The 10 Best Modern Sword & Sorcery Fantasy Films, Ranked
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Holding a Bachelor's Degree in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University, Karlis loves to examine the intersections of popular science-fiction and culture. His latest novel MASS. is available now on Amazon and examines a world where obesity has become a federal crime.
There have been many fantastic sword and sorcery fantasy movies released over the last decade, and these ten are the best. Drawing from a fantastic canon of fiction, often centered around series as well as standalone fantasy stories, the genre has only become increasingly successful on big and small screens alike over the past decades.
Fantasy storytelling has been central to movie making for years, and sword and sorcery stories in particular received their earliest entries with films like 1963's Jason and the Argonauts. The genre jumped forward significantly in the 1980s, with bloody and brutal adaptations of stories including Excalibur and Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian.
The 1980s fantasy boom was significant, leading into great films, from Willow to Labyrinth to The Dark Crystal. However, the genre would see an even more seismic shift around the turn of the century, when Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies would reframe how realistic and grounded a fantasy could be rendered onscreen.
Since then, fantasy has only become more popular. Believable and accessible stories have made the genre so much more beloved, which in turn has resulted in some of the finest sword and sorcery fantasy stories making their way to the big screen this past decade. And these ten fantastic films absolutely must be seen.
10 Onward
Pixar's release of Onward was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that made it one of the most overlooked films in the studio's decades of output. A strong comedy with a great voice cast, Onward also incorporates some surprising elements of sword-and-sorcery fantasy.
Set in a fantasy-inspired world that otherwise feels contemporary, the film sees two elf brothers who get the chance to spend one final day with their deceased father. Full of magic and intrigue, the film's comedy is almost as strong as its irresistible heart.
Certainly among the many Pixar movies that deserve sequels, this charming 2020 release features bold animation, staggering creativity, and many unusual subversions of the most beloved sword-and-sorcery tropes.
9 Kaamelott: The First Chapter
This 2021 film is a strong follow-up to Kaamelott, a French medieval comedy series that aired in the 2000s. To conclude the story of that series, which focused on Medieval legend, specifically around King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, a trilogy of films was planned.
This first installment was a triumph. A little less comedic than the show, but still hilarious, the film found a way to expand and explore the lore with greater texture and craft, using fantastic sets and costumes to craft an even more believable world for this popular and beloved story and its characters.
Built around the relationship between Lancelot and Arthur, the film takes a unique approach to funny fantasy storytelling, and crafts something that is both wholly unexpected and terrifically entertaining.
8 The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep
The Witcher is one of the biggest franchises across multiple mediums, with fantastic novels by Andrej Sapkowski, incredible video games developed by CD Projekt Red, and an excellent Netflix series that originally featured Henry Cavill in the lead role.
With all of that in mind, some of the strongest entries in this enormous universe have been through animated films, also produced by Netflix. Based on one of Sapkowski's short stories, which itself draws from Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid", the 2025 release The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep simply must be seen.
This film does a great job expanding the lore of the series, and features a strong voice performance by Doug Cockle as Geralt of Rivia. It is among the best entries in The Witcher's larger canon, as well as a fantastic sword-and-sorcery film.
7 King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword
Guy Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was supposed to kick off a whole cinematic universe. Additional films about characters including Lancelot and Guinevere were planned, but the first film's middling box office performance brought them to a halt.
Fortunately, King Arthur is still a fantastic entry in the genre. Charlie Hunnam is excellent in the lead, and the splendid visuals are approached with a great eye for gritty and visceral style thanks to Ritchie's fantastic direction.
While the film did not do as well as the studio hoped, there is still so much to enjoy in King Arthur, including Jude Law's excellent villain. As a 2017 take on the sword-and-sorcery genre, packed to the brim with style, the film still totally deserves to be seen.
