Netflix has been aggressive in its production of book-to-screen adaptations, but that’s especially true of titles in the fantasy genre. From Shadow & Bone to The Witcher, Neil Gaiman‘s The Sandman comics, and the works of Roald Dahl, the streamer has spared no expense trying to create its next sweeping epic from beloved works. Next year, it’ll take things to a new level with the release of Greta Gerwig‘s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, set to be the first chapter in the platform’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis‘ beloved novels. It’s even getting a proper theatrical window in February, hoping to capture the excitement of viewers over 16 years after the last film in the franchise was released.
Back in 2021, plans were also put in place at Netflix to adapt another set of children’s fantasy books that have been woefully underrepresented in other media — Brian Jacques‘ Redwall series. Kicking off in 1986 with the eponymous first installment, the novels follow the fantastical adventures of the anthropomorphic animals who inhabit Redwall Abbey and the surrounding countryside and are often called upon to defend it from encroaching vermin like rats and foxes. At the center of the debut novel is a young mouse monk named Matthias, who, guided by visions of the mythical Martin the Warrior, seeks out his legendary sword to help the Abbey fight back against the wicked rat Cluny and his army. Netflix aimed to bring Redwall to life as an animated feature and follow it up with an event series focused on Martin, but that won’t come to pass.
Reports have since confirmed, as of April, that the streamer has abandoned its Redwall franchise. Apparently, the rights to the 22-book series have also reverted to publisher Penguin Random House Children’s U.K., meaning Matthias and the animals now have the opportunity to find a new on-screen home. That may be for the best in the long run, considering Netflix got nowhere close to realizing its vision for the children’s series. Patrick McHale, who co-created Over the Garden Wall and co-wrote Guillermo del Toro‘s Pinocchio, was originally attached as the screenwriter and even finished the script, but departed the project in 2022, citing changes at Netflix, more specifically, the layoffs and consolidation of their animated film structure at the time. All that remains now are the 1999 animated series and the 2000 movie.
Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz Which Lord of the Rings Character Are You? One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed
The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide.
Frodo
Samwise
Aragorn
Gandalf
Legolas
Gimli
Sauron
Gollum
01
You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do? The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders.
02
Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You: True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis.
03
Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is: Power corrupts — but only those who reach for it.
04
What does “home” mean to you? Where we long to return reveals who we truly are.
05
When a battle is upon you, your approach is: War reveals what we are made of — whether we like it or not.
06
Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You: Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it’s knowing which questions to ask.
07
How do you see yourself, honestly? Self-knowledge is the most dangerous kind.
08
Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world? Middle-earth speaks to those who know how to listen.
09
You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You: How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character.
10
When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you? In the end, we are all just stories.
The Fellowship Has Spoken Your Place in Middle-earth
The scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people.
Frodo
Samwise
Aragorn
Gandalf
Legolas
Gimli
Sauron
Gollum
You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don’t have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is.
You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you’d do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one.
You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you.
You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late.
Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them.
You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don’t do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything.
You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you’re not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct.
You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time.
Netflix Isn’t Slowing Down With Fantasy Adaptations After ‘Redwall’
RedwallImage via Nelvana
Leaving Redwall behind is a tough call for Netflix to make, considering any modern adaptation would be the most expansive take on Jacques’ work to date, and the books themselves are globally popular, selling over 30 million copies across 20 different languages. Nonetheless, the streamer is already moving on. Last month, it picked up a new, unique fantasy world to bring to life in Michael Moreci and illustrator Nathan Gooden‘s bestselling medieval fantasy comic, Barbaric. X-Men: First Class story writer Sheldon Turner is set to pen the series, following the rude, crude, and vicious Owen the Barbarian, who is cursed to only employ violence for good and must go on a journey of self-discovery with a young witch and his talking axe. Netflix had previously announced plans to adapt the comic with Sam Claflin and Patrick Stewart starring and Michael Bay directing, but for now, Claflin is only attached as an executive producer.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the future of Netflix’s fantasy plans after Redwall‘s axing.
