Now that we’re in the early 2020s, there have been a number of movie adaptations from books, comic books, and graphic novels. Book lovers often mention how the movies don’t particularly do the books justice, but are satisfied enough to see these stories come to life on-screen. One of the more recent successes with a book adaptation was Where the Crawdads Sing; many fans of the novel raved about how well the filmmakers got the plot right, as well as the casting. Fantasy is a big genre in the worlds of books and film, and since there are so many great fantasy books, there should be more adaptations surrounding that genre. Here’s a list of fantasy series that deserve a movie franchise.

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7 The Shades of Magic by V. E Schwab

     Tor Books

V. E Schwab is known for her books to transport her readers to different universes with every flip of the page, such as her great novel The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. In The Shades of Magic series, things take a darker turn from her other works, and evil lurks through each chapter, enchanting the reader to discover how it ends through all three installments. The plot follows two people; Kell, who’s a rare magician known as the Antari, and Delilah Bard, whose pretty much the opposite of Kell. The two have to work together in order to save every single parallel universe that exists, and right now that’s an attractive concept to films.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

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MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

6 From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

     Blue Box Press

Personalized playlists for characters, fan casts of celebrities in the roles of each character, and hopes for an on-screen adaptation has rocked the fandom that makes up this series. Very Mulan-esque, Poppy was born a maiden, isn’t to be touched, and is guarded at all times. However, Poppy isn’t a fan of that life, and wishes to be part of the guarding, craving mayhem and violence in order to keep her kingdom at peace. When golden-eyed Hawke makes his presence known and presents himself in Poppy’s life, desire and seduction take over her plans to be her own person. Lies, fallen kingdoms, and enough love interests to last all three books, will have you wishing there was a movie franchise already.

5 The Poppy War by R F Kuang

     Harper Voyager

If you’re into dark themes that center around war and the drug epidemic, look no further than The Poppy War. Set in an alternate universe, but pulling inspiration from Japanese wars and the historic politics of China, this series would do well with the historian/fantasy crowd. Rin, our main character, was brought up as an orphan, and her destiny is supposed to lead her to have a life similar to Mao Zedong. However, she decides to choose her own path, and also balances the fact that she has god-like powers, playing into some supernatural elements as well.

4 Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

     Ballantine Books

If you’re a part of the group that wishes dragons were real, read this series. Also, if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, give this a shot. McCaffrey was the first woman to win a Hugo award for fiction, as well as a Nebula award for this series, so it’s a big deal. The books center around humans living on a planet called Pern, and had to move there since Earth was overrun by a spore that destroyed everything in its path. The dragons that are featured in the series are bonded with the humans who ride them. They can communicate with humans telepathically, and they help fight off the spore. It honestly doesn’t get much cooler than that.

3 The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

     Scholastic Press

The Raven Cycle series could be very attractive for fans of fantasy that focuses on specific groups of people, and also lovers of the found family trope. Four boys; Richard, Adam, Ronan and Noah, attend a fancy boarding school and call themselves The Raven Boys. Although they mostly keep to themselves, they end up meeting and begrudgingly befriending a girl named Blue. Following the success of Netflix’s Wednesday, it would be fascinating and fitting to see Jenna Ortega in the role as Blue, since she’s made such a name for herself at her age. The Raven Cycle books hit all the right spots with the fantasy genre, mixing in other elements to keep it interesting and a bit tense at times.

2 The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

     Holly Black

With five books in total in this series, if you count the novellas, The Folk of the Air series could easily be the next biggest franchise when regarding book to screen adaptations. There’s something for everyone; murder, royalty, fake politics, war, and even a hint of a love triangle. If all that seems overwhelming, TLB has an entire guide as to how you are supposed to approach this series, so you can properly enjoy it. Dystopian literature is extremely popular, as well as period pieces, so the combination would make it big in box offices.

1 We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

     Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Who doesn’t love a slow burn? The two-part series of We Hunt The Flame follows two individuals on opposite sides of wealth; Nasir, the crown prince, who doubles as an assassin, and Zafira, a huntress, who disguises herself as a man in order to feed her family. Faizal was inspired by The Hunger Games and The Lord of the Rings, transporting her readers to a place similar to ancient Arabia. The two characters are sent on separate missions to retrieve an ancient artifact, and in return release an evil far greater than both could ever imagine. This fantasy series deserves to be seen on the big screen, and for more inspiration, the We Hunt the Flame website has visuals to guide you further into the book.