{"id":445498,"date":"2026-05-26T05:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T05:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/445498\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T05:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T05:39:10","slug":"forget-harry-potter-rebecca-fergusons-new-fantasy-movie-just-set-a-u-s-release-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/445498\/","title":{"rendered":"Forget Harry Potter, Rebecca Ferguson\u2019s New Fantasy Movie Just Set a U.S. Release Date"},"content":{"rendered":"

Franchises such as the original Harry Potter<\/a> films, The Lord of the Rings<\/a>, and, in a very different genre, The Dark Knight<\/a> trilogy share that rare quality of truly honoring their source material. They are loved by the majority, respected by critics, and remembered as defining works in their genres. When the benchmark is that high, almost every new addition in a specific genre automatically tries to fill that gap. However, since rarely any film makes it even remotely close, whenever a film like this, a Rebecca Ferguson<\/a>, Andrew Garfield<\/a>-starrer, has that same sweet feeling of being spot-on like perhaps Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was, it feels like another filmmaker finally understood what it took for those benchmarks to have worked in the first place.<\/p>\n

The new film was locally released in theaters in March 2026 and had a pretty simple, Narnia-meets-Harry-Potter-style premise too. A modern family relocates to the remote English countryside, where the children discover a magical tree with eccentric residents, and the family gets to bond by getting transported to fantastical lands. The fantasy-adventure film starring Garfield, Ferguson, Claire Foy<\/a>, and Nicola Coughlan<\/a>, among others, became a major box office hit in the UK and Ireland, earning nearly $20 million, alongside a $7 million debut in Australia against a reported production budget of $35 million. The film has so far raked in nearly $28 million globally, and that\u2019s ahead of its upcoming U.S. theatrical release on August 21, 2026.<\/p>\n

While The Magic Faraway Tree<\/a> isn\u2019t yet available in the U.S., the film is already trending on Prime Video in the UK, on the Apple TV Store in Australia and New Zealand. It\u2019s even in the Google Top 10 movies this week. While the streaming and theatrical results so far speak for its appeal with audiences, The Magic Faraway Tree also has a 91% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, and that\u2019s pretty high for a fantasy franchise starter.<\/p>\n

Collider Exclusive \u00b7 Universe Personality Quiz
\n Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most?
\n Star Wars \u00b7 Lord of the Rings \u00b7 Harry Potter \u00b7 Game of Thrones \u00b7 Star Trek<\/p>\n

Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be \u2014 or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude80Star Wars<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc8dLord of the Rings<\/p>\n

\ud83e\uddd9Harry Potter<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc51Game of Thrones<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd96Star Trek<\/p>\n

\n FIND YOUR UNIVERSE \u2192\n <\/p>\n

01<\/p>\n

What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning?
\n Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.<\/p>\n

\n ABeing part of something larger than myself \u2014 a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me.
\n BThe journey itself \u2014 the places I’ll go, the companions beside me, the world I’ll discover on the way.
\n CLearning \u2014 unlocking what I’m capable of, understanding the world’s hidden mechanics, growing into something more.
\n DLegacy \u2014 the name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me.
\n EUnderstanding \u2014 exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

02<\/p>\n

Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit?
\n The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.<\/p>\n

\n AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture \u2014 connected by conflict, trade, and the Force.
\n BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges.
\n CA world hidden inside our own \u2014 full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned.
\n DA brutal, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation.
\n EA future where humanity has reached the stars \u2014 and must decide what kind of species it wants to be.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

03<\/p>\n

How do you prefer your conflicts resolved?
\n The shape of a world’s conflicts tells you everything about its soul.<\/p>\n

\n AThrough sacrifice and courage \u2014 someone has to make the impossible choice so others don’t have to.
\n BThrough fellowship \u2014 the impossible becomes possible when the right people walk the same road.
\n CThrough growth \u2014 confronting what you fear, understanding what you lack, and becoming equal to the challenge.
\n DThrough strategy \u2014 outthinking, outmaneuvering, positioning yourself so the outcome was never in doubt.
\n EThrough dialogue \u2014 finding the third option, the peaceful resolution, the answer that doesn’t require a body count.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

04<\/p>\n

Who do you want beside you when things get difficult?
\n Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.<\/p>\n

\n AA small crew \u2014 a pilot, a rogue, a warrior \u2014 each broken in their own way, unbeatable together.
\n BA fellowship of different kinds of people, bound by purpose and deepened by the long road.
\n CFriends who grew up alongside me \u2014 who knew me before I knew myself, and stayed anyway.
\n DAllies whose loyalty I’ve earned \u2014 and tested \u2014 and whose ambitions align with mine, for now.
\n EA crew of brilliant, curious, principled people from every corner of known space.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

05<\/p>\n

What is your relationship with power?
\n How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.<\/p>\n

\n AI want to use it to protect \u2014 and I’m terrified of what I might become if I’m not careful.
\n BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up.
\n CI want to earn it \u2014 through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it.
\n DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me.
\n EI want to understand it \u2014 its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real threat.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

