Rebecca Ferguson & Andrew Garfield's Fantasy Epic Based On 87-Year-Old Classic Series Releases This Week

Published Aug 20, 2026, 4:57 PM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics." A new fantasy movie adapting a classic book franchise will be released this week, and it stars names like Andrew Garfield and Rebecca Ferguson, making it a must-watch. 2026 has proven itself an exciting year for fantasy releases, with multiple record-breaking movies and TV shows. The genre's success extends itself to the big screen and streaming releases, as well as those who find second life. As an example of the latter, the new Masters of the Universe movie bombed at the box office. Led by Nicholas Galitzine, the 2026 fantasy movie only brought in $113.8 million against a reported budget of $170 million. That said, it has proven itself a global streaming hit, as Masters of the Universe continues to lead Prime Video's charts a month after its arrival. There are still many exciting fantasy movies and TV shows to look forward to before the year is over. Continuing at Prime Video, the most ambitious genre series of all time, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, returns with season 3 on November 11. With The Odyssey becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, with $1.35 billion, all eyes are on another possible fantasy hit. A Compendium of Enchanted Cinema How Well Do You Know Fantasy Movies? “Magic always comes with a price.” 🪄SpellsWingardium Leviosa 🐉BeastsHere be dragons 👑KingdomsLong live the king ⚔QuestsThe hero’s journey 🔮MagicWhat lies ahead OPEN THE GRIMOIRE → 01 Across the Harry Potter films, the boy wizard is rarely without his loyal companion — a snowy owl gifted to him by Hagrid on his eleventh birthday. What is the owl’s name? AHedwig BErrol CPigwidgeon DCrookshanks ✓ Correct! Hedwig — the snowy owl Harry receives in The Philosopher’s Stone — becomes one of his most beloved companions. Errol is the Weasleys’ ancient, accident-prone owl; Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny hyperactive owl; and Crookshanks is Hermione’s ginger cat — not an owl at all. ✗ Not quite! The answer is Hedwig. Errol is the Weasleys’ clumsy family owl, Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny owl from later books, and Crookshanks is Hermione’s cat. Hedwig is the snowy owl Hagrid buys Harry for his birthday — even getting her own leitmotif from composer John Williams. NEXT → 02 In Rob Reiner’s 1987 cult classic The Princess Bride, the farm boy Westley answers Buttercup’s every demand with the same three words — which she comes to realize actually mean “I love you.” What does he say? A“As you wish” B“Inconceivable!” C“My only love” D“Anything for you” ✓ Correct! “As you wish” is Westley’s signature line — and the film’s emotional core. “Inconceivable!” is Vizzini’s catchphrase (prompting Inigo’s famous “You keep using that word…”). The other two were never in William Goldman’s script — the whole point is that three plain words carry all the meaning. ✗ Not quite! The answer is “As you wish.” “Inconceivable!” belongs to the Sicilian Vizzini. Buttercup slowly realizes that Westley’s endlessly repeated “As you wish” is really his way of saying “I love you” — one of the most quoted lines in fantasy cinema. NEXT → 03 The 2006 Spanish-language masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth blends a fascist-era fairy tale with the grim reality of post-Civil War Spain, featuring the nightmarish Pale Man. Which director created this dark fantasy? AAlfonso Cuarón BGuillermo del Toro CPedro Almodóvar DRobert Rodriguez ✓ Correct! Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed Pan’s Labyrinth, designing the Faun and the eyeless Pale Man himself. He’d later win Best Director and Best Picture for The Shape of Water. Cuarón directed Prisoner of Azkaban; Almodóvar is Spain’s great melodramatist; Rodriguez is del Toro’s close friend but made Sin City and Spy Kids. ✗ Not quite! The answer is Guillermo del Toro. Alfonso Cuarón (a fellow “Three Amigos” of Mexican cinema) directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pedro Almodóvar makes Spanish melodramas, and Robert Rodriguez made Sin City. Del Toro’s creature designs in Pan’s Labyrinth are now iconic. NEXT → 04 In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), the four Pevensie children first stumble into the snowy land of Narnia by passing through what object? AA magic mirror BA wardrobe CA painting DA wishing well ✓ Correct! It’s a wardrobe — it’s right there in the title. Lucy hides inside during a game and finds the snow and lamppost of Narnia beyond the fur coats. A magical painting actually appears in the sequel, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; the mirror and well are red herrings from other fantasy tales. ✗ Not quite! The answer is a wardrobe — literally named in the title. Lucy Pevensie pushes past the coats and steps out into snowy Narnia by the lamppost. (A magical painting does pull the children into the sea in the later film The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — but not here.) NEXT → 05 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) made Oscar history as the first fantasy film to win Best Picture, sweeping every category it was nominated in. How many Academy Awards did it take home? A4 B7 C9 D11 ✓ Correct! Return of the King won all 11 of its nominations — tying Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997) for the all-time record, and becoming the first (and so far only) fantasy film to win Best Picture. Remarkably, it earned zero acting nominations yet still swept the board clean. ✗ Not quite! The answer is 11 — a perfect clean sweep. Return of the King tied Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most Oscar wins ever and broke fantasy’s long Best Picture drought. Fellowship of the Ring won 4 and The Two Towers won 2; the finale took everything it was nominated for. NEXT → 06 In the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean films, Johnny Depp earned an Oscar nomination playing a swaggering, kohl-eyed pirate captain reportedly inspired by Keith Richards. What is the character’s name? AWill Turner BDavy Jones CCaptain Jack Sparrow DHector Barbossa ✓ Correct! Captain Jack Sparrow — Depp’s loose-limbed, rum-soaked performance earned a surprise Best Actor nomination for The Curse of the Black Pearl. Will Turner is the blacksmith hero (Orlando Bloom), Davy Jones is the tentacle-faced villain (Bill Nighy), and Hector Barbossa is the mutinous rival captain (Geoffrey Rush). ✗ Not quite! The answer is Captain Jack Sparrow. