Epic books are nothing new, by any means, and epic movies are only slightly newer because cinema, as a medium, is more recent than literature, as a medium/art form. TV shows that satisfy as epics are newer still, with the rise of more cinematic and higher-budgeted television around the start of the 21st century being a big factor in shows getting, you know, bigger.

There were also some TV shows made earlier that feel epic in other ways, even if the production values feel a little slimmer compared to the spectacle more modern shows offer. Also, epic is not being used as a stand-in for the word “good” or “great.” There are amazing shows that aren’t mentioned below, but those here, in one way or another, feel like epics in the conventional sense. They satisfy the traditional definition of the word “epic,” as in the epic genre.

10

‘Boardwalk Empire’ (2010–2014)

Image via HBO

Boardwalk Empire is a show that takes place during the Prohibition era, and has a focus on organized crime in Atlantic City during said era, but it branches out and touches upon some other things, too. It’s a massive show in terms of its production value, which is sort of what HBO has become known for, so yes, there will be other HBO shows featured below. It’s all a bit inevitable, with the topic at hand.

There’s also a huge number of characters in Boardwalk Empire, and it’s the historical setting and the immensity of that ensemble cast that makes it feel like more of an epic than something like The Sopranos, which is also a crime-related show with a fair few characters. The Sopranos is the better show, for the record, but Boardwalk Empire just ticks more boxes if you’re looking for shows that feel like actual epics in the traditional sense.

9

‘Deadwood’ (2004–2006)

Image via HBO

While Deadwood is contained to the one fairly small town (the titular one) for the most part, that town is shown growing and becoming more populated over the seasons, and numerous characters are balanced at once. There’s already a huge ensemble cast in the first season, and though a few people get killed off, characters are introduced at a faster rate than they’re written out.

In season 3, there might well be too many characters and narrative threads to keep track of. It got canceled before season 4 had a chance of bringing things together or concluding it all, but there was thankfully a 2019 movie that felt like a good send-off. Anyway, when Deadwood was at its best, it was great, and the recreation of a time and place – and having so many people living during that time in that place – proved more than enough to make it feel sufficiently epic.

8

‘I, Claudius’ (1976)

Image via BBC

It’s the oldest show here, which means there are some production-related limitations that need to be overlooked, but also, they’re not as hard to overlook when the quality of the writing and the acting is so strong. I, Claudius delivers on those fronts and then some, and then it feels like an epic because of how much time it covers, with the titular character recounting his entire life, from when he was a small child until the very end.

That life was tumultuous, to say the least, since it was during the early Roman Empire, and Claudius does end up Emperor, but not before some other reigns are shown. It does what House of the Dragon did in its first season, being willing to jump forward any number of years between episodes, but it did that much better than House of the Dragon. If done today, with more of a budget, I, Claudius might well have more spectacle, but for its time – and for what it does in terms of how it’s written – it’s nonetheless admirably epic.

7

‘Rome’ (2005–2007)

Image via HBO

Returning to HBO, the first season of Rome came out a year on from the first season of Deadwood, and can quite easily be viewed as an escalation in terms of production and ambition. Setting something in the 1870s and having it feel authentic is one thing, but Rome goes all the way back to the 1st century BC, so it does kind of fulfill that question of “What might I, Claudius have looked like with HBO money?”

It’s not a perfect comparison, because Rome is about the end of the Roman Republic, and the transition to the Roman Empire, while I, Claudius is all about the first few emperors of that latter period. If you want some chronology and to watch both shows, it makes sense to watch Rome first, even if it was made some decades later, because there are a few things that line up and probably feel fitting (though not quite as many as there might’ve been had Rome not suffered the same fate as Deadwood and been canceled earlier than the creators had wanted).

Image via Bones

It is an animated show, unlike the others here, but Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood does feel just as ambitious and grand in scope as the live-action shows it’s being included among. It’s a fantasy series that also tackles various other genres, with the basic premise involving a pair of brothers searching for the Philosopher’s Stone to try to mend the damage done to their bodies after a spell intended to bring their mother back to life goes wrong.

They meet various heroic and villainous characters along the way, which does increase the scope of the show considerably, all the while finding the Philosopher’s Stone remains a consistent endgame. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is almost 70 episodes long, and a lot happens in those 70 episodes, and it’s worth highlighting as one of the best shows of the century so far, animated or otherwise.

