After a year that has not been too special on the fantasy front, I really don’t know where to start off discussing the short term future of fantasy; there are simply too many great new things happening in the fantasy genre during 2011!
Novels that will surely be amazing, endings of series that have taken decades to create and have held millions in their grip. Blockbuster movies and a television series that can only blow our minds.
Here are my personal hightlights: the best and most anticipated fantasy titles of the year to come!
Books and Series
The novel I am looking most forward to is The Crippled God by Steven Erikson. It is the last installment of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series and should be several hundreds of pages filled with the resolution of all mysteries that Erikson has created during the series. Allthough, knowing Erikson a bit, much will probably remain unsolved.
Close second on my list, mostly because we will have to wait till the end of September before it will be released, is A Dance with Dragons, the fifth novel in George R.R. Martin‘s already legendary A Song of Ice & Fire series. Together with the first season of Game of Thrones (see below), this novel will put a huge spotlight on the fantasy genre.
Soon available (in March) is the latest book of Patrick Rothfuss called The Wise Man’s Fear. After the succes of The Name of the Wind, the anticipation for this new novel is very high.
Last book I want to mention is A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, the last installment in The Wheel of Time series. I somewhat lost interest in the series over the years but for many fans this novel will be the most anticipated of the year and it is bound to be high in the New York Times bestsellers list for a long time. It is expected for November 2011.
Movies
Several interesting fantasy movies will be released in theatres in 2011 so there is a lot to look forward to but none of them are guaranteed to be very good. The most promising one is the last movie in the Potter series: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II, set to premiere in July. I am not that much of a fan of the Potter movies but the first Deathly Hallows movie was quite good so I am expecting a lot from part II.
The comedy fantasy movie Your Highness can go either way. Or it will be a hilarious ridicule of fantasy movies or it will be a annoying succession of desperately-trying-to-be-funny fantasy scenes. Your Highness will be in theatres on April 8.
Another movie I am not so sure about is Thor, with a story based on the Marvel comics. There is a good chance of this being a movie solely revolving around action scenes with the story having no depth and the characters being flat. Thor will premiere late April/ early May.
Last in this category of doubtfull movies is the remake of Conan the Barbarian. They will have to make an extremely good movie to come near the “level” of the original movie and to shake of the criticism and cynicism that fans will surely have. We will have to wait a while for Conan as it will not be in theatres until August.
One movie I am personally definitely not looking forward to is the first of the two Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn movies that will be released in November 2011.
Game of Thrones
I simply cannot say it enough: Game of Thrones is starting in 2011! On April 17, the first episode will air on HBO in the US and on Sky in the UK and like almost everybody with a heart for fantasy, I love Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series and am highly anticipating this television series.
As mentioned before, 2010 was not the greatest of years for the fantasy genre but 2011 will surely make us forget all about it. In addition, we will have the anticipation of the movie The Hobbit that is scheduled for 2012…
The start of a new year is a good time to glance back at the past year and try to make some sense of everything that happened. I will do this in a small way by summing up some of the major ripples in the pond called fantasy during 2010. This means that I have made an overview of the best fantasy novels, series, movies, TV series and games of the past year.
Perhaps this short overview will point out a movie you have not seen or remind you of a novel you should have read during last year. If not, it will at least help you form an opinion of the level of the fantasy media in 2010.
Fantasy books and series
First, a quick look at the most popular fantasy books of the pas year. Several novels stand out but in particular Towers of Midnight, the 13th novel in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. It has been written by Brandon Sanderson and the general opinion is that he has done this quite well. This is also reflected by the number one position of the book in the New York Times Best Seller list and the fact that it remained high in this list and was sold in high numbers for many weeks.
Another novel that is absolutely worth mentioning is Under Heaven, written by Guy Gavriel Kay. Kay is probably best know for Tigana but has shown that he can become a stable and important author in the genre.
