Apple TV will soon become the streaming home of fantasy, as it has put in motion the start of a new shared universe that should keep on bringing excellent projects, as it is based on a masterpiece franchise. The fantasy genre is one of the most popular. Some of the biggest movies of all time are fantasy releases, and for good reason.
With entertainment, viewers are often looking for wondrous new worlds where they can escape into. That is why fantasy movies like Harry Potter became so huge, leading to the creation of entire shared universes. With the age of streaming, fantasy TV shows have started to play with bigger budgets, and that has led to many of the most exciting genre releases on the small screen.
That said, when it comes to immersive fantasy franchises, perhaps the two most popular nowadays are The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. The first started in theaters and has now come to TV on Prime Video, while the latter began on HBO, has led to multiple spinoffs, and will soon make the jump to the big screen through a movie about Aegon’s Conquest.
A Compendium of Enchanted Cinema How Well Do You Know Fantasy Movies? “Magic always comes with a price.”
🪄SpellsWingardium Leviosa
🐉BeastsHere be dragons
👑KingdomsLong live the king
⚔QuestsThe hero’s journey
🔮MagicWhat lies ahead
01
Across the Harry Potter films, the boy wizard is rarely without his loyal companion — a snowy owl gifted to him by Hagrid on his eleventh birthday. What is the owl’s name?
✓ Correct! Hedwig — the snowy owl Harry receives in The Philosopher’s Stone — becomes one of his most beloved companions. Errol is the Weasleys’ ancient, accident-prone owl; Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny hyperactive owl; and Crookshanks is Hermione’s ginger cat — not an owl at all.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Hedwig. Errol is the Weasleys’ clumsy family owl, Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny owl from later books, and Crookshanks is Hermione’s cat. Hedwig is the snowy owl Hagrid buys Harry for his birthday — even getting her own leitmotif from composer John Williams.
02
In Rob Reiner’s 1987 cult classic The Princess Bride, the farm boy Westley answers Buttercup’s every demand with the same three words — which she comes to realize actually mean “I love you.” What does he say?
✓ Correct! “As you wish” is Westley’s signature line — and the film’s emotional core. “Inconceivable!” is Vizzini’s catchphrase (prompting Inigo’s famous “You keep using that word…”). The other two were never in William Goldman’s script — the whole point is that three plain words carry all the meaning.
✗ Not quite! The answer is “As you wish.” “Inconceivable!” belongs to the Sicilian Vizzini. Buttercup slowly realizes that Westley’s endlessly repeated “As you wish” is really his way of saying “I love you” — one of the most quoted lines in fantasy cinema.
03
The 2006 Spanish-language masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth blends a fascist-era fairy tale with the grim reality of post-Civil War Spain, featuring the nightmarish Pale Man. Which director created this dark fantasy?
✓ Correct! Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed Pan’s Labyrinth, designing the Faun and the eyeless Pale Man himself. He’d later win Best Director and Best Picture for The Shape of Water. Cuarón directed Prisoner of Azkaban; Almodóvar is Spain’s great melodramatist; Rodriguez is del Toro’s close friend but made Sin City and Spy Kids.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Guillermo del Toro. Alfonso Cuarón (a fellow “Three Amigos” of Mexican cinema) directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pedro Almodóvar makes Spanish melodramas, and Robert Rodriguez made Sin City. Del Toro’s creature designs in Pan’s Labyrinth are now iconic.
04
In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), the four Pevensie children first stumble into the snowy land of Narnia by passing through what object?
✓ Correct! It’s a wardrobe — it’s right there in the title. Lucy hides inside during a game and finds the snow and lamppost of Narnia beyond the fur coats. A magical painting actually appears in the sequel, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; the mirror and well are red herrings from other fantasy tales.
✗ Not quite! The answer is a wardrobe — literally named in the title. Lucy Pevensie pushes past the coats and steps out into snowy Narnia by the lamppost. (A magical painting does pull the children into the sea in the later film The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — but not here.)
05
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) made Oscar history as the first fantasy film to win Best Picture, sweeping every category it was nominated in. How many Academy Awards did it take home?
✓ Correct! Return of the King won all 11 of its nominations — tying Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997) for the all-time record, and becoming the first (and so far only) fantasy film to win Best Picture. Remarkably, it earned zero acting nominations yet still swept the board clean.
✗ Not quite! The answer is 11 — a perfect clean sweep. Return of the King tied Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most Oscar wins ever and broke fantasy’s long Best Picture drought. Fellowship of the Ring won 4 and The Two Towers won 2; the finale took everything it was nominated for.
06
In the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean films, Johnny Depp earned an Oscar nomination playing a swaggering, kohl-eyed pirate captain reportedly inspired by Keith Richards. What is the character’s name?
