Upcoming Fantasy IP on Film and Television

Those of you who have read my coverage of Amazon's The Rings of Power and Netflix's The Witcher are aware that I enjoy faithful adaptations. 'Faithful' doesn't necessarily mean text-to-screen in a one-to-one manner, but what it does mean is following the narrative, aesthetic, and lore as much as possible (dependent on how good the source material is). Other than early seasons of Game of Thrones, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Harry Potter films (the most successful fantasy adaptations of all time), executives avoid this approach like the plague. What we get instead are things like Eragon (Fox, 2006), Conan the Barbarian (Millennium, 2011), A Wrinkle in Time (Disney, 2018), and The Wheel of Time (Amazon, 2021). No one follows the hyper successful model, despite how much fantasy is being produced (more, I'd argue, then the 1980s fantasy boom). We should be in the Golden Age of fantasy on screen, but instead it's a nightmare as we watch good IP get destroyed. There's still a glimmer of hope, so let's take a look at the fantasy that's upcoming.

Before we start, I want to go over the running theme of what's to follow: politics. I love political content in film, television, and books--all significant classics include social commentary and that's part of what makes them great. With that said, no one seems to know how to write it anymore (comicbook writer Jonathan Hickman discusses it). When you write this material, it cannot be dogmatic (and that includes screaming about it on social media and in your marketing)--that never works--all you do is repulse those with different views and turn off casual viewers who just want entertainment. Politics and social commentary in art is meant to open minds through narrative--dogma doesn't work, thus religious and political dogmatists resort to violence and oppression. That's where I'm coming from when I reference political content--broadly, I love it! How it's being written currently is horrendous and ultimately self-defeating. Let's give a classic example of doing it right: most fans of The Lord of the Rings do not share the ethos of its arch-Catholic writer, yet his themes and ideas were absorbed--Tolkien wasn't writing dogma, so it works.

Premiere: August 21, 2022
Out of the wreckage of Game of Thrones season eight, HBO burned a ton of money on a failed pilot (Bloodmoon) written by Jane Goldman (whose credits do not scream fantasy epic, although I do like Kick-Ass)--something so terrible HBO has refused to release the pilot. On the heels of that failure they approved another prequel, this time Ryan J. Condal's House of the Dragon (he's best known for Colony), which explores a specific era of Targaryen history.

The Targaryen's were among the least interesting parts of GOT (their existence is pivotal, but otherwise not what kept people coming back). Yes, there are Daenerys fans, but that's more about her. The source material itself is not of the same caliber either (Martin's pseudo-history Fire & Blood, 2018, is not a proper narrative)--the book was also written long after George had peaked as an author (I'd argue that both A Feast for Crows (2005) and A Dance with Dragons (2011) are bloated, mediocre novels hindered by poor pacing, plot, character, and in the latter case, editing). George hasn't helped himself by his social media utterances or the absurdities he creates for himself by playing the identity politics game (Rebecca Kuang, cf, is one of many examples--you can have fun going down the rabbit hole of how feminists see the self-described feminist). Culture warriors always eat their own, as George is slowly discovering. A bit of a non-sequitur, but GRRM doesn't even understand LOTR (cf), albeit he hasn't rejected Tolkien ala Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft.

In the lead-up to release George, Condal, and others involved with the show have decided to follow the marketing strategy of attacking their fanbase (a precedent famously kicked off in 2016's Ghostbusters). As I said above, having political and social commentary in your show or film is excellent if you do it well, but dogma never works. The incredibly simplistic notions tossed out by those involved undercut what they are trying to accomplish--by attacking the audience they can now only depend on those who agree with their position along with whatever casuals are still interested in the IP (which, from what we can tell on Google Trends, isn't many). The original Game of Thrones appealed to everyone.

Writing aside, the aesthetics of the show look terrible. Matt Smith looks beyond goofy--I have no idea what happened to the custom department (he looks ridiculous in the wig). What's the hook for the audience? We know where the story leads--Game of Thrones, something infamously tanked by D. B. Weiss and David Benioff (and, likely, George, if he ever finished it--we did get his ending after all). There's an excellent chance this show tanks just as hard and, if it does, could destroy the IP beyond repair. Despite that, fantasy shows are very expensive, so regardless of reception we'll likely get a second season (ala The Wheel of Time).

Premiere: March 3, 2023

The D&D movie (from Paramount) is the first theatrical release for the IP since the hilariously awful Dungeons & Dragons in 2000. From the trailer the film seems to be aiming for a Guardians of the Galaxy vibe--a difficult thing to get right (James Gunn failed himself with The Suicide Squad), particularly given modern cultural sensitivities (they're still trying to cancel Dave Chapelle). Four different hands worked on the script for the original story (which is not based on a pre-existing D&D property), including (some) of the writers of Spider-Man: Homecoming. The directors have never helmed either a franchise film or a blockbuster before--that doesn't preclude success, but it does mean it's not something they've had previously.

