Upcoming Fantasy Sequels You Didn't Know Were In The Works

As superhero movies and video game adaptations continue to dominate the film industry, it can be easy for fans of the fantasy genre to feel a bit forgotten by studios. Even though prestige television series like HBO's "House of the Dragon" and Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" offer hours and hours of adventure in familiar lands far away, there's nothing like experiencing this specific sort of majesty on the big screen — hopefully with an audience just as powerfully engaged.

Fortunately, there are more fantasy films on the horizon than many fans realize, including sequels that will continue beloved sagas from the past few decades. Some of these titles certainly overlap with superheroes, video games, and even sci-fi, but most of them show that Hollywood still leaves a little room for the genre we love to see shine in its own right. And while we may have several years to wait until we get to revisit such vivid locales as the wintery wonderland of Arendelle or the creature-filled neon alleyways of Rhyme City, at least one of these sequels is coming to blow you away as soon as 2025 — and you won't want to miss it.

For all the backlash they get, the live-action remakes of classic animated Disney films do offer the studio two major advantages. On one hand, they usually make several hundred million dollars at the domestic box office alone, making them reliable investments in an otherwise uncertain period for the company. They also allow new voices to reimagine and expand upon beloved worlds that were once only explored in a film or two. Following the massive success of the 2019 "Lion King" remake starring Beyoncé and Donald Glover, Disney greenlit a prequel that explores the life of Simba's (Glover) father Mufasa (James Earl Jones in the original films, now voiced by Aaron Pierre) as a young, adorable cub.

The studio is also apparently eager to find ways back into the world of "Aladdin" after the 2019 Guy Ritchie remake, which starred Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, and Will Smith. Billy Magnussen's Prince Anders was (and is seemingly still) on track for a Disney+ spin-off series, while the mothership film had a sequel greenlit in early 2020. As the coronavirus delayed and derailed years' worth of movies coming out of Hollywood, "Aladdin 2" was surely impacted in some way as well. 

Another factor impeding its development is likely Smith's involvement, with the Academy Award-winning actor's future having been in question since he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022. But given that there's been no official cancellation and that Smith recently blew everyone away at the box office with "Bad Boys: Ride or Die," it seems plausible that the sequel will eventually bring audiences back to Agrabah.

Admittedly, many of our readers are likely aware that there are many, many "Avatar" sequels currently in development from James Cameron and Disney's 20th Century Studios. After all, the writer-director confirmed as far back as 2010 that he had plans for at least two sequels, and that the first film's warm reception and historic financial success had given him and his collaborators all the steam they needed to forge ahead at full speed. But what readers may not be aware of is just how close they are to getting the next installment in the series — or that it now has a foreboding new title.

At the 2024 D23 Expo, it was revealed that the third film would be titled "Avatar: Fire and Ash," in reference to the new volcanic environment that the film is set to explore. According to statements from the cast and crew, this environment is home to a new Na'vi clan known as the "Ash People," who will serve as the story's antagonists. "Fire and Ash" and its predecessor, "Avatar: The Way of Water," were originally intended to be one film, which could mean that "Fire and Ash" will serve as the most momentous film in the series to date. As of now, it's slated for release in December 2025.

DC Comics fans were likely shocked and elated when it was announced that a sequel to the 2005 film "Constantine" was being developed, with Keanu Reeves reprising the title role. Though the film departed significantly in its depiction of the character — with Reeves portraying him as a more empathetic American action hero, rather than a scheming British antihero — it has since become a cult classic among comic book fans and horror movie enthusiasts alike.

Even as DC and Warner Bros. have attempted to adapt the character more directly in projects like the short-lived NBC procedural starring Matt Ryan and an abandoned "Justice League Dark" series from J.J. Abrams (which held up "Constantine 2" for years), interest in returning to the Reeves version of the character has sustained, for the most part with little to no updates from the cast or crew.

When Warner Bros. finally confirmed that a sequel was being developed in 2022, it also noted that director Francis Lawrence would return as well (after spending years mostly spearheading Lionsgate's adaptations of "The Hunger Games" books). Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman — who recently penned "The Dark Tower" and "Transformers: The Last Knight" — is attached to write the script. Though there was some concern that the entire project might be jeopardized by James Gunn and Peter Safran taking over Warner Bros'. DC universe in 2023, Reeves has confirmed that Gunn is on board with the film being made as an Elseworlds story for DC Studios. There's even an argument that Gunn's plans for a "Swamp Thing" film could blaze the way for Constatine's big future in the DC cinematic universe.

