The Phantasy Snitch: January 2026

Jan 25, 2026

Rediscovered Realms is catching you up on some of the coolest fantasy news that just won’t fit in our regular weekly edition. Welcome to the January 2026 issue of The Phantasy Snitch!

Rediscovered Realms’ denizens . . . er, citizens can now enjoy a curated lite dose of worthy Fantasy-related news, products, and rumours from the RPG, fantasy book, movie, D&D, LOTR, mythology, board game, art & archaeology genres (and you now have extra time to immerse yourself within all our other beefier newsletters!)

This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.

THE NEWS:

New “Masters of the Universe” Official Movie Trailer!
- I’m not one to get too excited any more about new Fantasy movies (since they always seems to ruins my precious!) but have to say this nostalgic-laden trailer looks really fun!
  - Here was the pre-trailer teaser, which was also pretty neat hearing the Regan-like narrator’s voice in the background:

Forgotten Realms creator (and Elminster’s IRL avatar) Ed Greenwood, has released a brand-new Forgotten Realms book! Souls for the Taking: Return of Larloch Book One
- It’s both a novella AND a supplement for D&D 5e, only available on Dungeon Masters Guild.

Steam is released for early access a fantasy swordsmithing sim called Bladesong
- Here’s a cool article about Bladesong from PCGamer

Did you hear that Fortnite has collaborated with Dungeons & Dragons?
- The trailer above is for D&D Bossfight, but there are 5 multiplayer islands are now available to explore!
  - D&D Boxfights, D&D Treasure RNG, D&D Dungeon Deathrun, D&D Bossfight, D&D Zombie Dragon Adventure

Who needs more gaming dice? Probably none of us . . . except when it comes to dice made from Real T-Rex Fossils!
- This Fossil Dice Kickstarter has raised over $500k so far!

For Urban Fantasy lovers out there, Jim Butcher has released the first Dresden Files book in over 6 years, called “Twelve Months”
- Jim has been writing this series for over 25 years, now! I’ve never read them or watched the series, but I absolutely adore his “Codex Alera” fantasy series.
  Twelve Months on Amazon
  Codex Alera on Amazon
  (As an AmazonAssociate I earn from qualifying purchases)

“Monsters & Mayhem” Mega RPG Bundle - D&D 3.5e fans can grab 101 fun RPG handbooks for only $17.99 on Fanatical

I love a cozy LEGO set. Here’s one such cozy Medieval Apothecary Shop set by FunWhole
- I’ve never experienced FunWhole (yes, I know how that sounds when said outloud) but this set looks really fun . . . with or without the hole.
  Apothecary Shop on Amazon
  (As an AmazonAssociate I earn from qualifying purchases)
- Speaking of . . . LEGO Ideas was collecting supporters for “The Apothecary” which sadly didn’t make it 🙁
- But this other Alchemist Shop from Bricklink did!
  - Just 3 weeks away from pre-orders

Looks like I’m heading to my local bookstore to (hopefully) find Empire Magazine’s special edition: “25 Years of Fellowship: The Ultimate Lord of the Rings Celebration”
- Can’t believe it’s been 25 years! I went to the theater re-release last year and had a blast. I heard that the recent theater re-release is also bustin’ up records, beating out new releases. It goes to show how incredibly awesome these films were (and always shall be).

Here’s a fun looking cooperative adventure board game based on the graphic novel: Ham Helsing
- I had to include this because I love puns . . . and who isn’t intrigued by a reluctant monster-hunting pig? Anyone here ever play this one?

Coming this Autumn, become the Hero you want to be in an immersive open-world action-RPG where each choice shapes your journey, reputation is everything, and fairytale endings are never guaranteed . . . Fable
- It will be interesting to see others’ inner Chicken Chaser come out once more.
- According to IGN, they have over 1,000 fleshed-out NPCs, and if you play your cards right, you could marry them all!