Last book I want to mention is the recently released Stonewielder. Written by Ian Cameron Esslemont and set in the Malazan world he has created with Steven Erikson, it is a great read that I will review in the near future.
Fantasy movies, TV series and games
The major fantasy event on the screen in 2010 must have been the latest Harry Potter movie The Deathly Hallows: Part I. This penultimate movie in the Potter Series was of course very popular and successful and, I have to admit, quite good. I will review the movie sometime in the coming weeks.
Of course there were more new fantasy movies in 2010, like Twilight: Eclipse and Clash of the Titans. Both are entertaining films but not ones you will remember as a classic.
Looking at fantasy television series, there was the news of the cancellation of Legend of the Seeker which is a shame but not that big a loss as this TV series had dwindling viewer ratings and simply wasn’t that good. Hopefully, HBO can fill the gap and show how a fantasy TV series should be made when Game of Thrones airs on April 17, 2011!
On the game front there has not been much fantasy activity worth mentioning. The World of Warcraft expansion pack Cataclysm was very successful but that was hardly surprising.
Looking back, I would say it was a pretty decent year for the fantasy genre but not a great one. In one of the next posts I will look ahead and will explain what the year 2011 has to offer and boy, that will be something!
HBO has released yet another teaser trailer of the highly anticipated upcoming fantasy television series Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones is based on George R.R. Martins series A Song of Ice & Fire, one of the greatest fantasy series ever written. The first episode of Game of Thrones will air on HBO exactly three month from now, on April 17 2011!
Written by the great George Lucas, directed by Ron Howard and starring the likes of Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer, the fantasy movie Willow is a definite must-see for all those who like fantasy.
The movie was not a big success when it was released in theaters in 1988 but appreciation for it has grown over the years.
Willow may look somewhat outdated and the story slow and childish but the visual effects were very good for the time and the story is interesting and funny enough to keep you entertained. This is also why Willow can be found in the ranking of teh best fantasy movies ever made.
Story
Afraid of a prophecy according to which she will be brought down by a baby, the evil queen Bavmorda imprisons all pregnant women in her kingdom. The child of the prophecy is born in her dungeons but before Bavmorda has a chance to kill the baby, the midwife manages to escape with it. She is caught but puts the baby on a raft in the river. It ends up in the hands of the dwarf Willow who is reluctant at first but then starts caring for the baby.
When the town is attacked by servants of Bavmorda looking for the baby, Willow is sent on a quest to bring back the baby (who’s name turns out to be Elora Danan) to the world of the large people. On his way he is helped by the warrior Madmartigan, the brownies Franjean and Rool, queen of the forest Cherlindrea, the goat-sorceress Fin Raziel and an army that also happens to want to fight queen Bavmorda. After a lot of magic, fighting and cunning tricks, Willow and his friends manage to stop Bavmorda from killing the baby Elora.
Themes & Reception
Developed an produced by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard, Willow was much anticipated. This was even more increased by the breakthrough use of CGI resulting in great visual effects. But when Willow was released in May 1988, it became a box office disappointment, receiving negative reviews from critics. They found the “good versus bad” and “reluctant hero” themes of the movie (the story is typical high/ heroic fantasy) too cliché for adults and deemed it too dark for children.
I do agree with this criticism but on the other hand, Willow did receive two Academy Award nominations and the film gave a boost to the careers of Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer. Over the years, the movie also became more and more appreciated by fans of the genre.
Marvel has released a trailer for their next superhero movie: Thor. The movie will be in theaters in May 2011.
The movie Thor is based on the Marvel Comics series that was created in the sixties by Stan Lee and friends. The original characters of course originate from Norse mythology but the stories of old have been twisted a tiny bit. This has resulted in a bold mix between fantasy and science-fiction with storylines that are set in the modern day United States.
This is also why I have got mixed feelings about Thor: the trailer looks great and slick but at the same time it is not difficult to imagine that the movie can become a cheesy, heavy on the one-liners, action flick.