Broadly the costumes look cheap (Chris Pine and Sophia Lillis look alright, but the other characters don't--community theater/LARPer material, sharing the tonal confusion from the first season of The Witcher--why entertainment people can't just make Elves look like Elves I don't know--if you want diverse Elves use Drow instead of whatever Justice Smith is supposed to be). The special effects are tolerable, but given that this is primarily a comedy it's possible for the film to work despite the aesthetic issues. There's no nostalgia tickle for the film--I don't think Critical Role cameos are enough. None of the actors known for their love of the game were cast (Vin Diesel would be the most famous; whether any were approached or not I don't know). Given the tone it's not appealing to either the Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, or Harry Potter audience (which took their settings seriously). What this looks like is a Marvel riff wearing D&D clothing--can that work? In theory I think it can--D&D can be pretty campy--but camp also associates it with the disaster from two decades ago and the trailer hasn't changed my outlook for it. The good thing is, if this film fails it will not hurt the IP.

I should add that I think an original story is the way to go. None of the D&D books are successful enough to guarantee an audience. The best pre-existing option is the original Dragonlance trilogy, but we'd run into the politics of the authors themselves (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman) and find ourselves in the endless culture war that ruins everything. In terms of settings, Eberron might be fun, but it is a bit outside the D&D norm (very steampunkish).

Season Three Premiere: sometime in 2023

You may have noticed I did not cover the second season of the Witcher. I did watch some of it, but it was so poorly done I couldn't make it all the way through (the poor reaction to it is a sentiment ubiquitous among the major game/book fans of the IP, eg; the public also seems to have struggled with it, echoed by a diminished bump in book sales along with fewer players returning or newly trying the video games). While the second season tweaked the poorly received aesthetic of season one (Elves/costumes), and went for a linear narrative, the story and writing were the same disastrous mess as the first season. At this stage I hope the third season is the final one to mercifully save us from further pain. I think the second season's issues are so obvious I don't have to belabour them, but I will give one example just to make the point. We have a scene where Geralt tells Ciri why the Witchers have to keep the location of Kaer Morhen secret. This is followed by a group of whores being brought to the castle--no idea how they made it through the mountains, what were they fed, how were they clothed, how they would be maintained at the castle, or what the plan for them was after the whoring--would the Witchers murder them to protect their location? The show isn't interested in any of these questions, as the whores are just there to denigrate the Witchers themselves (in general, but Eskel in particular)--Witchers are all men, after all, therefore their organization must be derided until a woman (Ciri) is permitted to join.

As for the IP itself, what I've long hoped for is for the creators of the Witcher video games, CD Project Red (who made the IP popular) to license out an adaptation. I'd only want this to happen with a faithful adaptation (plenty of people at CDPR have the same nonsensical inclinations as Netflix). It's unfortunate that Henry Cavill, a perfect Geralt, has been wasted on the Netflix show. I wouldn't be picky about which game to adapt, although Witcher 3 is the most successful to imitate (working best as several seasons or films). It seems an unlikely thing, however, particularly with the Netflix show still ongoing.

Premiere: November 30, 2022
I have fond memories of the original Willow (1988), from Val Kilmer's Madmartigan to Joanne Whalley's Sorsha. Did the IP need a remake or sequel? Absolutely not, but that didn't stop Disney from giving us one on Disney Plus. The Willow show went through two showrunners (the 'she doesn't look Asian-enough' John M. Chu as well as Jonathan Entwhistle), which is a red flag, and then casting Erin Kellyman (Falcon and the Winter Soldier), who can't act, leads me to believe this will be another unwatchable disaster. If there's a blessing it's that this doesn't sully the original film and, buried as it is on the streaming service, it's easily forgotten. I'm not sure the world of Willow really has the depth for a show, but if it does, we won't see that exploited here.

I mentioned above, fantasy shows are typically so expensive that a second season is guaranteed--I'm less sure here, as I don't know how much Disney has spent on sets, so it may well be one-and-done if it (as I expect) fails. What we may get is something like Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, where it has critical acclaim and is the most amazing success...before then being quietly cancelled a year later because no one actually watched it (much like HBO's The Watchmen and Lovecraft Country).

Premiere: September 2, 2022

I haven't talked about Amazon's Lord of the Rings series since March (a long 4,000-word analysis had to be thrown out when I realized the show had no interest in following or respecting the lore--as the now-admitted firing of Tom Shippey illustrates). The advertising campaign is in full swing, so it's worth re-visiting the upcoming train wreck.

Amazon seems to understand it's failed to appeal to the core audience of the books or Jackson films (I think mild criticism from Forbes reflects this, as does its poor reception via Google Trends above), so they are using all the buzz words meant to engage casuals (including a Last Jedi meme in the teaser--kill the past). I can't think of a time where this approach has worked, but that hasn't stopped studios and companies from trying it. The attempt is particularly difficult in this case, since the core fanbase is much larger than for any other fantasy IP.

