Do you think Fantasy series will be like the Comic series of the last decade?

[JB_Dresden]

Not to say that Fantasy book series aren't already a hot property for Hollywood to option due to the success of Potter and LOTR, but do you think now that the Comic book craze is starting to die down (thank god IMO) that now more and more Fantasy series are going to be Optioned, Hollywood loves sequels!

What do you think?

 

[HareBrain]

Not sure. Superhero films are largely set in the real world, but fantasy requires a large amount of visual worldbuilding, which Hollywood seems to be pretty rubbish at unless they spend brazilians of dollars. Fantasy films that skimp on the design element just look crap, especially when compared to LOTR. Also, fantasy books often contain complex plots that are difficult to distil into a two-hour film, and Hollywood producers seem disinclined to spend the kind of money on screenplay (ie more than a hundred bucks) that would overcome this. This whole philosophy then leads to something like Eragon, the bombing of which might have put off many studios.

 

[Culhwch]

I don't know that I'd say that the comic boom is dying down - in fact, thanks to the success of Batman Begins/The Dark Knight and Iron Man in particular, it's really just starting to warm up again. Marvel have their whole intertwined universe kicking off, with Thor, the Avengers, another Iron Man, a Spiderman reboot, and an X-Men First Class adaptation, and DC have the third Batman, a Green Lantern flick, and possibly Superman and Wonder Woman films in the works. Add to that the independents like Kick Ass and Wanted, and there's really no end in sight.

This whole philosophy then leads to something like Eragon, the bombing of which might have put off many studios.

This is a good point, and illustrative as well of the kinds of fantasy that Hollywood does look to adapt - children's and YA (Eragon, Spiderwick, City of Ember, Potter of course, Twilight). It helps that these properties are generally based on much shorter works than 'adult' fantasy would be, and are thus easier to fit into ninety to one hundred and twenty minutes of screen time.

If anything, I can see a possible boom in urban fantasy and supernatural romance, with Twilight-esque novels being turned into films, following the success of that property. I do think that if George Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire television series works out well, you might see more fantasy novels coming to the small screen - though it is important to note that this has been going on for a while already - Legend of the Seeker, Mists of Avalon, and Earthsea being recent examples - with relatively minor success.

 

[JB_Dresden]

... and illustrative as well of the kinds of fantasy that Hollywood does look to adapt - children's and YA (Eragon, Spiderwick, City of Ember, Potter of course, Twilight). It helps that these properties are generally based on much shorter works than 'adult' fantasy would be, and are thus easier to fit into ninety to one hundred and twenty minutes of screen time.

That's a real astute observation. I've been following the development of the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, but that particular title has been stalled "in development" for over a year now. They keep cranking out these online games however so I hope they get their act together with regards to big screens.