If you missed the last one…
Readers of the 21st century have it pretty good. A big Epic Fantasy series appears in print, with many, many volumes and eventually it gets made into a series. The 20th Century reader could only have wished. We had to make due with Rankin/Bass’s The Hobbit and a half a Lord of the Rings cartoon from Ralph Bakshi. Mere suggestions of what was in the future.
Epic Fantasy shows are a big deal these days. Even people who don’t read books (a pox on them!) can talk about Game of Thrones or the latest Tolkien product with some level of understanding. There are never as much fun as that fan who complains they got Erthridura’s hair color wrong. (You know who you are!) You can cry at the butchered endings of The Golden Compass or the never-arriving finale from George R. R. Martin. Because you’ve read them. All one thousand pages of each volume. You’ve earned the right to bitch.
Here are the big ones from the last twenty-four years. You won’t find movies based entirely on video games. You won’t find knock offs trying to squeeze the fantasy-hungry fan. All these series are based on books first. (Yes, I know, The Witcher is more of a video thing but it began with books.) Best-sellers most of them, though of the new ones, only Philip Pullman strikes me as a writer doing things on a level with Tolkien and Lewis. Whether that makes good cinema is a matter of opinion.
The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Two Towers (2002) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Return of the King (2003) by J. R. R. Tolkien
Modern classics, this trilogy by Peter Jackson got things going. Purists may feel the movies turned the epic into an action series but it is nice to enjoy the story without all the extras. Elven poetry and Tom Bombadil need not apply. Like many fans, I re-watch them all the time, to the point where the dialogue is second nature.
The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (2023-) by J. R. R. Tolkien – one season so far
A series based on the appendixes of Tolkien’s books, it divided fans pretty hard. Love it or hate it. It did redress the incredible “whiteness” of the original. Black elves, cool! A new season in the works. I kinda liked it. New season trailer.
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) by C. S. Lewis
Prince Caspian (2008) by C. S. Lewis
Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) by C. S. Lewis
Only the most film-able of the books, this trilogy taken from a series of seven novels uses up the majority of the epic elements. I would have liked to see The Silver Chair included. The Christian allegory isn’t too strong if that’s not your thing. And besides, Philip Pullman’s anti-Narnia is coming up.
Eragon (2006) by Christopher Paolini
Well, I had to include this one for my son who is a fan. I found the film boring and the first book largely silly but for a new generation of readers it is important. I read The Sword of Shannara at fourteen and thought it good. (Opinion has changed since, of course.) Paolini has continued the series. Maybe they get better?
The Golden Compass (2007) by Philip Pullman
The film version of the first book. It did so badly that the rest of the films were cancelled. One of the biggest faults was cutting off the ending, which is heartbreaking. Producers whimped out. They wanted a romp but the book is deep. Stupid Hollywood!
His Dark Materials (2019-2021) by Philip Pullman – three seasons
The television mini-series remake that fans love much more. Pullman’s books are without doubt the least typical of Epic Fantasy. It has a steampunk feel to it almost, but as a commentary on Narnia it deserves to be here.
The Legend of the Seeker (2008-2009) by Terry Goodkind – two seasons
The second show to film in New Zealand, (Aren’t they all shot in NZ?) has some Sword & Sorcery elements. Intriguing at times, total cardboard at others. My favorite is Craig Parker as Darken Rahl. Villains all too often come off as inhuman screamers. Parker’s baddy is far more watchable and human. Goodkind’s only real innovation is the squad of pain-wielding women who chase the hero.
Game of Thrones (2011-2019) by George R. R. Martin – eight seasons
The show everybody watched. As Penny on Big Bang Theory puts it: It’s got dragons and people doing it. The last season was famously unpopular and probably forced GRRM to wait to write his own ending. I am still surprised I was promised monsters in the opener of Season 1 and had to wait seven seasons for that promise to be fulfilled but stuck around. The white walkers are my favorite part of it though others, like Penny, prefer the dragons.
The House of the Dragon (2023-) by George R. R. Martin – one season so far – New season trailer.
This prequel show to Game of Thrones featured Targarians being mean to each other. George took a guiding hand with this one. A new season is on the way. The best thing was probably Matt Smith is an Elric style helmet. That got S&S fans talking!
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Hobbit; The Desolation of Smaug (2013) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) by J. R. R. Tolkien
These films were supposed to be directed by Guillermo Del Toro but finally were done by Peter Jackson. Turned into a trilogy from the single book, they tie in with his previous films (maybe a bit too much?) Jackson mixes scenes as silly as smoke rising out of Sylvester McCoy’s ears with frightening images of spiders, orcs and demons. A strange medley. Not quite children’s book but also lighter than the first trilogy. There is a fan edit out there…
The Shannara Chronicles (2016-2017) by Terry Brooks – two seasons
I’ve been watching this one lately. It is based on the second book, The Elfstones of Shannara. I wonder why they didn’t start with The Sword of Shannara? (he asks knowing full well.) Brooks sets his world in a post-apocalyptic Earth. The modern images, like the gun in the “Utopia” episode ruin the epic feel. (Yes, I remember Avatar shooting Blackwolf in Wizards. Case in point.) Also those old trucks look pretty good for being two thousand years old.
The Wheel of Time (2021-) by Robert Jordan -two season so far
I have to admit I hated this one until I watched Season 2, then I went back and rewatched Season 1. Now I am quite a fan. I guess I needed to get used to all the back story or something. Why did I watch Season 2 if I hated Season 1? The alternative was re-watching the Willow sequel again. No, don’t ask me to do that. A new season soon.
The Witcher (2019-) by Andrzej Sapkowski – three seasons so far
Probably my favorite these days is this series. I suspect it is because Sapkowski (or the video game people) did an Epic Fantasy with ghostbreaker elements in it. It is always best when Geralt is hunting a monster. It is really just Sword & Sorcery. Unfortunately, the production side of things is in turmoil and we don’t really know what we are going to see in the future. The side projects were well done too. Season 4 promo with Liam Hemsworth.
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (2021) by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022) by Andrzej Sapkowski
Conclusion
So who’s not here? Imagine if you can, a series based on Stephen R. Donaldson’s Lord Foul’s Bane. Or a big budget Earthsea series based on Ursula K. Leguin. (Yes, Harry, there were wizard schools before Hogwarts.) A Katherine Kurtz Deryni show. Or the Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander (you may remember the Disney cartoon, The Black Cauldron?) A live-action remake of The Last Unicorn? This is all Epic Fantasy. We won’t bring in Sword & Sorcery and muddy the waters further! Endless reboots of Conan, of course. What about a Fafhrd & Gray Mouser show? Well, a guy can dream, can’t he?
As you can see from this list (and admittedly a list of older books, there are plenty of other bestselling series out there to be considered. But Hollywood is not quite done with Tolkien, Martin, Sapkowski and Jordan yet. With an all-new Lord of the Rings movie, The Hunt For Gollum, in the works, who knows how many sequels and prequels Peter Jackson can come up with? We might not need Thomas Covenant for some time yet.
