Only 8 Fantasy Franchises Are Objectively Better Than Lord of the Rings

Image via New Line Cinema Published Jul 28, 2026, 7:52 AM EDT Remus is a writer, editor, journalist, and author with an eye for detail and an extremely active imagination. He is an enthusiast of everything to do with the graphic medium, whether it's Western comics and their adaptations or manga and anime. Remus is also the author of the sci-fantasy novel Once Upon a Time in Hyperspace and several works of short fiction in the mystery, comedy, and horror genres. Sign in to your Collider account Ever since its publication in the 1950s, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has indisputably remained the most influential and significant work of fantasy in the 20th century, with its impact extending into the 21st century through Peter Jackson’s phenomenal cinematic interpretation. The first-ever live-action adaptations of the books became icons of 21st-century fantasy cinema, redefining the genre and spawning a major media franchise. While the franchise sits at the pinnacle of the genre, several other works in fantasy cinema are just as groundbreaking, if not more. Many of these books and films have become huge successes, spawning global multimedia franchises and developing into cultural icons in their own right. With sweeping production values, extraordinary world-building, and unique character designs, franchises like Star Wars or Harry Potter have become behemoths of the fantasy genre, rivaling and arguably surpassing Tolkien’s masterpiece. Without further ado, here’s our selection of the only fantasy franchises that we believe are objectively better than The Lord of the Rings. 1 ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians’ (2010–Present) Image via Disney+ Based on Rick Riordan’s mythological children’s fantasy novel series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a fantasy action-adventure franchise consisting of films, a television series, video games, and a musical. The story revolves around the titular 12-year-old boy who learns that he is a demigod and embarks on high-stakes quests to battle mythical monsters and the dark forces of the Titans to prevent a catastrophic war among the Olympian gods and save the world. The films star Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson, and the series adaptation features Walker Scobell in the same role. A heroic coming-of-age tale, Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy franchise with a witty narrative style. While the films did not thrill fans of the original novels, newer audiences find the screen interpretations more accessible, with diverse, relatable characters. The franchise has also grown significantly with its Disney+ series adaptation, which has proven much more popular with critics and audiences alike. By bringing ancient Greek mythology into a modern landscape and blending contemporary themes, the franchise has successfully managed to create a new fantasy niche for itself that’s become a blueprint for later works of film and literature. 2 ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ (2010–Present) Image via Paramount Pictures The How to Train Your Dragon franchise as we know it today began with the animated film adaptations of Cressida Cowell’s books. Since then, it has expanded into animated series, short films, games, and a major live-action reinterpretation of the first film. The franchise revolves around a young Viking boy named Hiccup who breaks the rules of his society by befriending a dragon, and together they find a new way of life for their respective societies, saving both from outside threats. The original film trilogy features the voices of Jay Baruchel, Randy Thom, and Gerard Butler as key characters. One of the most successful and visually amazing projects of DreamWorks Animation, all the How to Train Your Dragon films are universally loved and acclaimed and are considered among the most definitive movies of the 2010s. The films became increasingly popular for their poignant themes, stories, characters, and narrative styles, transforming the original novels into something a lot more spectacular. What truly engages fans is the emotional core of the human-dragon relationship that grounds the fantastical world and the grand adventures. 3 ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ (2005–Present) Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures One of the most popular portal fantasy films of the 21st century, The Chronicles of Narnia, based on C.S. Lewis’s children’s book series of the same name, centers on four siblings and their adventures in the world of Narnia, where they are guided by a wise and powerful lion to protect the land from the evil White Witch. The films launched a major multimedia franchise including short films, digital series, and video games, with a fourth film directed by Greta Gerwig set to arrive in 2027. The original film trilogy stars Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, and Anna Popplewell as the Pevensie children. A story of mystical creatures and fantastical worlds, The Chronicles of Narnia are quintessential fantasy films of the 2000s that thrilled an entire generation of fans. Like the books, the films successfully capture the sense of wonder and magic of the original stories, even if they are more action-driven. The childlike whimsy of the narrative style and straightforward adventure storytelling are what make The Chronicles of Narnia films so engaging and accessible to fans. Of all the franchises on this list, this is the one that’s most directly comparable to The Lord of the Rings. Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz Which Lord of the RingsCharacter Are You? One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide. 