06<\/p>\n

How does your universe treat good and evil?
\n A world’s moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.<\/p>\n

\n AThere is a dark side and a light side \u2014 and the choice between them is always present, always personal.
\n BEvil is real and ancient and patient \u2014 and goodness, however small, is the only thing that can undo it.
\n CGood and evil are real, but they live inside people \u2014 and people are complicated, always capable of both.
\n DGood and evil are mostly a matter of perspective and proximity. Power is the only honest currency.
\n EEvil is usually the result of ignorance, fear, or broken systems \u2014 and understanding it is the first step to solving it.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

07<\/p>\n

What role would you naturally fall into?
\n Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?<\/p>\n

\n AThe reluctant hero \u2014 ordinary origins, extraordinary moment, changed forever by the choice to act.
\n BThe unlikely carrier \u2014 the one nobody expected to matter most, quietly bearing the weight of everything.
\n CThe student \u2014 not yet who I’ll become, learning through every mistake, growing into something the world needs.
\n DThe player \u2014 sharp enough to see the game for what it is, ambitious enough to try to win it.
\n EThe explorer \u2014 drawn to the unknown, driven by curiosity, most alive when standing somewhere no one has stood before.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

08<\/p>\n

What do you ultimately believe about the future?
\n The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.<\/p>\n

\n AThat hope is real \u2014 that even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible.
\n CThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try.
\n CThat love and friendship and doing what’s right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise.
\n DThat the wheel keeps turning \u2014 that power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it.
\n EThat humanity \u2014 or whatever we become \u2014 is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be.\n <\/p>\n

REVEAL MY UNIVERSE \u2192<\/p>\n

Your Universe Has Been Chosen
\n You Belong In\u2026<\/p>\n

Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people \u2014 and your purpose.<\/p>\n

A Galaxy Far, Far Away\n <\/p>\n

Star Wars<\/p>\n

You believe in the cause \u2014 in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.<\/p>\n

You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
\n You’d find your people in the Rebellion \u2014 a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
\n Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict \u2014 and that is exactly your kind of story.
\n The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.<\/p>\n

Middle-earth\n <\/p>\n

Lord of the Rings<\/p>\n

You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination \u2014 and that the world’s beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.<\/p>\n

Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
\n You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory \u2014 the road more than the arrival.
\n Tolkien’s universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
\n Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.<\/p>\n

The Wizarding World\n <\/p>\n

Harry Potter<\/p>\n

You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what’s right are not naive sentiments \u2014 they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.<\/p>\n

The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
\n You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously \u2014 and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
\n Harry Potter’s universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
\n That choice \u2014 made quietly, without guarantee \u2014 is something you understand completely.<\/p>\n

Westeros \u00b7 The Known World\n <\/p>\n

Game of Thrones<\/p>\n

You see the world clearly \u2014 its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic \u2014 and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.<\/p>\n

Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
\n You would survive here \u2014 possibly thrive here \u2014 because you don’t confuse the world as it is with the world as you’d like it to be.
\n Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
\n Winter always comes. You are already prepared.<\/p>\n

The United Federation of Planets\n <\/p>\n

Star Trek<\/p>\n

You believe the future is worth building \u2014 that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.<\/p>\n

Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
\n You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve \u2014 while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
\n The Federation is the universe’s most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
\n You don’t just hope that’s possible. You think it’s the only thing worth working toward.<\/p>\n

\n \u21bb RETAKE THE QUIZ\n <\/p>\n

\u2018The Magic Faraway Tree\u2019 Already Has Two Sequels in the Works<\/p>\n

Although the title of the first movie installment is The Magic Faraway Tree, it is an adaptation of Enid Blyton\u2019s wider Faraway Tree series, not a strict one-book adaptation<\/a> of the 1943 novel alone. Its setup most clearly pulls from the series opener, The Enchanted Wood: children move to the countryside, discover the magical tree, and meet Moonface, Silky, Saucepan Man, Dame Washalot, and the lands above.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that the core books are The Enchanted Wood (1939), The Magic Faraway Tree (1943), The Folk of the Faraway Tree (1946), and the shorter Up the Faraway Tree (1951). Two more films have been confirmed for a complete trilogy, and their exact plots\/titles have not been officially unveiled yet. The logical roadmap for the sequels, therefore, is probably now to follow the 1943 book, while sequel three pulls from The Folk of the Faraway Tree, though details have not been revealed yet.<\/p>\n

The Magic Faraway Tree is coming to theaters in the U.S. on August 21, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.<\/p>\n

\"the-magic-faraway-tree-2026-film-poster.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarch 27, 2026<\/p>\n

Runtime<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t110 Minutes<\/p>\n

Director<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBen Gregor<\/p>\n

Writers<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSimon Farnaby<\/p>\n

Producers<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNicolas Brown, Pippa Harris, Jane Hooks, Danny Perkins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Franchises such as the original Harry Potter films, The Lord of the Rings, and, in a very different…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,409,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-445498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}