New 2026 D&D Funko Pops!
- Strahd (Shapechanger), Lolth the Spider Queen, and Valindra Shadowmantle
  Strahd on Amazon
  Lolth on Amazon
  Valindra on Amazon
  (As an AmazonAssociate I earn from qualifying purchases)

Check out this alternative battle system by Ted Adams at Nerdarchy, “Blood on the Dice: An Experimental System for Faster, Brutal Combat in D&D”
- “At the heart of this system is a simple but radical change: All damage is either doubled or tripled”

From of all places . . . classical-music.com . . . comes this rockin’ compilation: “Tolkien Rock: the 17 greatest songs about Middle-earth, ranked”
- I guarantee you probably either never heard of all of these . . . or did not know that they were tied to Tolkien!

Speaking of Tolkien, this YouTube short is pretty much 100% accurate in my experience: “What happens EVERY time you put on LOTR…”

For any Lindsey Stirling fans out there (I adore her!), you need to check out her brand new video release with Chrissy Costanza - “Eye of the Untold Her”
- Even without the beautiful song, this is cinematic excellence and a visual feast for any fantasy fan.

Wizkids rolls out a new line of “Lost” D&D Action Figures
- Valkeer, Skylla, Kelek, and Pulvereye! Check out this revealing article with character backgrounds by Jason Volk of Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics

**Young Toby Froud surrounded by goblins.** Credit: The Jim Henson Company

Not sure I ever knew this, but the baby in Jim Henson’s Labyrinth was the son of legendary fantasy illustrator, Brian Froud! People magazine exclusively featured Baby Toby all grown up, discussing his time in Labyrinth . . . from 40 years ago
- Here’s an interesting perspective from MovieWeb, “40 Years Later, ‘Labyrinth’ Is the Perfect Reminder of How Kids Movies Lost Their Power”
- I just watched this in the movie theater a couple weeks ago with my granddaughter, trying to pass the magic on. It’s still a really fun movie, though I’ve been getting disappointed lately at how these Fathom re-releases are relegated to rundown theaters that have the worst sound and visuals. I had to get up and leave this movie 3 different times to ask for someone to turn up the barely audible sound. After similar experiences with the re-release of The Neverending Story and Monty Python’s abysmally low-def Holy Grail, I may just re-route to create Flashback Fantasy Family Nights and screen them in our own homes. (The Lord of The Rings theatrical re-release last year was solid, though.)
  “Fairies” by Brian Froud

Oh, and in the vein of 80s fantasy movies, “The Princess Bride 40th Anniversary LEGO Set” has passed muster and is being reviewed to become official!

For you fantasy crafters out there, check out how Jazza shows us in 2 minutes how he “Made a Diorama INSIDE my Lord of the Rings book”

Here’s an adventure-packed listicle after my own heart. From Tom Jolliffe of flickeringmyth.com: “The Essential Indiana Jones Knock-Offs of the 1980s”
- I can’t believe there are several here that I never experienced . . . yet!

Ah, A.I. … It is getting hella scary with how much better it is with video. Here are a few of my favorite recent finds that fantasy fans will enjoy. Tbh - some of these are simply INCREDIBLE or HILARIOUS . . . or both:

Scrummy the Gnome Warlock attends the Wizards of the Coast introduction to a new Dungeons & Dragons storyline in Los Angeles in June 2018. (Jordan Strauss/AP Images for Dungeons & Dragons)

From The Conversation, comes this interesting perspective: “Social media can be understood as a role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons”
- “The history of D&D and the history of the personal computer are closely aligned, and today’s social media platforms are basically just free-to-play mobile role-playing games.”

In Mythology news: “4,400-Year-Old Sumerian Myth of Captive Storm God and Cunning Fox Finally Decoded”
- “A fresh translation of a fragmentary Sumerian tablet has revealed one of the world's oldest surviving narratives featuring a cunning fox as an unlikely hero. The ancient clay tablet, designated Ni 12501 and dating to approximately 2400 BC, tells the extraordinary tale of a storm god held captive in the underworld and the clever fox who volunteers to rescue him when all other deities refuse”

Did you catch the preview for “The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin | The Great Light Trailer”?
- Keeping my fingers crossed this is as cool as it looks! Just released a couple days ago on Daily Wire+

And finally, let’s depart with a heart-tugging magical homage to celebrating 25 years of the Harry Potter movies.

Magic truly is all around us and within every moment of our lives. We must remember to always carry it with us, wherever we go.

Until next time, Fellow Adventurer.

Tavern Chatter

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