The following are five things I see heading downstream in the world of fantasy.
Take what you want, leave what you don’t, but this is where my nose is pointing…
Prediction #1:
Big books will take a backseat
I believe the days of 1000+ page weapons of mass literature are going to phase out in the coming decades.
They won’t vanish entirely, of course.
However, with shrinking attention spans, ever busier lives, and all the responsibilities that come with it, I predict people won’t have as much time to commit to the big tomes that have dominated this genre for so long.
Which leads me to…
Prediction #2:
Bingeable chapters
I believe chapters are not only going to get a lot shorter, but I suspect there will also be many more of them.
This is nothing new — thriller authors have been doing it for years.
Take James Patterson, for example.
This chap has written “entire chapters” that are basically one line. I don’t think fantasy will ever get that short, but I do think we’ll begin seeing shorter, snappier scenes trickling into the books of the future.
Something I’ve been doing for years, ahem ahem.
Prediction #3:
More rule-breaking
This one’s been happening for quite some time, and I believe the term used to describe this act of rebellion is:
Genre-bending.
Cute.
Reminds me of how Fusion Food has dominated the culinary world in recent years. Alas, they have, and I do not see that train slowing down any time soon. We’ve also seen this type of fusion take place in the fantasy world with the rise of romantasy, which, while it will never tickle my pickle, has given rise to a new wave of ultra-successful authors.
But as I’ve already alluded, there’s nothing new about “genre bending.”
As a matter of fact, it has been happening for decades.
One such example that springs to mind is none other than the “sci-fantasy” series, Dune, a wondrous blend of space opera and fantasy.
The reason I believe we’re going to see yet more blurring of genre lines in the future boils down to one thing:
The self-publishing revolution.
No longer are stories being gate-kept by the big traditional publishers, nor the agents who pretend to be an author’s friend. So long as you have a story idea and a means to get it in front of people, we’ll continue to see this fusion of genres.
Who knows…
I might even throw my hat into the sci-fantasy ring one day.
Prediction #4:
We will see the conclusion to A Song of Ice and Fire.
Just not by George himself.
I know this doesn’t pertain to the wider genre as a whole, but whenever there’s talk of fantasy, invariably the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, and D.J.J. Watson feature in said discussions.
And speaking of Brandon…
Are you ready for my boldest prediction yet?
I reckon he’ll be the one to finish to take up the mantle once Georgy-boy walks the fields of Elysium.
Last but not least…
Prediction #5:
More indie fantasy books will be turned into movies
This one might raise a few brows if you don’t frequent TikTok or Instagram all that often (don’t blame you, quite frankly).
For those that do, you’ve likely encountered accounts devoted to “movie-izing” popular books like Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. These are tech-savvy fans who use AI video editing tools to create entire cinematic scenes based on actual chapters of the book.
Some of it is quite impressive to the point where some viewers mistake it for real Netflix adaptations.
Don’t get me wrong, the tech still has flaws (seven-fingered characters, swords held in weird places, and smiles that are straight-up disturbing), but it’s only getting better.
In five to ten years, I suspect we’ll see an absolute boom in fan-made movies across all genres — including fantasy.
That doesn’t mean I don’t have mixed feelings about this (more on that tomorrow), but who knows, perhaps The Divided Region will be in a TikTok near you soon!
So those are my five somewhat bold predictions.
What about you?
Got any theories on where the genre’s heading?
Let me know.
Oh, I almost forgot my final prediction:
If you love gritty epic fantasy, short novels, and bingeable chapters, then I have just the series for you:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle
DJJW