6 Warcraft
Few video games have been as impactful or beloved as Blizzard's Warcraft series, and this made the prospect of a movie adaptation even more daunting. Drawing from so many games, including the online multiplayer experience World of Warcraft, distilling the brand down to a single two-hour film seemed nearly impossible.
Fortunately, Duncan Jones was able to find a way to make something surprisingly satisfying from the material. While it may not have been perfect, the complementary human and orc stories were able to find an excellent balance, and the resulting film told an accessible story full of brilliant visuals and surprising emotion.
Drawing from various memorable components of the game, the film delivered one of the most entertaining video game movies ever made, and deserved to launch a franchise. Unfortunately, the film's slightly disappointing box office performance caused the studio to put a pause on any Warcraft sequels.
5 Masters Of The Universe
Travis Knight's Masters of the Universe is an entertaining and charming fantasy romp. Drawing from the 1980s toys and cartoons, the 2026 film adapts memorable characters like He-Man and Teela, and puts them in direct conflict with the evil forces of the treacherous Skeletor.
Accessible and humorous, Masters of the Universe is a sword-and-sorcery fantasy movie, but mashes up the genre with elements of science fiction, including spaceships and laser guns. This blend gives the story a unique visual and stylistic appeal.
Despite failing to connect in theaters, Masters of the Universe was a streaming hit thanks to its strong quality and great performances. Hopefully further installments in this series, as were teased in the film's ending, will still be produced.
4 Jiang Ziya
The Chinese cinematic landscape has evolved in recent years, and Jiang Ziya is one of the best fantasy films that the country has yet produced. Rendered in crisp and beautiful animation, the film tells the story of a dutiful military commander who must confront his own future.
Filled with gods and monsters, the film taps into Chinese mythology in some curious and intelligent ways. It is full of interesting creatures and breathless fantasy action, exploring an unusual background in sword-and-sorcery storytelling with fantastic style and substance.
In addition, the film connects loosely to some of China's biggest movies yet. It was developed as a spinoff from Ne Zha, which itself was followed by the $2.27 billion-earning Ne Zha 2, one of last year's biggest global box office hits.
3 The Northman
Robert Eggers' movies have always been challenging, but the director really tried to make something that was accessibly entertaining without compromising his unusually dark style with the fantastic 2022 movie The Northman.
Assembling a stunning cast, including Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Nicole Kidman, among many others, this Norse tale delved into spiritual elements balanced against a great story of a young prince's attempt to violently avenge his father.
Visually stunning and emotionally impactful, The Northman is one of Eggers' best films, and balances its great fantasy elements against an emotionally grounded and surprisingly impactful epic story.
2 The Green Knight
One of the more unique entries on this list, David Lowery's The Green Knight is a powerful film that draws deeply from ancient myth and lore. The film is specifically based on the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written in the late 14th century.
Looking at themes of mortality and honor, the film sets Sir Gawain, played by Dev Patel, on a quest to return to the Green Knight one year after failing an attempt to strike him down. Gawain has agreed to let the Knight return the blow, and is compelled by his honor to return.
With breathtaking visuals, stunning performances, and a genuinely strange texture to the world and its fantastic characters, The Green Knight is a sword-and-sorcery film that is rife with atmosphere and feeling rather than action and effects, and works even better for it.
1 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Much has already been said about the best sword-and-sorcery fantasy film of the last decade, which woefully underperformed at the box office. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves deserves a sequel for its strong story, fantastic characters, and its accurate realization of the Forgotten Realms.
Drawing from the tabletop game, the comedic and imaginative film does an incredible job telling a story that feels grounded and emotional against the backdrop of memorable villains, fantastic creatures, and thrilling locales. It contains much for long-time players of D&D to enjoy, but also works without any prior knowledge of the game.
Honor Among Thieves is perhaps the best fantasy film produced in the past ten years, and it is disappointing that it did not perform better. Fortunately, while no sequel is on the horizon, other shows and movies in the world of D&D are being produced elsewhere.
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