An Oscar-nominated fantasy cult favorite that gave rise to a slew of bargain basement successors sets streaming afire

The list of franchises to have carried on for decades you’ve got no idea still exist is a lot longer than anyone thinks – and some of them show no signs of ending, either – with 1996’s cult favorite fantasy Dragonheart definitely among them after it gave rise to no less than four direct-to-video sequels.

The opening installment isn’t exactly a cinematic classic, nor was it particularly well-received by critics at the time, but it still endures as a nostalgic throwback to much simpler times when the only thing a movie needed to secure an Academy Award nomination was Dennis Quaid sporting a horrendous “British” accent and the inimitably dulcet tones of Sean Connery being used to bring a dragon to life.

Dragonheart‘s Oscars nod for Best Visual Effects was well-deserved when Draco was one of the first major main characters created using CGI that wasn’t regularly terrible, and although it definitely doesn’t hold up when viewed through a modern lens, it was remarkable for the time. That being said, going up against Independence Day and Twister ensured it never really stood a chance of winning.

A New Beginning, The Sorcerer’s Curse, Battle for the Heartfire, and Vengeance are indeed successors to Dragonheart that exist, but for a lot of people it’s a strictly one-and-done saga. That possibly extends to streaming, too, after FlixPatrol revealed the OG as one of the most-watched titles on iTunes, with more than a quarter of a century doing nothing to dampen the warm and fuzzy glow of nostalgia that the medieval romp continues to deliver.