CURSED


TV Release Date: TBD

Based on: The forthcoming novel by The Cape creator Tom Wheeler and illustrated by 300’s Frank Miller. It is a retelling of the Arthur legend though the eyes of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake as she journeys to deliver a sword to the wizard Merlin. Along for the ride is a young mercenary named Arthur.

The Fanbase: Unknown, but fans of Miller’s art will likely take a look at the book once it is published and look to the series to visually capture his unique style.

Everything we know so far: Netflix is developing a 10-part series alongside Wheeler and Miller’s final revisions of the novel. Both are attached to the project as executive producers, but no showrunners or actors are as yet attached to the project

It’s most like: Excalibur (pictured), First Knight, King Arthur, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Chances it will be a Certified Fresh hit: Considering most King Arthur live-action movies falter — Excalibur is the only Certified Fresh live-action Arthur film at 78% — there is something of a curse around the legend and its various tales that affects attempts to film it. (Crossing fingers for the live-action feature-film adaptation of Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, based on the beloved 1963 animated film and which reportedly will start production in Belfast, Ireland, in September.) Arthur has fared better on television with shows like Merlin surviving for five seasons, although its first season is rated at 29% on the Tomatometer. The new protagonist may be the best thing going for the project.

OUR FANTASY TV WISH LIST

EARTHSEA


Based on: The Earthsea novels and stories of Ursula K. Le Guin. Set on a planet of small archipelagos, various cultures, and a real magic tradition, the first novel centers around Ged, a young mage who comes of age while trying to escape a demonic shadow he conjured into being. Sadly, Le Guin passed away before anyone could make an Earthsea adaptation which reflected her core concept for the world: a fantasy setting composed mainly of brown-skinned people accepting the inevitability of death.

Why We Want a TV Series: The 2004 Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy) Legend of Earthsea miniseries haunts fans’ memories. Le Guin’s multiple criticisms of the adaptation — beginning with the whitewashing of Earthsea’s inhabitants — are far more entertaining than the show itself. She later allowed Studio Ghibli to adapt elements of the later novels into Tales from Earthsea (pictured above). Directed by Hayao Miyazaki’s son Goro, Le Guin was disappointed in its focus on combat and externalized villain despite praising its visual beauty.

Should anyone ever attempt Earthsea again, it would require a deep understanding of Le Guin to make it work for the fans. It would also require a Thrones-sized budget to make it look like the world the author envisioned.

THE BROKEN EARTH


Based on: N.K. Jemisin’s novels about a world in which the single supercontinent, Stillness, is ravaged every few centuries by a dramatic climate change known as “The Fifth Season.” The most recent Fifth Season proved to be particularly bad, leading some to believe the end is at hand. The society of Stillness is broken into races, castes and species. Those divisions help and hinder the people’s efforts to weather the possible apocalypse. The first two books in the series, The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, won the Hugo Award for best novel in 2015 and 2016.

Why We Want a TV Series: The series has not been optioned for film or television adaptation, which is surprising as it could be, say, Netflix’s counter to Amazon’s coming fantasy content. With a world like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and a civilization reminiscent of Game of Thrones, it could be a strong counter-program to Amazon’s Wheel of Time, Conan, and Lord of the Rings series with a major emphasis on female characters and ecological disaster.

ELRIC OF MELNIBONÉ


Based on: The novellas – and later novels – of Michael Moorcock featuring Elric, a frail albino who also happens to be the 428th and final emperor of Meliboné. Though quite weak, Elric’s sword, Stormbringer, offers him renewed health and vitality, but it requires a constant supply of souls to keep it powered. At odds with traditional Meliboné society, his antics cause him troubles at court and lead to his own nephew plotting a coup against him.

Why We Want a TV Series: In its setting, it may remind some of Lord of the Rings and Conan, but Moorcock actively wrote Elric as an antithesis of the Cimmerian wanderer. Heady, weird, and expressly anti-Conan, Elric’s chances of success commercially or critically are a long shot. But then, an enterprising producer could position a series based on Moorcock’s stories as a compelling alternative to Conan.

DRAGONLANCE


Based on: The Dungeons & Dragons role-playing scenarios by Laura and Tracy Hickman and the later tie-in novels by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. In the world of Krynn, dragons dominate and dragonlances are the only weapons mortals not adept in magic can use to kill them. In the first trio of novels, the Heroes of the Lance fight to restore order to the realm. Since then, nearly 200 Dragonlance novels have been published.

Why We Want a TV Series: While seemingly obscure, a properly developed Dragonlance series would have the potential to fill the void left by Game of Thrones when it ends in 2019. The upcoming Dungeons & Dragons film is said to be based on Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the first Dragonlance novel, but a full series devoted to the game mechanics of D&D and the world of Krynn could be something revolutionary. And as Geek & Sundry’s Critical Role proves every Thursday, there is an audience for stories steeped in the role-playing tradition.