I was baffled when I discovered the show is based on, not the full Silmarillon or various unfinished tales, but The Appendixes from LOTR (!). This makes it virtually an original story--with the showrunners and executives involved showing no comprehension of the IP whatsoever. There's a very transparent attempt to imitate elements of Game of Thrones in shots we've seen (undoubtedly to appease Jeff Bezos, who wanted a show as successful as it was), but the two IP are tonally different (GOT owes a lot to historical fiction and Michael Moorcock, with the latter being antipodal to LOTR). Making Galadriel and Tar-Miriel warrior women misses the point about both completely (people don't seem to realize that Tolkien, a WWI veteran, had no illusions about the cost of war and conflict), but these days the only way for a female character to be a strong is to commit acts of violence.

For such an expensive show the sets and customs look like the The Wheel of Time (community theater/LARPing). Can it succeed? Popular taste is hard to predict (the success of the current Jurassic Park proves that), but for the sake of the IP I hope not. What this abomination might do is get the WB off their asses to use the rights they have and do something interesting with it. Do I trust WB to do better than Amazon? No, but the potential is there (particularly as Amazon has gone away from faithfulness, providing the impetus for WB to do the opposite). Amazon is committed to five seasons of this, so I don't know what they'll do if the first season flops--how much revision, really, can you do at this point? I don't think its fixable, which suggests to me at some point--after season two or three--they'll take Old Yeller outback and wash their hands of it.

Premiere: unknown

Back in September, 2020, Netflix picked up the rights to a Conan show from Amazon (who gave up on it for being too 'problematic'). Unlike most fantasy IP, the property is owned by someone (Fredrik Malmberg) invested in putting something faithful on-screen (he actually owns all Howard IP other than Red Sonja, see below). There hasn't been much news since September (with the writing of the series ongoing). Netflix stock has been crashing and they're bleeding subscribers (a million gone), but whether a good Conan show is on the menu remains to be seen. Rumour says there's a showrunner attached, but we don't know who that is, so I wouldn't expect anything for another two years or so (if, indeed, we get anything). While flawed, the Arnold Schwarzenegger film (1982) is entertaining and largely holds-up (written to work around Arnold's inability to act; we get a strong female character in Valeria, adapted out of her context in "Red Nails"). What Malmberg and Netflix will do remains to be seen, as we have no clue which Conan story would be tackled (other than when Conan is younger--"The Frost-Giant's Daughter", "The God in the Bowl", "The Tower of the Elephant", the fragment "The Hall of the Dead", and "Rogues in the House").

If Conan flounders this does not prevent other Howard properties, like Kull the Conqueror (the precursor to Conan) getting a treatment elsewhere, but as yet there's nothing official in the works. Personally I'd love to see "The Tower of the Elephant" adapted, but that never seems to come up when discussing Conan adaptations. One element Conan has going for it in our modern climate is diversity and female characters, so the main issue progressives have with him is he's white and traditionally 'masculine' (undoubtedly Howard himself has been 'cancelled' too, although I wonder if that actually matters anymore).

Premiere: unknown

Many do not know that Red Sonja, as we've seen her, is a hybrid character invented at Marvel in 1973 combining three Robert E. Howard characters: Dark Agnes ("Sword Woman" etc), Valeria ("Red Nails"), and Red Sonya herself ("The Shadow of the Vulture"). As such, Red Sonja LLC owns the rights to her and she's firmly divorced from the Conan IP. I watched the 1985 film adaptation at the time and it is terrible (Brigette Nielsen can't act and is paired with bad writing). The character has long been popular in comics, however, so there's plenty of juice left in the IP.

In 2017 Millennium films (who made the botched Jason Momoa Conan) announced an upcoming film with Bryan Singer attached. After Singer's removal a new round of people were put in charge and Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp) was brought on to be Sonja (the entertainment industry loves erasing redheads). She and the creatives are now also gone and M. J. Bassett, who directed the 2009 cult film Soloman Kane (also by Howard), is onboard and presumably re-writing the script (cf). Will we get a half-decent Red Sonja film? It seems doubtful, given how badly Millennium botched Conan, but at least creatively it's moving in a better direction.

Second Two Premiere: unknown

The show bombed so badly that even the mainstream press has picked it apart (eg). The second season was already filmed when the first came out, so there's no opportunity for Amazon to fix the problem. What I'd expect is a cut back on advertising to allow the show to quietly die. Given who was involved creatively (Jennifer Salke/Rafe Judkins), this nightmare is not surprising and all I can do is express sympathy for fans of the IP since I don't think you'll ever see WoT on screen again. As a reader I think The Wheel of Time killed itself from book seven onwards, but there was potential to make that story successful in another medium.

Summarizing

The powerful fantasy trend is in evidence (buoyed by things like the early success of Game of Thrones, the Witcher games, and the boom in Dungeons & Dragons), as we have IP coming from Disney, Paramount, Millennium, HBO, Amazon, and Netflix. From what I can tell, nothing that's already been filmed is going to be great (perhaps not even good), although there's a chance the D&D movie will be entertaining. The hope for something better will have to come from Conan and other Howard properties (with a long shot for Red Sonja). Will we finally see better writing and storytelling? We can hope, but that trend hasn't started yet.

This article was written by Peter Levi