Although the fantasy genre isn’t as big at the box office as sci-fi, it is going to have a particularly incredible year next year, as nine huge fantasy movies have already been announced for 2027. The year will see fantasy movies take on all kinds of forms, whether that be animated children’s musicals, new entries in long-running franchises, or original epics targeted at adults.
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Some of the biggest movie franchises of all time belong to the fantasy genre, with Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Shrek, and more introducing now-iconic fantasy worlds. Some of these very franchises will be returning in 2027 alongside original projects, and here are all of them ranked from least exciting to most exciting.
9) A Minecraft Movie Sequel
A sequel to 2025’s A Minecraft Movie is currently in development and is targeting a release date of July 23, 2027. Jared Hess is returning to direct the sequel, and Chris Galletta is returning to co-write the screenplay. There has been no word on returning actors or story details, but the film is likely to include Alex after Steve meets her in the first Minecraft movie’s post-credits scene.
Although the first A Minecraft Movie was a massive box office hit, it wasn’t very good. The second film will probably deliver on the same types of jokes and Minecraft Easter eggs as the first one, but it is doubtful that it will be much better than its predecessor, making it not very exciting.
8) How to Train Your Dragon 2
The second live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake will be released in 2027, with it adapting 2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2. The film will release on June 11, 2027, and it is expected that most of the first film’s cast will return. On top of that, Cate Blanchett will return to play the live-action version of Valka, Hiccup’s mom from the animated sequel. Plus, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson is playing the film’s villain, Drago.
Although some loved the live-action How to Train Your Dragon, it isn’t much more than a worse version of the original film. It is a beat-for-beat retelling of the original film with very few new ideas, only this time it looks much uglier. It is expected that the second film will continue this trend, making it no more exciting than the original.
7) Margie Claus
Margie Claus is an original animated movie coming from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation that will be released on November 5, 2027. The movie stars Melissa McCarthy as the titular wife of Santa Claus, who must assemble a team of retired reindeer in order to save Christmas after Santa goes missing. The film will be directed by Kirk DeMicco, the director of movies like Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, Vivo, and The Croods.
Margie Claus has the potential to be really good. However, Santa going missing and someone having to save Christmas is a story that has been told countless times before. A story centered on Mrs. Claus is a good idea, but Melissa McCarthy movies don’t tend to be the best, making this a little less exciting.
6) Frozen 3
Frozen 3 and Frozen 4 have been announced, the former of which will be released on November 24, 2027. Almost nothing is known about the movie, although it is expected that most of the cast from the first two movies will reprise their roles. The Frozen franchise has been great so far, so the third movie could be really good as well. However, it doesn’t feel like anybody is dying for a third Frozen movie, and the second film didn’t leave and plot points open that are dying to be explored.
5) Bad Fairies
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation will release Bad Fairies on May 21, 2027, an animated fantasy movie directed by Megan Nicole Dong and Olivier Staphylas and written by Deborah Frances-White. The film will star Cynthia Erivo as a fairy who starts a rebellion, with the musical containing songs written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss.
Cynthia Erivo has been on a hot streak, and after the success of Wicked, it is exciting to see her put her weight behind an original animated idea. The film clearly has a lot of talent behind it, and hopefully, it all comes together and turns into something great.
4) Shrek 5
The fifth movie in the Shrek franchise is finally releasing on June 30, 2027. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz will return, and Marcello Hernández, Skyler Gisondo, and Zendaya will join the cast as Fergus, Farkle, and Felicia. Walt Dohrn is directing alongside Conrad Vernon, the co-director of Shrek 2. Almost nothing is known about the film’s story outside of Shrek and Fiona’s kids now being adults.
Based on the last two Shrek movies, it is hard to imagine that Shrek 5 will reach the heights of the first two films. However, the recent release of 2022’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish proves that the franchise still has a lot of creative potential. The addition of these talented cast members, as well as the return of one of the directors who made Shrek 2 great, paints a hopeful picture of what Shrek 5 could be.
3) Children of Blood and Bone
A movie adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s 2018 fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone will release on January 15, 2027 by Paramount Pictures. The Afro-fantasy story tells the story of a young girl who goes on an epic adventure to restore magic to her people. The film stars Thuso Mbedu and Tosin Cole, and also features major names like Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cynthia Erivo, Viola Davis, Regina King, and more.
The movie adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone has been in development since before the novel’s publication, with it getting lost in the shuffle of Disney’s acquisition of FOX before the film rights lapsed. Now that Paramount is finally getting the project moving, the epic movie will at long last be released, and its scale and world is incredibly exciting.
2) The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
The live-action world of The Lord of the Rings will finally return to the big screen with the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum on December 17, 2027. The movie will be directed by Andy Serkis, and it will feature Gandalf and Frodo, although it has not been confirmed if Ian McKellan and Elijah Wood will reprise their live-action roles.
Although The Hobbit movies were a mixed bag, a proper return to the world and timeline of The Lord of the Rings is incredibly exciting, even if it is in a smaller-scale story like The Hunt for Gollum. It has been years since Middle-Earth has been seen in live-action, and many cannot wait for its return in 2027.
1) The Legend of Zelda
A live-action The Legend of Zelda movie will be released on May 7, 2027, with it being produced by Columbia Pictures. The film will be directed by Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball, and written by Pokémon Detective Pikachu writer Derek Connolly and The Maze Runner trilogy writer T.S. Nowlin. The film will star Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link and Bo Bragason as Princess Zelda.
Video game adaptations have been on a hot streak lately with projects like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Last of Us, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Zelda could continue this trend. The Kingdom of Hyrule is one of the most iconic fantasy worlds of all time, and seeing it finally appear in live-action is incredibly exciting. The talent involved in the film means that it could be incredible, and I cannot wait to see it in 2027.
What fantasy movie are you most excited for? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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