💍Frodo 🌿Samwise 👑Aragorn 🔥Gandalf 🏹Legolas ⚒️Gimli 👁️Sauron 🪨Gollum BEGIN YOUR QUEST → 01 You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do? The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders. AAccept it. Someone has to, and running changes nothing. BStay by the side of whoever carries it. They shouldn't go alone. CStep forward and lead. This is exactly what I was made for. DIt's mine now. I won't let anyone else have it. NEXT QUESTION → 02 Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You: True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis. AFollow them without hesitation. I'd rather die beside them than live without them. BRally others and forge a plan to help — strength in numbers. COffer wisdom and guidance. My counsel may save them where swords cannot. DLet them go. Only the strong survive, and sentiment is a weakness. NEXT QUESTION → 03 Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is: Power corrupts — but only those who reach for it. ADestroy it. Nothing good comes from power this absolute. BUse it to protect those I love — just this once. CWield it wisely. I have the will and the knowledge to do good with it. DSeize it. I have waited long enough. It belongs to me. NEXT QUESTION → 04 What does "home" mean to you? Where we long to return reveals who we truly are. AA simple, peaceful place — green hills, good food, no adventure required. BWherever the people I love are. Home is a feeling, not a place. CA kingdom I must earn before I can truly claim it as mine. DI lost it long ago. That loss is what drives everything I do. NEXT QUESTION → 05 When a battle is upon you, your approach is: War reveals what we are made of — whether we like it or not. ASurvive by any means. I'm not a fighter — but I'll do what I must. BFight for the person beside me, not for glory or honour. CLead the charge. Nothing inspires an army like a king at the front. DStrike from range, fast and precise — never let them get close. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You: Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it's knowing which questions to ask. AListen, then offer honest encouragement. Sometimes people just need belief. BGive them practical help — words are fine, but action is better. CSpeak carefully. I have seen much, and I know what counsel can cost. DTell them what they want to hear. Trust is a tool like any other. NEXT QUESTION → 07 How do you see yourself, honestly? Self-knowledge is the most dangerous kind. ASmall and ordinary — but perhaps that's exactly why I was chosen. BDefined entirely by who I serve and love. I am nothing without them. CForged by hardship into something the world has not yet fully seen. DDiminished from what I once was — and consumed by the need to reclaim it. NEXT QUESTION → 08 Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world? Middle-earth speaks to those who know how to listen. AI find peace in it — forests, rivers, open skies. Nature restores me. BI prefer the earth underfoot — stone, mines, solid and real things. CI have watched the world change for longer than most can comprehend. DNature offers hiding places, cold water, raw fish. That's enough for me. NEXT QUESTION → 09 You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You: How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character. AShow mercy. Even the most broken souls deserve a chance at redemption. BPity them — but never trust them. They made their choices. CSee them as a tool. Their knowledge or skills may still serve a purpose. DDestroy them before they can cause more harm. Mercy is a luxury we cannot afford. NEXT QUESTION → 10 When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you? In the end, we are all just stories. AThat an ordinary person did an extraordinary thing — and came home. BThat I never abandoned the person who needed me most. CThat I was worthy of the crown — and everything it demanded. DNothing. I don't need songs. I needed it, and now it's gone. REVEAL MY FATE → The Fellowship Has Spoken Your Place in Middle-earthThe scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people. 💍 Frodo 🌿 Samwise 👑 Aragorn 🔥 Gandalf 🏹 Legolas ⚒️ Gimli 👁️ Sauron 🪨 Gollum You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don't have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is. You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you'd do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one. You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you. You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late. Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them. You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don't do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything. You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you're not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct. You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 4 ‘Underworld’ (2003–2016) Image via Sony An action horror film series created by Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, and Danny McBride, Underworld follows the centuries-spanning secret war between aristocratic vampires and their former werewolf slaves (called the Lycans). The franchise primarily focuses on an elite vampire assassin named Selene, who discovers the truth of their origin and kicks off a revolution. Despite its perennially niche status, Underworld has evolved into a massive franchise that includes five films, a short film, video games, novels, and comic books. Kate Beckinsale stars as Selene, arguably her most popular film character, with Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen, and Shane Brolly appearing in notable roles. While the Underworld films originally did not fare well among critics, the movies have amassed a huge following among dark fantasy and urban fantasy fans. With their moody, urban gothic settings, slick gunfights, and martial arts action, every film in the Underworld series is a high-octane thrill ride. The franchise has since become a cult favorite, praised by fans for swapping the magical, supernatural myths for something more along the lines of science fiction and redefining the presentation of vampire vs. werewolf tropes in fantasy cinema. 