5

‘Lonesome Dove’ (1989)

Image via CBS

Perhaps the ultimate Western book of all time got adapted remarkably well into what might well be the ultimate Western miniseries: Lonesome Dove. It’s funny having “mini” play a role in describing a show like this at all, but it is effectively four feature-length episodes that all add up to about six hours, with those episodes/hours being about two Texas Rangers and some other people taking part in a cattle drive to Montana.

The book is part of a series, but Lonesome Dove – whether you’re talking about that original book or this particular miniseries adaptation – does successfully stand alone, and a ton is offered in terms of scope and ambition. Also, Lonesome Dove is one of the most emotional Western stories of all time, and the miniseries version (should you have six hours to spare) is recommendable even to viewers who might not ordinarily like Westerns all that much.

4

‘Andor’ (2022–2025)

Image via Disney+

The way a prequel show centered around one decent but not particularly loved character from a prequel movie became one of the best TV shows in recent memory… who knows? It was strange and surprising in a good way. But that show was Andor, and it was a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which was a 2016 film that itself was a prequel to the first Star Wars movie, ending right where that 1977 film began.

Andor does quite a lot for its titular character, and makes him more interesting for sure, but it’s how the show builds into a whole sci-fi political drama with a scope that manages to exceed the movies that really impresses. It also feels like there are more reasons to care about what’s going on here than in most other Star Wars-related media, and yes, this is all adding to the ridiculous hype around Andor that already exists, but it really does deserve all that hype and acclaim.

3

‘Lost’ (2004–2010)

Image via ABC

It does have to be acknowledged that Lost doesn’t really start out as an epic, even if it does start pretty ambitious… not nearly as ambitious as it later gets, though. There are people stranded on an island after a plane crash, and then they find out all the ways in which that island is incredibly strange, which leads to a good deal of adventuring, some of it through time (flashbacks early on set a precedent for this) and some of it not really just related to the island itself. Kind of.

Elaborating further would sound a bit chaotic, if you’ve only got so many words to work with, and then it would also involve giving away too much. The main thing is that at some point, Lost becomes an unusual kind of epic, and it remains about as big, wild, and ambitious as a network TV drama has ever gotten.

2

‘Game of Thrones’ (2011–2019)

Game of Thrones had an ending. That ending is an elephant and this article is the room. It’s all been addressed. Game of Thrones was also just about the most epic anything of the 2010s, and it did define that decade, to some extent, by being aired throughout it. All the previously mentioned large-scale shows on HBO were something, and felt grander than things before (and most things that weren’t HBO), but Game of Thrones was all next-level.

The main conflict here concerns which house will rule over Westeros, while there’s also an approaching undead army that threatens to wipe out all of civilization, and will likely do so faster if everyone’s still at war. There’s so much going on, an almost overwhelming number of characters to keep track of, and undeniable spectacle throughout, including in the first season, but it just gets bigger and bigger from there (especially as far as battle sequences were concerned).

1

‘The Wire’ (2002–2008)

Image via HBO Max

There isn’t as much variety in setting in The Wire as Game of Thrones, with the former being set almost entirely within one city, and the latter having a whole fictional/fantasy continent (and beyond) to depict. Baltimore is that city in The Wire, though it is explored and covered in-depth, to the point where The Wire ends up feeling more epic, in many ways, than similarly ambitious shows that might have a larger setting.

Also, you get the sense of things becoming bigger as the show goes along. The city doesn’t literally grow, but each new season has a new focus on a different area or aspect of Baltimore, and once introduced, those areas (and the characters relevant to them) will remain important to the show, even with new seasons technically spending more time on new/different things. By the end, it’s pretty staggering to think how much was covered, and how seamlessly and efficiently The Wire covered it all.

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The Wire

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2002 – 2008-00-00

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Directors

Ernest R. Dickerson, Ed Bianchi, Steve Shill, Clark Johnson, Daniel Attias, Agnieszka Holland, Tim Van Patten, Alex Zakrzewski, Anthony Hemingway, Brad Anderson, Clement Virgo, Elodie Keene, Peter Medak, Rob Bailey, Seith Mann, Christine Moore, David Platt, Dominic West, Gloria Muzio, Jim McKay, Leslie Libman, Milcho Manchevski, Robert F. Colesberry, Thomas J. Wright

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Mariska Hargitay delivered an emotional acceptance speech while receiving one of two Creative Arts Emmy Awards for her directorial debut My Mom Jayne, referencing the late Gloria Steinem.

