Episode Details

Last year brought many challenges for Christian fantasy fans. From flops at the theaters now threatened by streaming slop, to creators making more events for Christian storytelling, to the continued growth of biblical fiction as the top genre of Christian-made entertainment—let’s survey the top ten fantasy-related headlines from last year.

Episode sponsors

1. Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen
2. The Case of the Heart Stone by Tulli Cole
3. Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett

Mission update

• New at Lorehaven: many features over the holidays!
• We announced our new book quest in the Lorehaven Guild: Taliesin
• Onscreen: ‘Stranger Things’ Season Five Gives Weight to Parents’ Fears, A. D. Sheehan
• Onscreen: ‘David’ Creators Answer all Your Questions About the Animated Hit Movie, Josh Shepherd
• Engage: Alleged ‘Rock and Roll’ Soundtrack Incites Suspicion of Netflix’s Narnia Movie, newcomer Sierra Simopoulos
• Sierra Simopoulos also reviewed Sons of Day and Night
• My own article: Why Christians Need Fantastical Stories
• Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild
• Stop by the homepage for many upgrades, especially the Library.
• Soon: discover the Guild’s new wing, the Lorehaven Authorship.

10. Superheroes failed to save ailing cinema

• Marvel movies, despite their strengths, all flopped at the box office.
• Personally I did like Fantastic Four: First Steps, but didn’t love it.
• Lorehaven folks were generally positive about some hero movies.
• ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Labors to Save a Struggling MCU, Marian A. Jacobs
• The Antiheroes of Thunderbolts* Preach to Marvel Itself, Daniel Whyte IV
• ‘Superman’ (2025) Will Make You Believe a Man Can Be Earnest, Josiah DeGraaf
• However, audiences were tepid; none of these films broke even.
• The greatest foe of superheroes? Flippancy. Next: lack of family.
• MCU reached its apex with creators who at least feigned sincerity.
• DC’s nobledark tone was winning fans, until the studio freaked out.

9. Disney’s ‘Snow White’ remake bombed

• Sticking with cinemas, this one might be the year’s greatest fail.
• ‘Snow White’ (2025) Isn’t the Fairest of Adaptations, Parker J. Cole
• I didn’t see it. Few people did. More people saw YouTube roasts.
• This whole nonsense was an ugly reflection of three terrible trends ruining films: “woke” checkboxes, cynicism, and corporate gloss.

8. Fans abando