✓ Correct! Captain Jack Sparrow — Depp’s loose-limbed, rum-soaked performance earned a surprise Best Actor nomination for The Curse of the Black Pearl. Will Turner is the blacksmith hero (Orlando Bloom), Davy Jones is the tentacle-faced villain (Bill Nighy), and Hector Barbossa is the mutinous rival captain (Geoffrey Rush).
✗ Not quite! The answer is Captain Jack Sparrow. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is the earnest blacksmith, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) is the squid-faced sea villain, and Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) is the cursed rival. It was Depp’s Sparrow — modeled partly on Keith Richards — who earned the Oscar nod.
07
Jim Henson’s 1986 musical fantasy Labyrinth features a teenage Jennifer Connelly navigating a maze to rescue her baby brother from the flamboyant, wild-haired Goblin King Jareth. Which rock legend played Jareth?
✓ Correct! David Bowie played Jareth, writing and performing the film’s songs including “Magic Dance” and “As the World Falls Down.” Tim Curry famously played the demon Darkness in another Ridley Scott fantasy, Legend (also 1985-86). Jagger and Sting are rock icons but never donned Jareth’s glittering cape and wild wig.
✗ Not quite! The answer is David Bowie. Tim Curry played the towering devil Darkness in the rival fantasy Legend around the same time. Bowie not only starred as Jareth the Goblin King but composed and sang the soundtrack — “Magic Dance” remains the film’s signature number.
08
In the 1984 classic The NeverEnding Story, the young warrior Atreyu journeys across the dying realm of Fantasia and befriends a furry, dog-faced luckdragon who carries him through the skies. What is the luckdragon’s name?
✓ Correct! Falkor (Falkor the luckdragon) is the friendly, scale-and-fur covered dragon who aids Atreyu and Bastian. Artax is Atreyu’s horse, lost heartbreakingly in the Swamp of Sadness; Gmork is the wolf-like servant of The Nothing; and Bastian is the real-world boy reading the story who is ultimately drawn into it.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Falkor. Artax is Atreyu’s beloved horse (the Swamp of Sadness scene scarred a generation), Gmork is the menacing wolf-beast serving The Nothing, and Bastian is the bullied boy reading the book. Falkor is the soaring luckdragon — one of fantasy cinema’s most cherished creatures.
The Grimoire Closes · Quest Complete Your Fantasy Rank
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Archmage of the Silver Screen — or still lost in the labyrinth?
While Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings might reign supreme when the topic is fantasy, Apple TV will soon come for the genre’s crown. Sure, Apple TV’s library of content might be famous for its many sci-fi releases. However, by becoming the streaming home of Brandon Sanderson’s wide-spanning fantasy universe known as the Cosmere, Apple TV might soon make those franchises look small.
Apple’s Cosmere Can Be Bigger Than Lord Of The Rings & Game Of Thrones’ Worlds
The Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings universes might be famous for their dragons, orcs, and other fantasy elements. However, at their core, those hit fantasy franchises exist within a single world. That is where Apple TV’s Cosmere will beat them. Sanderson’s fantasy franchise has a way bigger scope, expanding its stories across 10 core worlds, dubbed Shardworlds, and more. All of those worlds come with their own magic system, if not more than one, making this high fantasy franchise a gift that keeps on giving. Game of Thrones can’t beat its fantastical elements.
Sure, the Cosmere might not have the same level of political intrigue and inherent drama of Game of Thrones, but its scope far surpasses that of George R. R. Martin’s world. While The Lord of the Rings is also a high fantasy franchise with well-built eras, the Cosmere is an even more intricate shared universe. After all, the Cosmere’s standalone franchises are set in different worlds, with Mistborn being set on Scadrial, while The Stormlight Archive makes its home on Roshar. As such, with each new book series written by Sanderson, the Cosmere gets new flavors, magic systems, characters, and genres.
Apple Is Already Starting The Cosmere Off The Right Way
With so much to choose from, nailing down what to adapt first from the Cosmere could have been a problem. Thankfully, Sanderson has complete creative control over Apple TV’s upcoming fantasy adaptations, and so the first live-action Cosmere project will be a Mistborn movie, which Sanderson himself is writing. While Elantris might have been the first book in the Cosmere, Mistborn: The Final Empire is the best gateway for the franchise. It is simply a much better paced novel, with more natural dialogue, and offers plenty of thrills with the heist that is at the center of the narrative.
Apple TV’s Mistborn movie should be a project that hits the ground running and never lets up, which is perfect for what should be an expensive fantasy franchise that wants to get new viewers invested from the get-go. Sanderson’s Mistborn movie also makes more sense than the announced The Stormlight Archive series as the first Apple TV adaptation due to how easier it is to translate to the screen. The Stormlight Archive offers a deeper exploration of fantasy elements, while Mistborn is a more straightforward experience. When Apple TV’s Cosmere gets going, Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings will look small.