“I’m utterly overwhelmed, as you can imagine. I just wanted to share with you that it took me a while … to realize that this was my story to tell. I didn’t think that I could direct it and so I just want to add something to Gloria’s pointer and that is about telling your own story,” Hargitay, 62, said on Sunday, September 6, inside Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre.

Steinem, a feminist icon and political activist, died at age 92 in her New York City home on Wednesday, September 2. Her final interview for the Famous Last Words documentary series, filmed in February 2025 and released after her death, urged people to “please tell your own story,” as it’s “the most important thing we can do for each other.”

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Hargitay, who created her 2025 documentary about her late mother, Jayne Mansfield, reiterated Steinem’s stance on Sunday. “I just want that invitation to go out, especially to women. I’m so excited to explore and discover and to innovate new ways of hearing stories from half of the world’s population because we don’t hear from you nearly enough,” she said on stage. “I can’t wait to get to know you. Thank you, this is meaningful.”

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star lost her mom, a fellow actress and 1960s sex symbol, in a 1967 car crash when Hargitay was 3 years old. Hargitay’s film features personal home videos and interviews with her mom’s five children. (Mansfield welcomed Jayne Marie in 1950 with Paul Mansfield, Miklós in 1958 and Zoltán in 1960 with Mickey Hargitay, Tony in 1965 with Matt Cimber and Mariska in 1964. Mariska was raised by Mickey before learning the identity of her biological father, Nelson Sardelli, who had a brief fling with Jayne during a break in her relationship with Mickey.)

Hargitay said during her June 25 appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that filming the documentary shone a light on the similarities she shared with her late mom. “During the making of this film and on this journey, I’ve had so many moments where I got to see our similarity, or what I came from, and what I admire and revere and respect are the things about her that I’m in awe of and the things about her that are so similar to how I am,” Mariska told host Alex Cooper. “So, in that way, it has been this gift. It’s so magnificent.”

With the new season of “Dancing with the Stars” approaching, some contestants are already facing scrutiny over their previous dance experience. Fans have questioned whether celebrities with dance backgrounds have an unfair advantage over their fellow competitors.

Among those drawing attention is Julia Stiles, who famously starred as a ballerina-turned-hip-hop-dancer Sara Johnson in the film “Save the Last Dance.” Now, the actress is revealing how much dance experience she really has.

Several competitors in the upcoming season of “Dancing with the Stars” have raised eyebrows, with their dance backgrounds allegedly giving them an unfair advantage in the ballroom. Some of them include Ciara Miller, Harry Shum Jr., and Jenna Dewan, to name a few.

Julia Stiles, who trained in dancing while preparing for her role in “Save the Last Dance,” has also caught fans’ attention. On September 6, the actress and her “DWTS” pro partner, Ezra Sosa, joined the TikTok Yep/Nope challenge to clear up some rumors. “PSA just to clarify #dwts” Stiles captioned the post.

Upon answering a few questions, people were surprised to learn a few facts about her dance background, or lack thereof.

The Actress Used A Body Double In ‘Save The Last Dance’

Fantasy has remained one of cinema’s most popular and prolific genres for over a century for a reason: There are very few movie genres better fit for the medium of cinema than these stories of magic, mythology, and grand imaginary worlds. As such, it’s no coincidence that several of the best fantasy movies in film history can also be counted among the best movies of all time, period.

After all, we’re talking about foundational Hollywood classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, cornerstones of international arthouse cinema like Wings of Desire, and modern masterpieces like Pan’s Labyrinth. Film history’s greatest fantasy movies are proof of what has kept this genre as one of the most timeless to have ever graced the big screen.

10

‘The Fall’ (2006)

Image via Roadside Attractions

There are only a handful of R-rated fantasy movies that truly changed the genre forever. By this point, in spite of the fact that it’s still a relatively niche cult classic, it’s nevertheless quite reasonable to say that Tarsem Singh‘s The Fall is one such film. Due to an atrocious release strategy that largely stemmed from a bitter feud with Harvey Weinstein, The Fall was a massive flop upon release; but as the years have passed, cinephiles have woken up to its visionary genius.