5 ‘Avatar’ (2009–Present) Image via 20th Century Studios James Cameron’s epic science fantasy that became a global phenomenon and is now a major multimedia franchise, Avatar revolves around a human megacorp’s attempts to colonize Pandora, the lush habitable moon of a distant gas giant planet, hoping to pillage the land for its rare natural resources. The films center on a former Marine who goes from a genetically engineered spy to becoming a part of the native alien society, saving their world from human invaders. The films star Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, and Sigourney Weaver in main roles. The first Avatar movie, released in 2009, signified a major leap in cinema with its distinctive style and use of cutting-edge 3D technology, which fundamentally changed filmmaking. As a fantasy franchise, the film series is an absolute marvel, with ambitious world-building and emotional themes at its core, all depicted through breathtaking visuals. Besides being some of the highest-grossing films of the last 25 years, the Avatar franchise is considered a technological and cinematic masterpiece that has defined 21st-century cinema. 6 ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ (2003–Present) Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Inspired by the Disney theme park attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean is Disney's biggest and most successful original live-action fantasy franchise. Set in a fictionalized Golden Age of Piracy, the films revolve around the eccentric, charming, and perpetually drunk pirate, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), following his swashbuckling adventures across the oceans and seas, alongside new friends Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), and his former first mate turned archrival, the cunning Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush star in all films, with Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley appearing in four of the five. The first Pirates of the Caribbean film, Curse of the Black Pearl, was a massive hit that launched a massive global media franchise, which now includes five films, spin-off comic books, games, and more, turning Captain Jack Sparrow into a 21st-century pop culture icon. Every film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series is a riotous high-sea adventure with plenty of cursed pirates, ruthless naval fleets, and exciting treasure hunts that come alive with sweeping visual effects and haunting music. Even though the films are criminally underrated (particularly the later ones), Pirates of the Caribbean is as fantastical as a fantasy franchise can be, and easily the best pirate films made in this century. 7 ‘Harry Potter’ (2001–Present) Image via Warner Bros. By far the most iconic fantasy films of the 21st century, adapted from J.K. Rowling's fantasy book series of the same name, the Harry Potter films revolve around the titular orphan who discovers his magical powers and is sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Along with his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry sets out on various quests to thwart the dark forces of the Wizarding World, while overcoming his arch-enemy Lord Voldemort. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson play the three leading characters in all the films. While the literary franchise started in the 1990s, it was the record-breaking global success of the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, that turned The Wizarding World into an epic high fantasy media franchise that now includes eight films, a stage play, video games, a spin-off film series, and a series adaptation arriving in 2026. Notwithstanding the criticisms and controversies surrounding the franchise, the Harry Potter films have undoubtedly defined fantasy cinema and shaped pop culture for an entire generation. The films have been credited for their significant impact on the film industry and for redefining Hollywood blockbusters of the 21st century. 8 ‘Star Wars’ (1977–Present) Image via 20th Century Studios Created by George Lucas, Star Wars began with 1977’s Episode IV: A New Hope and, nearly 50 years later, has turned into the fifth highest-grossing media franchise of all time. The films revolve around the Galactic Civil War between the tyrannical Empire and the Rebel Alliance, and the eras-spanning conflict between the peacekeeping Jedi Order and the evil Sith Lords, at the heart of which are heroes Luke and Leia of the Skywalker bloodline. The first three films, collectively known as The Star Wars Original Trilogy, feature Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and James Earl Jones as key characters. If there is any media franchise that truly surpasses the breadth and depth of The Lord of the Rings, it is unarguably Star Wars. While Tolkien’s 20th-century literary classics have a wider cultural impact and generational influence, Star Wars stands as a pioneering example of a fantasy franchise that turned into a global pop culture icon. What began as an epic space opera film soon turned into a cultural and cinematic legend, giving rise to an all-encompassing fictional universe that is now the world’s biggest space fantasy franchise. Star Wars