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is the earnest blacksmith, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) is the squid-faced sea villain, and Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) is the cursed rival. It was Depp’s Sparrow — modeled partly on Keith Richards — who earned the Oscar nod. NEXT → 07 Jim Henson’s 1986 musical fantasy Labyrinth features a teenage Jennifer Connelly navigating a maze to rescue her baby brother from the flamboyant, wild-haired Goblin King Jareth. Which rock legend played Jareth? ADavid Bowie BTim Curry CMick Jagger DSting ✓ Correct! David Bowie played Jareth, writing and performing the film’s songs including “Magic Dance” and “As the World Falls Down.” Tim Curry famously played the demon Darkness in another Ridley Scott fantasy, Legend (also 1985-86). Jagger and Sting are rock icons but never donned Jareth’s glittering cape and wild wig. ✗ Not quite! The answer is David Bowie. Tim Curry played the towering devil Darkness in the rival fantasy Legend around the same time. Bowie not only starred as Jareth the Goblin King but composed and sang the soundtrack — “Magic Dance” remains the film’s signature number. NEXT → 08 In the 1984 classic The NeverEnding Story, the young warrior Atreyu journeys across the dying realm of Fantasia and befriends a furry, dog-faced luckdragon who carries him through the skies. What is the luckdragon’s name? AArtax BFalkor CGmork DBastian ✓ Correct! Falkor (Falkor the luckdragon) is the friendly, scale-and-fur covered dragon who aids Atreyu and Bastian. Artax is Atreyu’s horse, lost heartbreakingly in the Swamp of Sadness; Gmork is the wolf-like servant of The Nothing; and Bastian is the real-world boy reading the story who is ultimately drawn into it. ✗ Not quite! The answer is Falkor. Artax is Atreyu’s beloved horse (the Swamp of Sadness scene scarred a generation), Gmork is the menacing wolf-beast serving The Nothing, and Bastian is the bullied boy reading the book. Falkor is the soaring luckdragon — one of fantasy cinema’s most cherished creatures. REVEAL MY SCORE → The Grimoire Closes · Quest Complete Your Fantasy Rank 🔮 / 8 Archmage of the Silver Screen — or still lost in the labyrinth? ⤴ CAST AGAIN The next high-profile fantasy movie to come to theaters around the world is The Magic Faraway Tree. The movie is based on the classic book series The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton, which debuted in 1939 with the release of The Enchanted Wood. This is a fantasy movie that has a lot to pull from and boasts a star-studded cast. The Magic Faraway Tree Hits U.S. Theaters This Week The Magic Faraway Tree is a British production, and so it was released months ago in the United Kingdom. The fantasy movie came to the big screen in the UK on March 27. Now, The Magic Faraway Tree will finally be released in the United States on Friday, August 21, and there are plenty of reasons why Americans might want to check it out. Aside from adapting a classic children's book franchise, The Magic Faraway Tree stars names like Andrew Garfield, Rebecca Ferguson, Claire Foy, Nicola Coughlan, and Judi Dench. The film is perfect for families, as it focuses on three children who move to the countryside with their parents, played by the Spider-Man franchise's Garfield and The Crown's Foy, and soon discover a hidden portal to a magical realm. Adventures ensue. The Magic Faraway Tree Already Has Very Strong Reviews While The Magic Faraway Tree has yet to be released in the United States, due to it having been out in the UK for months, those interested in the fantasy movie's cast and/or premise can already look at reviews to see what they would be going in for. At the time of writing, The Magic Faraway Tree is at a high 84% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 57 reviews.For The New York Times, critic Beandrea July praised how The Magic Faraway Tree is not a fantasy movie only for children despite its source material, as it remembers that "imagination is for everyone." In Digital Spy's review, Ian Sandwell commented on how screenwriter Simon Farnaby managed to deliver a "funny and sweet fantasy comedy," though not on the same level of the seminal Paddington 2, which Farnaby also penned. The Magic Faraway Tree Will Have Multiple Sequels The Magic Faraway Tree has already racked up $32.2 million worldwide, most of which came from the UK and Australia, before even being released in the United States and many other countries. Based on that initial success and the positive reception from critics, two The Magic Faraway Tree sequels were not only announced to be in development, but also expected to start filming in 2027. The Faraway Tree book franchise includes three main novels, which culminate in The Folk of the Faraway Tree. As such, The Magic Faraway Tree comes up as a new fantasy franchise that could give genre fans a reason to keep going to theaters for years to come. Release Date August 21, 2026 Runtime 110 minutes Director Ben Gregor Cast Billie Gadsdon Fran Thompson Delilah Bennett-Cardy Beth Thompson Phoenix Laroche Joe Thompson Writers Simon Farnaby, Enid Blyton Producers Danny Perkins, Jane Hooks, Melanie Davis, Nicolas Brown, Pippa Harris