The Fall was shot across more than two dozen countries over the course of four years, and that level of passion and dedication comes through in the form of some of the most stunning visuals, riveting storytelling, and deep character development that fantasy has seen this century. It’s an absolutely jaw-dropping artistic achievement unlike anything else any fantasy film fan has ever seen.

9

‘The Green Mile’ (1999)

Image via Universal Pictures

There is no artist in Hollywood better at adapting Stephen King stories than Frank Darabont, whose The Green Mile is one of the saddest Stephen King movies of all time. But as downright depressing as it may be, this three-hour-long magical realism masterpiece is one of the greatest prison dramas of the entire 20th century, and certainly in film history.

The Green Mile deals with the usual thematic elements that you’d expect in a prison drama, from critiquing the flaws of the American justice system to examining the layers of racial prejudice, but the fantastical elements it sprinkles in add a fascinating dimension to the story. It’s low fantasy at its most powerfully subtle, and one of the bigger tearjerkers in Hollywood film history.

8

‘Wings of Desire’ (1987)

Image via Road Movies

Fantasy movies without any flaws are so rare that when one comes across a film as practically perfect as Wim Wenders‘ Wings of Desire, one has to cherish them like they’ve run into a true treasure trove. This romantic fantasy drama earned Wenders a Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, and it was a perfectly-deserved one, because this really is one of the most beautifully-constructed arthouse dramas the fantasy genre has ever delivered.

It’s a slow-moving movie, one that dives deep into the gorgeous intricacies of the mundanity of life and celebrates their simple wonders. Anchored by Bruno Ganz‘s subtly potent lead performance, this poetic meditation on the beauty of existence and mortality is every bit as thought-provoking and life-affirming as any fan of slow-burning fantasy could possibly expect.

7

‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ (1975)

Image via EMI Films

The legendarily hilarious British comedy troupe Monty Python were looking for a new creative challenge after Monty Python’s Flying Circus wrapped up. The clear answer was a feature film, and that ambitious mission resulted in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, now widely remembered as one of the greatest and funniest comedy movies the big screen has ever seen.

The film takes full advantage of its low budget and finds endless ways of leveraging it as part of its timeless charm, charm that makes it one of the most fun fantasy movies of all time. Serious and epic fantasy has delivered several masterpieces over the course of film history, but the genre has also seen the release of many of the funniest and most creative comedies ever made, a realm where Monty Python and the Holy Grail rules supreme.

6

‘Macario’ (1960)

Image via Azteca Films Inc.

Every year, it’s tradition in Mexico to watch Roberto Gavaldón‘s Macario as the Day of the Dead approaches. Outside of Mexico, this is one of those perfect dark fantasy movies nobody remembers anymore, but that should absolutely not be the case. It may be designed around Mexican culture and folklore, but Macario is a fantasy masterpiece as universally engrossing as they come.

Creatively structured, perfectly paced, visually gorgeous, and full of deeply emotional and thought-provoking moments, this gem is a film all about death, wealth disparities, and culture. It’s as thematically profound as it is phenomenally performed, and 66 years later, it’s just as fascinating and wonderfully moving as it has always been.

5

‘Spirited Away’ (2001)

Hayao Miyazaki is both the master of anime filmmaking and one of the greatest cinematic auteurs in the history of Japanese cinema, which makes it unsurprising that he was responsible for the second-ever film (and first-ever international production) to win the Best Animated Feature Academy Award: Spirited Away, one of the most rewatchable fantasy movies ever made.

There are those who would go so far as to call this the greatest animated movie in history—certainly the greatest animated fantasy movie in history—, and it would be difficult to disagree. Mature, complex, and beautifully creative, it’s a family film so artful and universally appealing that anyone and everyone, no matter their age, should consider it a must-see.

4

‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)

Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has been one of dark fantasy’s undeniable masters in Hollywood for many years, but what most people would consider his magnum opus is actually a Mexican-Spanish co-production. It’s Pan’s Labyrinth, of course, one of the best fantasy movies of the 21st century and of the entirety of film history.

For anyone who loves fantasy, what’s not to love about Pan’s Labyrinth? Del Toro’s direction is amazingly layered and tonally complex; the visuals are some of the most jaw-dropping that the genre has ever seen; and the narrative is a dark fairy tale that’s unlike anything else fantasy cinema has produced over the course of the last two decades.

