Fantasy fans have been spoiled with adaptations in recent years from House of the Dragon’s court politics to The Witcher’s monster hunts. But let’s be honest: while there’s plenty of quantity, the quality often feels repetitive. Dragons, chosen ones, political intrigue, all great, but the same tropes keep cycling.
Beyond the big names like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, there are dozens of incredible fantasy books that have never been adapted and they’re brimming with untapped cinematic potential. Here are the hidden gems I think deserve the screen treatment next.
🍲 Seven Recipes for Revolution by Ryan Rose – Animated Adaptation
This book practically begs for animation. Imagine a Studio Ghibli aesthetic with a darker edge: magical meals cooked from monstrous creatures, kaiju-sized disasters in the kitchen, and a young butcher caught up in political rebellion.
An animated format would capture both the chaotic scale and the intimate storytelling, with room to experiment visually with unreliable narration and story-within-a-story framing. Festival award darling, anyone?
🧙 The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan – TV Series
If you’re craving a magic school story with teeth, this is it. Unlike the cosy versions we’re used to, Canavan’s Guild is rife with politics, power struggles, and uneasy alliances.
The story follows Sonea, a street girl who discovers her magical powers, and suddenly finds herself hunted by people who want to control her. It’s tense, layered, and made for multi-season television. Think Shadow and Bone, but with sharper stakes and fewer safety nets.
🗡️ The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams – TV Series
Classic epic fantasy at its very best. Williams’ world is sprawling, intricate, and ripe for a prestige-level series in the vein of Game of Thrones.
The story weaves together political chess games, rich cultures, and explosive battles. With today’s VFX, the vast kingdoms and monumental set pieces could finally be done justice. This one has the bones (pun intended) to be a fantasy juggernaut on screen.
❄️ Book of the Ice trilogy by Mark Lawrence – Film Trilogy
Set in a brutal, frozen world where survival hangs by a thread, Lawrence’s Book of the Ice is perfect for the big screen. Its mix of icy landscapes, beautiful but deadly magic, and a fierce young protagonist would thrive in a tight film trilogy format.
Think The Revenant’s stark survival blended with the epic magic of His Dark Materials. Cold, brutal, and breathtaking.
🏰 House of the Beast by Michelle Wong – Gothic Fantasy Film
This standalone has “big screen” written all over it. Dark romance, gothic palaces, morally grey characters, and a foreboding atmosphere that would look incredible in live action.
It’s the kind of story that would generate weeks of TikTok edits… lavish, dangerous, and addictive.
😈 The Devils by Joe Abercrombie – Gritty Fantasy TV
No list of dream adaptations is complete without Abercrombie. The Devils is grimdark at its finest: bloody, witty, and packed with characters who refuse to fit into tidy boxes.
In TV form, this would be a binge-worthy juggernaut with morally ambiguous, endlessly quotable, and the kind of show you stay up until 3am devouring. Prestige grimdark for fantasy fans.
From competitive kitchens to frozen wastelands, these books prove there’s so much more to fantasy than endless reboots of the same old names. These are stories that could capture new audiences, push the genre forward, and remind us why we fell in love with fantastical worlds in the first place.
So the real question is: which one would you greenlight first?
Tell me in the comments and if you’ve got a favourite fantasy book crying out for adaptation, I’d love to hear it 📚