"Detective Pikachu" was a pleasant surprise when it arrived in theaters in 2019. Starring Ryan Reynolds as the voice of the titular Pokémon as well as Justice Smith as his human partner, the film took a somewhat unconventional approach to adapting the classic world of this video game series by telling an original story with recognizable elements placed in an entirely unique context. Legendary Entertainment was so excited about the theatrical prospects for "Detective Pikachu" that they announced the development of a sequel before the first film hit theaters, and hired "The Cloverfield Paradox" scribe Oren Uziel to write it.

However, like many other entries on this list, its development since then hasn't been entirely smooth. When "Detective Pikachu" was released, it was generally well-received by both critics and audiences, but had its box office muted by competition from "Avengers: Endgame." Against a budget of $150 million, it made about $450 million. Smith was pessimistic about the sequel actually being made as of 2021, and there was a long period of time stretching from the first film's release into 2023 during which there was no public word from Legendary to ease any concerns. 

However, the studio did eventually put out a statement to assure fans that the sequel was indeed on the way as of 2023, though it was also announced that Uziel had been replaced by newcomer Chris Galletta. "Portlandia" co-creator Jonathan Krisel was in talks to direct the film, though there's been no further confirmation that his deal was closed.

"Frozen" is inarguably one of Disney's most successful original stories of the past two decades, its catchy tunes and winning combination of magic, heart, and humor captivating audiences of all ages across the globe. After it grossed a whopping $1.3 billion at the global box office, it wasn't all that surprising when a sequel was produced — and when that sequel surpassed its predecessor to a global cume of $1.4 billion, it was inevitable that "Frozen" would become Disney's next long-running cinematic series alongside "Toy Story."

Sure enough, in 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the studio was developing sequels to several of its most popular animated films, including a fifth "Toy Story" and a third "Frozen," with the latter film heading for a 2026 release date and presumably reuniting stars Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad. Immediately, the film was notable for potentially making the "Frozen" series the first trilogy produced and theatrically released by Walt Disney Animation Studios (not counting "Toy Story" or "Cars," which were produced by Pixar).

At 2024's D23 Expo, the studio confirmed the core cast members would come back for "Frozen III," and shared concept art of Anna (Bell) and Elsa (Menzel) on horseback. Sadly, it was also announced that the film had been delayed from 2026 to November 24, 2027.

Legendary Entertainment's Monsterverse has been mostly a roaring success since it began with Gareth Edwards' 2014 film "Godzilla," and has only seemed to pick up steam as the aforementioned character started sharing the screen with his nemesis-turned-ally King Kong. After appearing in the period prequel "Kong: Skull Island," Kong co-starred in 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong" and 2024's "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." Both films were financially successful, causing some rumblings that Legendary would produce a third film co-starring Godzilla and Kong.

Some of these rumblings were coming from director Adam Wingard himself, who directed both previous "Godzilla x Kong" films. "If you've done two movies, like, maybe you should just go ahead and do a third because... there's a trilogy in there," he told Discussing Film ahead of the release of "The New Empire." "I definitely think there's more story to this, and I think that I have more story to tell." 

In May 2024, Legendary announced that it had begun development on a film to succeed "The New Empire," though they did not specify whether or not the film would follow directly in the footsteps of the previous film or if it would even star both Godzilla and King Kong. But it was revealed soon after that Wingard would not return to direct or help write, despite his previous comments. For screenwriting duties, the studio has tapped Dave Callaham, best known for co-writing "Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" for Marvel Studios. A new director has yet to be confirmed.

The original "Hocus Pocus" remains a delightful treat to revisit each Halloween, especially since Disney+ gave subscribers the gift of a wickedly entertaining sequel in 2022. Now that fans old and new are ready to answer the witches' call, Disney is burning the Black Flame candle at both ends and trying to get a third movie out as fast as possible.

After the release of "Hocus Pocus 2," executive producer Adam Shankman expressed that he was happy with the first sequel's performance and excited by the prospect of continuing to tell stories within this universe, particularly focused on Whitney Peak's young witch Becca. In the months that followed, most of the film's cast shared publicly that they would happily return for "Hocus Pocus 3" if Disney was to produce the film, with Bette Midler specifically saying that she was interested in being involved with a franchise of some kind at this point in her career.

A third "Hocus Pocus" was finally confirmed in June 2023, with director Anne Fletcher once again leading the project and screenwriter Jen D'Angelo returning to write the script. As of July 2024, however, Midler had yet to see a script, and was seemingly beginning to get nervous about how the protracted development timeline would affect the cast's ability to reunite. "I think if they're gonna [make 'Hocus Pocus 3'], they oughta because time is not just marching," she said in an interview on "Busy This Week." "Time is barrel-assing to the finish line. Get us while we're still breathing."