3

‘Fanny and Alexander’ (1982)

Image via Sandrew Film & Teater

There will never be a filmmaker quite like Ingmar Bergman, master of Swedish cinema and one of the greatest European auteurs in history. The question of where the uninitiated can start when they want to dive into Bergman’s filmography is one bound to elicit many answers, and one of the most accessible (despite its daunting runtime) is the wonderful Fanny and Alexander.

This dramatic family saga is a whopping three hours long (over five hours in its extended miniseries version), but every second of that runtime is imbued with enrapturing magical realism, Bergman’s unmatched direction, and one of the best depictions of childhood in movie history. It’s certainly not fast-paced or action-packed fantasy, but it’s a masterpiece which proves that slow-burning fantasy can be every bit as powerful and every bit as riveting.

2

‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Frank Capra was one of Golden-Age Hollywood’s biggest visionaries, a director who was never afraid to push the boundaries of the Hays Code and show the unparalleled wonders that the Seventh Art was capable of. His first feature film after serving in World War II ended up becoming one of his very best: It’s a Wonderful Life, one of those 20th-century fantasy movies that are downright perfect.

It was probably Capra’s experiences during the War that helped him balance the pure joy of It’s a Wonderful Life‘s life-affirming messages with the poignant bittersweetness of many of its most emotionally punchy moments. An anti-suicide character drama is a concept so ambitious that you’d probably not expect it to come from Hollywood’s Golden Age, but that wonderful optimism and lust for life is precisely what has kept this Christmas classic timeless for so long.

1

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)

Image via New Line Cinema

There is no fantasy movie in the entirety of film history better, more impressive, or more unforgettable than Peter Jackson‘s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy as a whole was a titanic artistic achievement, transforming the most important fantasy book of the 20th century into a series of movies worthy of its legacy, but the trilogy’s conclusion is on a whole other level.

Return of the King is tied with Ben-Hur and Titanic as the winner of the most Oscars in history, with a whopping 11, which is but one of the myriad reasons why it’s one of the best movie sequels of all time. Its action sequences are grand and exciting, its tone is both epic and emotionally character-driven, and its production values have aged like fine wine. All in all, film history has never seen a fantasy movie quite like Return of the King, and it quite possibly never will again.

Candace Cameron Bure‘s pregnant daughter Natasha Perry has slammed critics claiming she’s had her baby and won’t share the news in a grab for more “attention” and “money.”

“It’s September 6, I’m filming this in real time … I’m still pregnant, I still have a baby here, OK?” she told fans in a Sunday, September 6, TikTok video, before lifting her shirt up to reveal her bump.

Natasha, 28, who is expecting her first child — and Candace’s first grandchild — with her husband, Bradley Steven Perry, filmed the clip in response to a comment that claimed she had delayed a birth announcement for strategic reasons. “Ultimately these people just use us for engagement and likes and comments because the more attention, the more money. They don’t actually want us involved or want to keep anyone in the loop,” the comment, pasted in Natasha’s TikTok, read.

Natasha, who is one of three children shared by the Full House alum, 50, and her husband, Valeri Bure, told fans, “I see [this type of comment] all the time on my content. The internet can be a really fun, beautiful place. I love my community that I have on here. It can also be such a creepy, parasocial space where people feel entitled to information about your life. That being said, not sharing content in real time has never come from a monetization aspect.”

She added that delayed content posts are “not about money, it’s not about strategy: it’s simply about having boundaries online, protecting my family and ultimately the biggest reason is, allowing myself to soak up the moments that are happening for me in my real life before I share them with the internet.”

Natasha, who announced her pregnancy via a joint Instagram post with her husband in May, continued, “I’m not sitting at home thinking about how it’s going to financially benefit me to post a certain video at a certain time. I’m just not. If I feel comfortable to share in the moment then great, I will, but if I want to savor a moment that’s happening for my family, I don’t owe you anything. Nobody owes you anything.”

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She concluded, “I’m always going to do it when it makes me feel comfortable. Sometimes that’s the same day, sometimes that’s a month later. I don’t know what I’m going to feel and when I’m going to feel that way.”

This isn’t the first time that Natasha has hit back at online criticism. In June, she clapped back at social media users who didn’t approve of her showing off her growing bump publicly. “Raise your hand if you will never understand people being offended by a pregnant belly being out?” she quipped in a June 12 TikTok video, subsequently raising her own hand. “Let me just be the first to say: I do not care. I literally don’t care.”