There is still several months to go till the movie will be in theaters so let’s stay tuned for more information to help decide if Thor is something for the best fantasy movies list or not.
The Trailer
HBO has offered us a look inside the upcoming fantasy series Game of Thrones.
A new trailer of the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones has been released, this time showing several scenes and giving a good impressions of the look and feel of the series.
The TV show is based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and by the looks of the trailer, the production of the television series is well underway and on the right track!
The trailer
Official Game of Thrones website.
Universal Pictures has released a so-called restricted trailer for an upcoming fantasy comedy movie called Your Highness. The theater release of the movie is scheduled for April 8, 2011.
It may not get up to the list of best fantasy movies but by judging by the trailer, Your Highness will be a very funny movie. And that is quite something, because humorous fantasy is a very rare phenomenon on the screen.
The movie tells the story the arrogant prince Thadeous (played by Danny McBride) and his brother, the heroic Fabious (played by James Franco) who, against their will, depart on an epic quest in order to save their father’s kingdom while falling in love wil a warrior princess (played by Natalie Portman).
HD trailer:
20th Century Fox has released a new trailer for the latest movie in the The Chronicles of Narnia series, called The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
With Peter studying and Susan travelling, the youngest Pevensie children Edmund and Lucy, together their cousin Eustace, enter Narnia through a painting and end up helping King Caspian find the seven banished lords of Narnia.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be in theaters on December 10, 2010.
The new trailer:
The first trailer:
Produced by the BBC, the TV series Merlin tells the classic story of Arthur and the knights of the round table. However, it centers around Merlin in his younger years. The series started in 2008 and a third season has been ordered by the BBC. Merlin is one of the more popular and successful fantasy television series around.
Story
The young Merlin (in the series Merlin is about the same age as Arthur) lives in Camelot is a land where magic is banned. Merlin finds out he has magical powers but and a dragon tells Merlin that it is his destiny to keep Arthur save. Merlin continues to work as Arthur’s manservant but has to hide his abilities for fear of imprisonment or worse by king Uther.
Other Arthurian characters like Morgana (daughter of the king who can see the future and slowly turns evil) and Guinevere (her handmaid with whom Arthur falls in love) also play important parts in the series.
Style and themes
The series is focused on a relatively young audience. It contains humor generally has good story lines and also good acting performances, which is important as the show is mainly character driven. On the other hand, the story doesn’t go that deep but that is understandable for a series that is also focused on children and teenagers.
The visual effects are somewhat poorly done but then again, that is not what the series is about. It is an entertaining, light-hearted series that does contain quite a bit of morality as can be expected from this kind of heroic fantasy.
Conclusion
Merlin is produced by the BBC and like most of their productions the show is quite good. I’m not that much of a fan myself but I can understand this television series being a success.
The New Zealand government has made a deal with the producers of the fantasy movie The Hobbit to have the movie shot in their country. But not everyone agrees with the way this has been achieved.
New Zealand, mainly known for its incredible number of sheep, was also the setting for the Lord of the Rings movies. Besides the publicity and the resulting influence on tourism, the country also expects an impulse in the economy resulting from everything involved in filming and producing the movie. A total amount of 670 million Dollar is reportedly at stake.
However, Warner Bros wanted tax benefits and modifications of the labor law before agreeing to filming in New Zealand. The government agreed to this, resulting in a tax benefit of 7.5 million Dollar and several law changes.
Understandably, not all New Zealanders are happy about this, which resulted in a lot of criticism in the press and some serious discussions in the New Zealand parliament.
Nonetheless, Prime Minister John Key agreed to the changes and benefits, so The Hobbit will be made in the settings we have come to identify with Middle-earth!
When will The Hobbit be made?
There have been many doubts in the past but it is starting to look like the filming of The Hobbit will really start in the near future and the movie will be in theatres late 2012. I will provide more details on this somewhere in the coming weeks.
