57:26 PM

Oh yeah, I'd camp out for a good Artemis Fowl movie.

Robbery Since: Jul, 2012
#8: Jan 1st 2013 at 12:12:41 AM

I'd like to see a faithful adaptation of Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain. I enjoyed Disney's Black Cauldron, as did Alexander himself, but, as he himself said, it doesn't bear much resemblance to his work. As a fan of his work, I'd like to see a film that DOES bear some resemblance to it.

TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#9: Jan 1st 2013 at 5:27:24 AM

It would end up Dark is Risinged or His Dark Materialed. In other words, completely broken.

O from ... Since: Dec, 2012
#10: Jan 1st 2013 at 5:58:27 AM

I don't very much want a film of one, but a well-made Earthsea film adaptation would do finely. It's entirely possible; it's been done twice, one with the group that made Totoro and a miniseries with the sci-fi channel, but neither outstood.

Benluke Some guy. from United States Since: Jun, 2012
Some guy.
#11: Jan 5th 2013 at 2:32:00 PM

I want the Mistborn movie to exist as something besides a mood trailer composed of edited clips from other movies, dammit.

whimsyful Since: Sep, 2010
#12: Jan 5th 2013 at 5:47:03 PM

The Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher would make absolutely awesome films if adapted correctly.

Ditto for Garth Nix 's Old Kingdom trilogy, though I think that would be very hard to adapt well.

Beorc Ridley and Ridley from hither and yon Since: Sep, 2009 Relationship Status: I know
Ridley and Ridley
#13: Jan 5th 2013 at 6:04:27 PM

[up][up]I do fear that they may not be able to find a studio that's willing to produce the screenplay, because of the fairly large budget it would probably require for a series that, at least as far as I can tell, isn't especially popular or well-known.

Welcome to th:|
MasterGhandalf Since: Jul, 2009
#14: Jan 5th 2013 at 6:18:34 PM

[up]In my experience, Mistborn is pretty popular and well known among genre fans, though it doesn't compete with titans like Wo T and A So Ia F and hasn't really penetrated the general public consciousness at all. Though Mistborn can also be described as dystopia or (in the case of the first one particularly) a heist story, which might help some against the Fantasy Ghetto.

[up][up]Nix is (and has been for a while) trying to get Sabriel pitched, so long as he gets a deal that lets him retain a degree of veto power; based on some of his recent twitter posts, he seems to think that the recent success of Hunger Games may help make a film with an Action Girl lead easier to get done (the same might also go for Mistborn, for that matter).

Benluke Some guy. from United States Since: Jun, 2012
Some guy.
#15: Jan 6th 2013 at 11:32:18 AM

[up] Besides, is there any fantasy series that's had been at all popular with the general public before getting a movie or something? I mean, I suppose for plenty of children's/YA stuff no, but how many people out-side of the sci-fi/fantasy fandom read A Song Of Ice And Fire before the TV show?

ArsThaumaturgis Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: I've been dreaming of True Love's Kiss
#16: Jan 7th 2013 at 5:31:33 AM

[up] I may well be mistaken, but what about Discworld?

More on-topic, I think that I'd love to the suggestion given above of a series made of The Silmarillion. I'm inclined to imagine it in full CG, with human actors only providing voices and perhaps motion.

I'm also rather interested to read that there may be a Sabriel movie at some stage.

Otherwise... It might be interesting to see a take on the Traveller in Black and Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. The various elementals in the former and the... well, most of the contents of the latter (but particularly Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, to me) could make for some rather interesting spectacle, I think.

edited 7th Jan '13 5:33:04 AM by ArsThaumaturgis

My Games and Asset Packs
Robbery Since: Jul, 2012
#17: Jan 7th 2013 at 3:25:31 PM

I'm afraid that Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser might come off something like John Carter, in that the series established so many genre conventions that, played at all faithfully, most people now who are unversed in it would call it a rehash of the stuff it inspired.

BrotherMycroft Dapper Gentleman Since: Jul, 2012
Dapper Gentleman
#18: Jan 7th 2013 at 5:19:48 PM

The Percy Jackson series deserved far better than the ridiculous "adaptation" it got. If played closer to the books' snarkily humorous ancient-and-modern fusion, a new version could be an absolutely fantastic time at the movies.

I'd also second Fablehaven, a fantastic fantasy series if ever I read one. The escalating danger between installments would likely make for an ideal film series, and now that a movie of Book One is (theoretically) in development, I suppose I just have to send forth a fervent prayer that it not be screwed up.

"And every life is a special story of its own." —The Stargazer, Mass Effect 3
SKJAM Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Baby don't hurt me!
#19: Jan 8th 2013 at 10:34:45 AM

Manley Wade Wellman's Silver John series, at the very least, a heaven of a soundtrack.

Chaosjunction Since: Feb, 2010
#20: Jan 8th 2013 at 11:15:30 PM

[up][up]

You know what you're talking about, Brother. The Lightning Thief was the worst adaptation I've ever seen, and that includes Dragonball Evolution and the Last Airbender.

I also agree on Fablehaven being a great series that would make excellent movies. I would say that Fable haven would be impossible to screw up, but I've been proven wrong before.

A series I think would make a great movie is the Belgariad and the Mallorean. I'd definitely watch that.

Matues Since: Sep, 2011
#21: Jan 9th 2013 at 4:37:15 PM

I'm terrified of any of my favorite books becoming movies.

I no longer have any confidence that they'll be anything but awful.

TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#22: Jan 10th 2013 at 8:13:03 AM

I know the feeling. When they made a film version of Sven Hassel's Wheels of Terror, quite a few years ago now, I was looking forward to it. The book was brilliant. The film, sadly, wasn't. Taught me a valuable lesson.

Paradoxically, when I saw the television adaptation of James Clavell's Shogun round about the same time, I was struck by how well the book matched up to what I saw on screen.

I think my point is that if folks take the time, not just the money, but the time, to do a proper adaptation, they can do a really good job. If not, they will get out exactly what they put in.

syvaris Since: Dec, 2009
#23: Jan 13th 2013 at 3:48:57 PM

Curses I was beaten to the punch for Codex Alera. That is the one fantasy series I really want to see get a film adaptation, especially after seeing Hobbit Part 1. During the Stone Giant sequence all I could thing about was the insane final battle from First Lord's Fury.

edited 13th Jan '13 3:49:37 PM by syvaris

You will never love a women as much as George Lucas hates his fans.
Ironeye Cutmaster-san from SoCal Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Falling within your bell curve
Cutmaster-san
#24: Jan 14th 2013 at 12:12:59 AM

[up][up][up][up]The Lightning Thief worse than The Last Airbender? Worse adaptation, right? Because The Lightning Thief managed to have a shred of dignity and internal consistency (just a shred, but it was there), while TLA managed to be a fairly faithful adaptation without understanding what made the original work. And no scene from TLT was as idiotic as the Earthbender camp scene. Never have I seen a scene so good at making every character on-screen look like an idiot (as well as several not present).

Anyway, I think The Dresden Files would make a good film series if they didn't go the way of the TV show. Not that the TV show was awful, by any means, but it seemed like every episode managed to add setting details that stopped better plots and characters from the books from ever seeing the light of day, all so that the writers could tell whatever story they felt like. (e.g. Only one kind of werewolves, the Council is ambiguously evil, Ancient Mai is a monster in the body of a sexy young woman)

edited 16th Jan '13 11:53:22 PM by Ironeye

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#25: Jan 14th 2013 at 8:08:33 AM

[up] Lots of people seem to forget that you can have a garbage adaptation but an okay movie. It really hurts the ability of the movie to be good, but it is possible.


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