She continued at the time, “I didn’t know this was a thing until I have received countless DMs from grown women telling me I need to put my belly away, buy a bigger shirt or sending me the lengthiest stories about how when they were pregnant, in their time, they didn’t do that. I love my pregnant belly, [and] I have never in my life been so proud of my body, so proud that I’m growing a little baby in there.”

Few movie genres have had so much staying power as adventure. Since the early days of cinema, audiences have been utterly transfixed by movies about grand, dangerous, and thrilling adventures in far-off lands, filled with daring heroes, handsome rogues, spirited damsels, and wicked villains. Adventure movies have had a long and storied journey on the big screen, from the early days of The Thief of Bagdad all the way to the Indiana Jones movies of the ’80s.

In the 21st century, the genre endures as a prime source of entertainment, even if its popularity isn’t exactly what it once was. Indeed, the genre’s inherent, old-fashioned sensibilities might seem a tad outdated by today’s standards, but audiences will still run to the theater for the right kind of adventure movie. Over the last 25 years, a few adventure movies have raised the bar and set new standards, becoming greatly influential not only within the genre but in cinema as a whole.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

No movie—or in this case, movies—are more foundational to 21st-century filmmaking than The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sir Peter Jackson‘s adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien‘s equally seminal novel is the pillar upon which all of this century’s blockbusters rise. The trilogy tells the story of the hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) as he and a fellowship of allies carry the One Ring to the fires of Mount Doom as the Dark Lord Sauron assembles an army to take over Middle-earth.

The Lord of the Rings revived the fantasy genre and proved that blockbuster filmmaking could perfectly balance commercialism with artistry. It accrued a total of 30 Oscar nominations, winning a whopping 17 statuettes, including Best Picture for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The films launched a new wave of fantasy and adventure movies based on literary IPs, with every studio wanting to replicate Jackson’s success, if not critically, then at least commercially. It wasn’t an easy task, as not even Jackson could do it with the subsequent Hobbit trilogy. The Lord of the Rings‘ legacy remains untouched, though; if anything, it has only kept increasing over the years, now standing as certified masterpieces of cinema as a whole.

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’ (2003)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

In 2003, Disney took a huge gamble by making a movie out of a theme park ride, one that wasn’t particularly popular. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl also had the daunting task of reviving the pirate and swashbuckling genre, which was all but killed eight years earlier, when the disaster that was Cutthroat Island put a knife through its heart and bankrupted Carolco Pictures in the process. The risk paid off, alas, and The Curse of the Black Pearl became a sensation.

The film not only launched an incredibly successful franchise, including two sequels that rank among the biggest cultural phenomenons of the 2000s. However, it also signaled a shift in the industry: suddenly, studios didn’t need to stick to books, shows, or movies for inspiration, as theme park rides and even board games were all game. Disney would make multiple attempts at replicating Pirates‘ success, tackling other theme park rides like Haunted Mansion and Tomorrowland; none were as successful. Similarly, competitor studios went all in on the whimsical, adventure vibe of the movie, leading to multiple movies with varying degrees of success, from solid performers that went on to become cult classics, like Stardust, to outright disasters that are best left forgotten, like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

‘Sherlock Holmes’ (2009)

Image via Warner Bros.

The ’80s showed that action heroes can come from the most unlikely of places. However, that idea took a whole new form in the late 2000s, when studios got the idea to turn classic literary characters into men of action, if not necessarily action stars per se. Perhaps the most influential of these new heroes was Guy Ritchie‘s take on Sherlock Holmes, played by Robert Downey Jr. in the middle of his post-Iron Man career resurgence.

2009’s Sherlock Holmes was an action-comedy-mystery hybrid that greatly benefited from Downey Jr.’s witty, physical, and curiously charming performance, which even earned him the Golden Globe. The film’s hectic, highly modernized approach also inspired a new wave of movies taking classic properties and translating them to a modern audience, from 2011’s The Three Musketeers to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, none of which were particularly successful. The film also launched a new wave of Sherlock Holmes adaptations, most notably the BBC serial starring Benedict Cumberbatch in an Emmy-winning performance. A third entry in Ritchie’s Holmes series has been long-discussed, but nothing has materialized, and fifteen years after 2011’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, we’re still waiting.

