3 Fantasy Movie Epics From The Past 25 Years That Are Even Better Than The Odyssey

© Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection Published Sep 19, 2026, 1:15 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." Sign in to your ScreenRant account The Odyssey is one of the year's biggest movies, and it has made waves in the fantasy genre as a potential all-time pick, but there are a few fantasy epics that still stand above it for different reasons. Looking at 2026's theatrical lineup, this has been a phenomenal year for movies. From horror hits like Obsession and Backrooms to the sci-fi masterpiece Project Hail Mary and more. 2026 has presented many box office hits and/or movies that were met by overwhelmingly positive reception from critics and viewers alike. Given his track record as one of the best directors of all time, before the year even began, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey was already expected to both be a hit at the box office and come out of the gate with excellent reviews. It has achieved both. At the time of writing, The Odyssey is closing in at a mighty $1.7 billion total worldwide. Nolan's new fantasy epic also boasts a near-perfect 94% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 511 reviews. Somehow, it has an even better audience score, which stands at a stellar 96%. There is no denying that The Odyssey is a resounding success. 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 It makes sense that the 2026 film has not only been touted as one of Nolan's best movies, fighting for the top spot with releases like The Dark Knight and Oppenheimer, but also one of the best fantasy movies of all time. When it comes to the latter, while The Odyssey is a phenomenal cinematic achievement, it ranks lower than these three fantasy epics from the last 25 years for a few crucial reasons. 3 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is the first movie in the franchise, and it thrived on the charisma of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow. The performance was so magnetic that Depp was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for the fantasy movie. While Nolan's The Odyssey is a fantasy epic with creatures like sirens and the Cyclops, it still follows realistic rules. The characters feel tangible to the real world, rather than Odysseus and the others feeling transported into a fantasy setting when meeting them. The Pirates of the Caribbean movie fully embraces its supernatural and folklore elements. It offers more fun and vibrancy than Nolan's The Odyssey, even if the latter might be better on a technical level. Jack Sparrow was never more electric than in his debut. 2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 just trumps Nolan's The Odyssey in the emotion behind it. After all, this movie stands as the final entry in one of the most popular movie franchises of all time. As a fantasy release, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 delves deep into magical elements, fantastical creatures, and more in a way that exceeds Nolan's realistic touch to the genre. That said, with the final battle between Hogwarts and Voldemort's army, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is just as dark and gritty, and sometimes even more so, than The Odyssey. The film fully transports the viewer into an immersive and intricate world carefully crafted after a decade, something The Odyssey just can't touch. 1 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) On a similar level to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the project that ended what many hold to this day as the best fantasy movie franchise in history. The final The Lord of the Rings movie is an epic that was technically perfect. Like Nolan's The Odyssey, it mixed practical effects and CGI to perfection, only its world carried that high-fantasy wonder to it. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King made history after being nominated for 11 Academy Awards and winning all of them, including the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and many more. It is a masterpiece, also grossing over $1 billion, and perfectly bringing an end to the stories of characters like Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, and more with the needed emotional weight and huge scale. As such, The Odyssey did not manage to surpass it. The Odyssey 10/10 Release Date July 15, 2026 Runtime 173 minutes Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is a 2026 adaptation of Homer's epic poem, chronicling Odysseus's treacherous journey home from the Trojan War. The Curse of the Black Pearl is the film that kickstarted the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, a series of supernatural swashbuckling adventures. In 1720, blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead. Cast Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Damian O'Hare, Giles New, Angus Barnett, David Bailie, Michael Berry Jr., Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Kevin McNally, Treva Etienne, Zoe Saldana, Guy Siner, Ralph P. Martin, Paula J. Newman, Paul Keith, Dylan Smith, Lucinda Dryzek, Michael Sean Tighe, Greg Ellis Director Gore Verbinski Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 9/10 Release Date July 12, 2011 Runtime 130 minutes Cast Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Warwick Davis, Helena Bonham Carter, Ciarán Hinds, Matthew Lewis, John Hurt, Evanna Lynch, Robbie Coltrane, Kelly Macdonald, Tom Felton, Helen McCrory, Jason Isaacs, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman, David Bradley, Julie Walters, Gemma Jones, Dave Legeno, Miriam Margolyes Director David Yates The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 10/10 Release Date December 17, 2003 Runtime 201 minutes The final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King concludes the epic saga of the Fellowship's quest to destroy the One Ring and put an end to Sauron's reign of terror. As Frodo and Sam continue on their way to Mordor and Mount Doom, accompanied by Gollom, the rest of the Fellowship work to defend Minas Tirith from Sauron's forces. Cast Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, John Noble, David Wenham, Miranda Otto, Bernard Hill, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban, Ian Holm, Sean Bean, Lawrence Makoare, Marton Csokas, Paul Norell, Noel Appleby, Sarah McLeod, Ali Astin Director Peter Jackson