Some of the most incredible stories ever told exist not in movies or TV shows, but in books, comics, and tabletop games. These worlds are packed with unforgettable characters, wild magic systems, and histories so rich they could fill entire libraries.
Yet somehow, most of them have never gotten the big-screen treatment they truly deserve. From grimdark wastelands to satirical flat discs floating through space, these fantasy worlds are screaming to be brought to life.
1. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (Lankhmar)
Long before antiheroes became cool, Fritz Leiber gave us Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, two lovable rogues who care more about gold and wine than saving the world. Their home base, Lankhmar, is a gloriously grimy city full of thieves, wizards, and trouble at every corner.
Created in the 1930s, this duo practically invented the buddy-adventure genre in fantasy. A gritty streaming series set in Lankhmar’s shadowy streets could be absolutely electric.
2. The Broken Earth Trilogy
N.K. Jemisin’s award-winning trilogy is set on a planet that literally tries to kill everyone through earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and “Fifth Seasons” of total environmental collapse.
It is as terrifying as it sounds.
What makes it truly special is the magic system. Orogenes can calm or trigger seismic events with their minds, making them both saviors and outcasts.
No other fantasy series tackles geology, oppression, and survival with this much raw power.
3. The Sacrificers
Picture a world where the gods are real, morally bankrupt, and actively making life miserable for the people below them. That is exactly the vibe of The Sacrificers, a comic series that blends political drama with mythological chaos.
Fans of Game of Thrones and God of War will feel right at home here. The story does not shy away from hard questions about power, sacrifice, and who really pays the price when gods play games.
4. East of West
Forget everything you know about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In East of West, Death has gone rogue, the apocalypse is a political conspiracy, and the American frontier has become a fractured wasteland ruled by rival nations.
Jonathan Hickman’s comic is bold, weird, and wildly cinematic. A prestige TV adaptation could make it one of the most talked-about shows in years.
The mix of mythology, science fiction, and Western grit is genuinely unlike anything else out there.
5. Saga
Romeo and Juliet, but in space, with aliens, robot royalty, and a talking seal who acts as a babysitter. Saga by Brian K.
Vaughan and Fiona Staples is one of the most imaginative comics ever made, and it absolutely belongs on screen.
Two soldiers from warring alien races fall in love and go on the run with their newborn daughter. Every issue introduces something new and jaw-dropping.
A big-budget streaming adaptation could be a game-changer for sci-fi fantasy.
6. Barbaric
Owen the Barbarian got cursed by witches to only perform good deeds. His axe, Axe, is sentient, bloodthirsty, and extremely opinionated about pretty much everything.
Together, they are one of the most entertaining duos in recent comics.
Netflix is reportedly already developing a series, and honestly, it cannot come soon enough. The humor is sharp, the action is brutal, and the concept of a reluctant hero dragged into goodness against his will is endlessly fun to watch unfold.
7. The Elric Saga
Elric of Melnibone is not your typical fantasy hero. He is sickly, morally tortured, and completely dependent on his cursed sword, Stormbringer, which eats souls to keep him alive, including the souls of people he loves.
Michael Moorcock created one of fiction’s greatest antiheroes decades before the word was fashionable. A visually bold streaming adaptation could finally give Elric the dark, operatic treatment his story deserves.
The decaying empire backdrop alone would make for stunning production design.
8. The Realm of the Elderlings (Farseer Trilogy)
Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy follows FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard raised in secret and trained to kill for a king who will never publicly acknowledge him. It is one of the most emotionally brutal fantasy series ever written.
The magic here is intimate and personal. The Wit connects Fitz to animals on a soul-deep level, while the Skill allows telepathic communication.
A screen adaptation would need to get the emotional depth right, but the payoff would be extraordinary.
9. Watership Down
A story about rabbits sounds simple until you realize Watership Down contains its own mythology, language, and social hierarchy that puts many human societies to shame. Richard Adams built something genuinely profound inside a world of burrows and fields.
The 1978 animated film left generations of children emotionally scarred in the best possible way. A modern live-action adaptation using today’s VFX technology could honor the source material while showing new audiences just how harrowing and beautiful this story really is.