‘Alice in Wonderland’ (2010)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Not every movie that was influential was strictly “good”; take Tim Burton‘s fantasy Alice in Wonderland, which might very well be one of the weakest entries into his filmography. The film acts as a sequel to the classic Disney movie and sees Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returning to “Underland,” which has been overtaken by the Red Queen (Helena Bonham-Carter). With the help of many of the classic characters from Lewis Carroll‘s tale, Alice launches a revolution to put the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) back on the throne.

The wave of Disney live-action adaptations that dominated the 2010s, and keep popping up to this day, can be traced back to Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. The film was an overwhelming success, surpassing a billion at the box office and making Disney salivate at the prospect of repackaging their timeless classics in live-action. Along with James Cameron‘s Avatar, Alice in Wonderland was also instrumental in popularizing 3D, with many movies post-2010 quickly scrambling to turn themselves into 3D, hoping to replicate Burton and Cameron’s successes. Indeed, few movies of the early 21st century were as influential as this one, believe it or not.

‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ (2012)

Image via Universal Pictures

And speaking of mid movies that had a profound impact on the industry, we have Snow White and the Huntsman. A dark retelling of the classic tale of Snow White, the film sees the evil queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) taking over Snow White’s (Kristen Stewart) kingdom and locking her in a tower. Years later, Snow White escapes into the Dark Forest, and Ravenna sends the huntsman Eric (Chris Hemsworth) to bring her back.

Snow White and the Huntsman is a curious case: it wasn’t exactly acclaimed by critics or audiences, yet its impact on filmmaking is undeniable, launching countless dark retellings of classic fairy tales in the years to come. Everything, from failed efforts like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Jack the Giant Slayer, to criminally underrated grimdark gems like Tale of Tales, to even Disney’s own Maleficent and Into the Woods, can be traced back to Stewart and Theron’s fantasy adventure. The trend was short-lived, though, because who doesn’t want to see fairy tale figures in grimy, oppressive landscapes because the story isn’t actually how we know it? By the time The Huntsman: Winter’s War (the long-awaited sequel that didn’t feature Stewart’s Snow White) came out, the industry had ended its venture into fairy tale territory.

‘Barbie’ (2023)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Now, first things first: Barbie is a fantasy comedy with heavy adventure elements rather than a strictly pure adventure movie. However, considering the adventure takes the entire middle act of the movie and is the main driver in Barbie’s (Margot Robbie) story, it’s eligible for this list. The movie sees Barbie and Ken (Ryan Gosling) going on an adventure from Barbieland into the human world after she starts having dangerous thoughts that are directly tied to the girl playing with her in the real world.

Barbie was a proper cultural phenomenon, not only as one-half of the Barbenheimer phenomenon, but in and of itself. It was the highest-grossing movie of 2023 and earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture—infamously, both Robbie and Greta Gerwig were snubbed in the Best Actress and Best Director categories. As expected, the film’s massive success provoked an instant reaction in the industry, not with studios actively searching for more female-centric, female-driven movies about distinct female-oriented issues, but by green-lighting more movies based on toys. Thus far, we’ve had new adaptations of Masters of the Universe, and there are active plans to make movies about Polly Pocket and, believe it or not, even Barney.

‘The Odyssey’ (2026)

Image via Universal Pictures

It might be cheating to include Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey in this list, considering it’s literally still in movie theaters. However, the impact it’s already had on the industry is perceivable, and considering Nolan’s reputation and the film’s performance, it’s easy to conclude it will go all the way to become one of the all-time greats. Matt Damon stars in this adaptation of Homer‘s epic about Odysseus’ 10-year-journey back to Ithaca.

The Odyssey has already become Nolan’s highest-grossing movie, and the dollars just keep coming. Awards predictors have it as a top contender in multiple categories at the Oscars, including Matt Damon in Best Actor. Just like Gladiator did for the sword-and-sandal genre, The Odyssey is bound to inspire a new wave of large-scale, character-driven epics. Whether they come from Greek classics or not remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised if new movies based on the Trojan War and the arguably less-widely-known epic Aeneid are announced in the following months—perhaps we’ll finally get the long-awaited adaptation of Madeline Miller‘s The Song of Achilles. How many of those will actually reach the heights of Nolan’s Odyssey? Well, that’s a different matter altogether.

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The Odyssey

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Release Date

July 15, 2026

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Runtime

173 minutes

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