Netflix Has Officially Won Streaming’s Fantasy Race (& That’s a Bad Thing)

by

Netflix’s purchase of Warner Bros. effectively ends the competition to create the next big fantasy hit – and that’s not necessarily good for the genre. Ever since Game of Thrones became a massive success, streaming services and studios have been desperately searching for a similar show. This search has created intense competition, but so far, nothing has captured the same level of popularity. While some fantasy shows have done well on different platforms, none have truly broken through. Now, with the Warner Bros. acquisition, Netflix seems poised to completely control the fantasy genre.

Netflix is in the process of acquiring Warner Bros., which would give them ownership of all the movies and shows produced by Warner Bros. and HBO. While the deal isn’t final – Paramount has offered a competing bid of $108 billion, and the purchase still needs approval from regulators and shareholders – if it goes through, Netflix would control a massive collection of popular franchises, including DC Comics and the DC Universe. This is a positive development for Netflix, but could potentially limit options and competition for fans of these genres in the future.

After the Warner Bros. Deal, All the Major Fantasy Franchises Will Fall to Netflix

A major worry about Netflix’s deal with Warner Bros. is that Netflix could end up controlling all the biggest fantasy franchises. Warner Bros. currently owns three of the most popular: The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and Harry Potter. If the deal goes through, these franchises will move to Netflix. Given that Netflix is already adapting The Chronicles of Narnia, The Witcher, and Dungeons & Dragons, this concentration of popular fantasy series is raising concerns.

This effectively decides who will dominate the fantasy streaming market, as no other service can realistically compete with this collection of shows. While Disney+ has Percy Jackson & the Olympians, AMC has the Anne Rice adaptations, and Prime Video offers The Rings of Power and shows based on Critical Role, The Rings of Power is controversial, and none of these are strong enough to challenge this major lineup on their own. Combining all these popular fantasy properties in one place might not seem problematic, but it could ultimately stifle creativity and leave fans feeling let down.

Netflix’s Track Record With Fantasy Doesn’t Inspire Confidence in Its Future

One of the biggest concerns with Netflix acquiring so many fantasy series and books is that the company hasn’t shown it understands how to successfully adapt them. Fantasy is a tricky genre to pull off well, and Netflix hasn‘t had much success with it in the past. Their most prominent fantasy series, The Witcher, has faced criticism from fans and declining ratings, despite good production values and acting. The show deviates from the original books by Andrzej Sapkowski, which is a problem considering many of Netflix’s new properties are based on existing stories.

Unlike many other fantasy shows on Netflix, The Witcher is finishing its story. Netflix has a habit of canceling promising series after only a season or two, and Shadow and Bone is a particularly disappointing example – the show had a strong first season and seemed poised for success, but was canceled after only two. Lockwood & Co., Warrior Nun, Kaos, and Cursed all suffered the same fate. This makes you wonder if the upcoming Harry Potter series or any Game of Thrones spin-offs will be allowed to finish their stories. If they become too costly, Netflix might cancel them, preventing these franchises from fully developing and expanding their worlds.

Less Competition Will Hurt the Major Fantasy IPs, but There’s a Silver Lining

Considering Netflix’s track record with fantasy, it’s concerning that they’re now in charge of so many franchises. In fact, having so many popular fantasy properties owned by one company is a problem. While the race to create the next big hit like Game of Thrones sometimes felt unnecessary, it pushed streaming services to be creative and make their shows stand out. Now that Netflix controls a large portion of the fantasy market, there’s less incentive to develop original ideas. Plus, they might produce fewer fantasy titles overall, as they no longer need to compete with HBO Max’s offerings like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones for viewers.

Okay, so while Netflix’s current strategy has some issues, there’s a bright side. It might actually force other studios and streamers to dig deeper for fresh, original stories. We all know tons of promising fantasy projects get stuck in development – never seeing the light of day – but these could be exactly what Netflix – and others – need. Think about adapting huge worlds like Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere, or finally bringing TikTok sensations like A Court of Thorns & Roses and Fourth Wing to the screen. These could be the next big franchises! And speaking of Fourth Wing, Amazon’s Prime Video is already jumping on that one, which could really speed things up and make it a major priority for them.

Whether this will actually happen depends on what competitors decide. It’s possible they’ll see fantasy as no longer profitable and move on to other genres like science fiction and horror – and we’re already seeing that shift, with Apple TV+ focusing on sci-fi. While it would be disappointing if the combination of Netflix and Warner Bros. resulted in fewer new shows and movies, it’s likely that one company becoming so dominant in fantasy will lead to this outcome.

What fantasy show are you looking forward to the most? Share your thoughts in the comments and discuss it with other fans in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/list/5-upcoming-fantasy-shows-that-could-be-masterpieces/embed/#

Read More

2025-12-11 02:43