The Future of Fantasy

29 January 2009

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2008 really was the year of the fantasy movie with the likes of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Inkheart and City of Ember all making it onto the big screen.

And it was mixed year for this genre of film with The Spiderwick Chronicles, Twilight and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian all doing well at the box office, with both Twilight and Caspian opening at number one in America.

But for some this didn't quite go as well as expected as Inkheart did better in the UK than in America while The City of Ember struggled fill stop.

So here at FemaleFirst we take a look at some of the movies that are in the pipeline for this genre of film.

You can't really talk about this genre of film without discussing Harry Potter, the sixth film in the series the Half Blood Prince is released later this year.

The seventh and final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is already filming and the film will be split into two parts to be released in 2010 and 2011.

After Tolkien and Rowling Terry Brooks is the third best selling fantasy author so it's not surprising that, at long last, one of his books is getting a big screen adaptation.

The rights for all of the Shannara novels was sold to Warner Bros and The Elfstones of Shannara is the first book to be made into a film by director Mike Newell, the man behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The film will follow two youngster who set off on a quest to save a dying tree that is the only protection against the wrath of a Demon army and is expected to be released late 2009/10.

The Dark Tower is a series of seven books by Stephen King and a film adaptation is rumoured to be in the pipeline, Cloverfield director J.J Abrams is supposedly attached to the project. Abrams announced last year that he had begun an early draft of the screenplay.

Despite Peter Jackson now directing The Hobbit is still going ahead with Pan's Labyrinth filmmaker Guillermo del Toro in the director's chair. Jackson is producing the movie as well as penning the script with del Toro.

Sir Ian McKellen has already signed on to reprise his role of Gandalf, and Andy Serkis is expected to play Gollum once again. There are also rumours that Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood could all reprise their roles.

Warcraft is a fictional universe created by Blizzard Entertainment in a series of games and books and Legendary Pictures acquired the rights back in 2006.

Legendary Pictures is rumoured to be working closely with Blizzard's designers to bring the world of Warcraft to the big screen.

Also up later this year is the adaptation of Elizabeth Goudge's The Little White Horse titled The Secret of Moonacre which will star The Golden Compass' star Dakota Blue Richards.

Other fantasy novels getting the big screen treatment over the next couple of years include A Song of Ice and Fire, Chronicles of Ancient Darkness: Wolf Brother, Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World and Tunnels.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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