Ranking The 7 Best Fantasy Movies Released Since 2020
Once head of Screen Rant's Star Wars coverage and co-lead of Superheroes, Tom Bacon now works with the movies and books teams. He's a lifelong fan of the fantasy and sci-fi genres, and loves franchises such as Doctor Who and Marvel. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon, on LinkedIn @tabacon, or on Muckrack under tombacon.
Tom has a wide range of interests, and he continues to serve his university as a volunteer chaplain. He's heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he's into British politics too.
The 2020s have been a great decade for fantasy movies. At its heart, fantasy explores what it truly means to be human; the most entertaining fantasy worlds are mirrors of our own, ranging from dystopias to utopias. The most intriguing fantasy creatures are expressions of human nature, often exaggerated on a racial level to shine a light on our best and worst instincts. That's why classic fantasy books like The Lord of the Rings have transcendent power, and it's why there will always be new worlds to explore and new monsters to confront.
The world around us is changing at an ever-faster rate, and fantasy offers viewers an answer: an opportunity to pause and reflect, or else simply to escape the age of AI and war in the Middle East, to lose ourselves in a fantasy world where we can easily figure out who the good guys and bad guys are, and where Chosen Ones stand against the darkness. Here are the eight best fantasy films of the 2020s so far, classics that will stand strong in their genre for decades to come.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
2023
Yes, Dungeons & Dragons' box office was a disappointment; the movie grossed only $208.2 million worldwide, crushing hopes of a sequel. For all that's the case, though, it had rave reviews (a 91% Critic Score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 93% Audience Score), and it's boomed on Netflix, securing a second home in streaming. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is the underrated classic of this age, a charming fantasy that knows exactly what it is — and has an absolute blast delivering on its promise.
Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Dungeons & Dragons delivers a thrilling fantasy adventure that never fails to entertain. Chris Pine puts in one of his best performances as the thief Edgin, and the rest of the cast — including Michelle Rodriguez, Chloe Coleman, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Regé-Jean Page, and Daisy Head — are firing on all cylinders. The overarching narrative is entertaining, but the character dynamics and theme of comradeship are what make Honor Among Thieves shine. It's a delight to rewatch, and is sure to be considered a cult classic.
The Northman
2022
Robert Eggers' chilling dark fantasy isn't really your typical adaptation of Norse legend. What makes The Northman unique is the way it integrates mythology into the everyday, blurring the line between the physical and supernatural worlds in a remarkable way. Eggers is almost obsessive in his historical detail, meaning the film feels unusually "real," and the cinematography avoids the kind of glossy CGI we've all seen a thousand times on the big screen.
The Northman is far from perfect (explaining the division between its Critic and Audience scores over on Rotten Tomatoes). Unlike other entries on this list, it's far from family-friendly, more than justifying its R-rating. But in terms of sheer style, The Northman shows a different way to do fantasy, and that makes it a thrilling watch.
The Boy and the Heron
2023
Produced by Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron was the sixth-highest-grossing Japanese film of all time. A young boy named Mahito Maki encounters a talking heron, and is taken on a fantastical quest in the hopes of getting his deceased mother back. It feels more like a dream than a conventional fantasy, which makes The Boy and the Heron a unique experience; Miyazaki deliberately avoids the traditional fantasy trope of explaining the world, instead imbuing it with an Alice in Wonderland-esque unpredictability.
For Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron was a labor of love; the script reflects his mother's death during his childhood. It appears to be Miyazaki's final film, and he's bowed out in style with a movie that feels almost like a gift to the world. There's a melancholic edge to The Boy and the Heron despite its beauty, as its hero wrestles with the reality of death and finally realizes he has to let his loved ones go.
Wicked
2024
A two-part cinematic event starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Wicked adapts the beloved stageplay in the best possible way. Jon M. Chu skillfully adapts the story for the big screen, and the result is a masterpiece in every sense. Wicked's songs are unforgettable, the performances pop, and the special effects are a joy to behold. But the real reason for Wicked's success (not to mention its position on this ranking) lies with the relationship between Erivo's Elpheba and Grande's Galinda.
There's something absolutely beautiful about the relationship between Elpheba and Galinda, a dynamic that absolutely shines in every scene they're together. Initially worst enemies and ultimately best of friends (and, many believe, more), each is the perfect foil for the other. But, while these two are the standouts, Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth spoke for the entire world when she said the whole cast was amazing.
KPop Demon Hunters
2025
In 2025, Sony and Netflix showed the world how it's done (done, done). KPop Demon Hunters was the unexpected star of the year, a fantastic fantasy in which a dynamic girl band battle to stop demons taking over the world. Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, KPop Demon Hunters is a rare movie where absolutely everything works: the script is incredibly tight, the songs weave into the characters and themes, and the animation style is stunning.
Netflix is working hard to turn KPop Demon Hunters into the next big franchise. That naturally means KPop Demon Hunters 2 is on the horizon, although it will be hard for the sequel to match — much less exceed — the first movie. The blockbuster focused strongly on one of the HUNTR/X members, Rumi, using her as a lens to explore themes of conflicting identity and shame. Presumably KPop Demon Hunters 2 will center on another member of the band, discussing similarly weighty themes.
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
2023
Antonio Banderas's Puss in Boots has become the breakout character from Shrek, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is his triumph. There's something very different about Puss in Boots' animation style, with 2.5D animation used to give the 20-year-old franchise a much-needed refresh; it makes something old look so delightfully new. But, impressively, visuals aren't the only thing Puss in Boots 2 has going for it; Puss has burned through eight of his nine lives, meaning this film tackles the weighty adult subject of mortality. Death itself is the villain of Puss in Boots 2, who takes on the form of a monstrous wolf even Puss cannot charm.
Children's fantasy stories are often accused of "talking down" to their viewers, but Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow's script refuses to do that. It tackles heavy themes without lecturing, with an adventure that will age as audiences grow up with it. Joel Crawford has pulled off the impossible with this, turning the latest movie in a sprawling franchise into an absolute classic.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
2022
In first place, though, we have a bold reinvention of a classic fairy tale: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. Del Toro essentially changes the traditional story's message completely; this isn't about a puppet learning to be a good boy, it rather asks why a child has to become something to deserve love. Immortality is reinterpreted almost as a curse rather than a blessing, and — as with others in this list — we end up with a deep meditation on death itself.
Oddly, Pinocchio beat The Boy and the Heron for an Academy Award — odd not because it was not deserved (we've ranked Pinocchio at the top of this list, after all), but rather because they both wrestle with such similar themes. The stop-motion work is phenomenal, bringing a puppet to life in a physical way that means you can almost feel the grain of the wood. Pinocchio is a true achievement, yet another true classic of the fantasy genre.
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