10. Malazan Book of the Fallen
Steven Erikson’s Malazan series is so massive and complex that even dedicated fans need flowcharts to keep track of everyone. There are gods who meddle constantly, ancient races with grudges that span millennia, and a magic system of staggering depth.
No other fantasy series rewards patient readers quite like this one. Adapting it for screen would be a monumental challenge, but the payoff could rival anything Game of Thrones ever attempted.
The sheer scale of the world demands to be seen.
11. Discworld
Terry Pratchett built a world that is both ridiculous and razor-sharp. Discworld sits on four elephants, who stand on a giant turtle floating through space, and somehow this absurd setup becomes the backdrop for some of the most insightful commentary on human nature ever written.
There have been smaller TV adaptations, but none have truly captured the full magic of Pratchett’s universe. A well-funded streaming series with the right creative team could finally do Discworld the justice it has always deserved.
12. The Kingkiller Chronicle
Kvothe is the kind of legend people whisper about in taverns, and the Kingkiller Chronicle is him telling his own story, which turns out to be even more complicated than the myths suggest. Patrick Rothfuss crafted one of fantasy’s most compelling narrators.
The University of magic, the mysterious Fae realm, and the haunting Chandrian make this world endlessly rich. A prestige adaptation could lean hard into the storytelling-within-a-story structure, which would feel fresh and cinematic in the right hands.
13. Mistborn
Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series opens with a world that has already lost. An immortal tyrant called the Lord Ruler won a thousand years ago, ash falls from the sky constantly, and mists swallow the night.
Hope feels genuinely impossible.
Then along comes Allomancy, a magic system where swallowing and burning metals grants incredible powers. The result is some of the most kinetic, visually exciting action sequences in fantasy literature.
Watching Allomancers fly through a misty cityscape on screen would be breathtaking.
14. Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea is one of the founding texts of modern fantasy, yet it remains criminally underrepresented on screen.
Magic in this world is tied to true names, meaning knowing something’s real name gives you power over it.
The previous TV adaptation in 2004 was widely considered a disappointment. A thoughtful, faithful version that honors Le Guin’s themes of balance, humility, and consequence could be one of the most meaningful fantasy productions ever made.
15. Night Watch (Sergei Lukyanenko)
Moscow has never looked more dangerous than in Sergei Lukyanenko’s Night Watch. Supernatural beings called Others, ranging from vampires to shape-shifters to witches, live among ordinary humans and maintain a fragile truce between the forces of Light and Dark.
Russian films adapted the books in the early 2000s with a distinctive visual style, but a modern series could explore the rich lore far more deeply. The Cold War undertones and moral ambiguity make this world feel urgent and relevant even today.
16. Warhammer Fantasy Battles (Old World)
The Old World of Warhammer Fantasy is permanently on the edge of total destruction. Chaos armies pour from the north, greenskin hordes rampage across the countryside, and even the elves and dwarves are too busy nursing ancient grudges to cooperate properly.
Decades of tabletop lore have built a world of extraordinary depth and darkness. A prestige adaptation could tap into that built-in fanbase while introducing new audiences to a fantasy setting that makes most others look cheerful by comparison.
17. The Chronicles of Amber
Roger Zelazny’s Amber series starts with a man waking up in a hospital with no memory and ends with him discovering he is a prince of the one true reality, of which every other universe, including Earth, is just a pale shadow copy.
The concept of walking through Shadow to reshape reality around you is one of the coolest ideas in all of fantasy. A stylish, mind-bending adaptation could appeal to fans of both traditional fantasy and multiverse science fiction stories.
18. Dark Sun (Dungeons and Dragons)
Dark Sun is what happens when a fantasy world loses a magical apocalypse. The planet Athas is a dying desert where reckless magic has drained the life from the land, metal is nearly extinct, and ruthless sorcerer-kings rule crumbling city-states with iron fists.
No other Dungeons and Dragons setting feels quite this bleak or original. Survival here is genuinely hard, stakes feel real, and the visual potential is enormous.
A Dark Sun adaptation could redefine what people expect from fantasy on screen.