It appears that Vin Diesel's witch hunting days aren't over just yet — if you take his word for it, that is. In June 2015, Diesel claimed that Lionsgate was ready to greenlight a sequel to "The Last Witch Hunter" before the first film was even released. "So the studio apparently is so excited by 'The Last Witch Hunter' — The Axe and Cross franchise... that they are already commencing on the next one," he wrote in a post on his infamous Facebook page. "The first one doesn't hit theaters until October 23rd, yet they want me to commit and already block out time to film it." 

Though the exact nature of Lionsgate's commitment was not exactly clear from this statement, obviously plans did not progress as quickly or confidently as Diesel implied it would. This almost decade-long hiccup might have something to do with "The Last Witch Hunter" only making $149 million against a budget of $90 million, a disastrous return which could be tied to the harsh critical reception the film was met with. 

As of 2020, Diesel still claimed Lionsgate was interested in making "The Last Witch Hunter 2" — though this was before the release of "Bloodshot," which (thanks partially to the COVID-19 pandemic) bombed catastrophically at the box office and called into question Diesel's bankability outside the "Fast and Furious" franchise. Diesel's statement about the sequel also came before he was accused of sexual assault by an assistant, an allegation which he has denied. Nevertheless, he's teased the sequel's development as recently as 2024, and neither he nor Lionsgate have said anything publicly that would imply it had been shelved for good.

Originally, Disney's "Moana" was meant to be followed by an animated Disney+ show titled "Moana: The Series," perhaps unintentionally evoking some nostalgia for a seemingly bygone era in which Disney films would receive sequels in the form of a series on the Disney Channel. However, in 2024, less that four years after the announcement of "Moana: The Series," Bob Iger announced that they had changed course and decided to instead make a sequel titled "Moana 2," and were headed for a relatively immediate theatrical release date of late 2024.

Auliʻi Cravalho is set to return as the titular hero, as is Dwayne Johnson as the singing demigod Maui. Both of them presented "Moana 2" at the D23 Expo in 2024, where a trailer was screened for attendees. Other returning cast members include Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, and Alan Tudyk. The sequel will reportedly follow Moana as she attempts to reconnect with her ancestors by venturing back out to sea with a new crew of wayfinders like herself. Part of this exciting and undoubtedly dangerous journey will see her reunite with Maui, who was last seen watching over Moana and her people in the form of a hawk. "Moana 2" will sail into theaters on November 27, 2024.

In 2022, Netflix delighted subscribers with the animated fantasy adventure "The Sea Beast," which featured the ingenious voice casting of "The Boys" star Karl Urban as a swashbuckling sailor dedicated to hunting and slaying the large red monster of the film's title. It was a massive critical success, drawing widespread acclaim and earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. As of January 2023, "The Sea Beast" was the most watched animated film in Netflix history.

So it makes perfect sense that Netflix would get to work on a second voyage for the cast and crew of "The Sea Beast," announcing in 2023 that writer-director Chris Williams had been given the go-ahead to start work on "The Sea Beast 2." In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Disney/DreamWorks alum shared that while he never expected or even planned on making a sequel, there are themes and ideas from the first film that he's excited to revisit and explore.

"Suddenly Jacob [Urban] is a parent, a parent to an especially willful kid, right," he said. "And so when you see them on the dock [in the first film], you know that's not what parenting looks like. It's far messier, far more complicated and more trying at times than that. So the idea of the challenges of this new family became interesting to me." He added that he was also intrigued by the future of other monster hunters and how they might react to the first film's ending.

Last and most certainly not least, we have what might be the most anticipated sequel included in this list. After years of fan-made memes and silence from the studio, DreamWorks announced in July 2024 that it had finally committed to developing "Shrek 5," which is currently set to be released on July 1, 2026. The studio confirmed that the film would be released theatrically and reunite series stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz.

Murphy has reportedly already recorded his lines for the first act, and even revealed to Collider ahead of DreamWorks' official announcement that there is apparently a "Donkey" spin-off feature in development as well. "'Shrek [5]' is coming out and Donkey's gonna have his own movie," he said. Directing Murphy and his co-stars is franchise alum Walt Dohrn, an actor, director, and animator who has spent the last several years helming the "Trolls" series of films for DreamWorks. 

Illumination founder Chris Meledandri is also returning to the "Shrek" cinematic universe for "Shrek 5," having previously executive produced the critically acclaimed spin-off sequel "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish." Though he shared his own feelings of nostalgia for the original series, he also seemingly implied a desire to take the series in a new direction, perhaps similar to "The Last Wish." Speaking to Variety about the process of making "Shrek 5," he said, "The challenge for us has been to find something that really does feel like it's not simply yet another film in a series of sequels."