A 'Lord of the Rings' Icon's Forgotten Fantasy Horror Movie Heads to a New Streamer

1 week ago 12

Published Feb 1, 2026, 9:40 AM EST

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.

These past few weeks, fans of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy have been returning in the millions to catch the famous Extended Editions in theaters, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Earning many millions more in revenue and officially taking the third installment past every Harry Potter movie in the box office ranks, the theatrical re-release has been an enormous success worldwide.

With that in mind, why not continue the celebrations with another Viggo Mortensen fantasy franchise-starter? 1995's The Prophecy, a fantasy horror flick written and directed by Gregory Widen in his feature directorial debut, is officially coming to Paramount+ this February 1. Led by Christopher Walken, the film was the first of five in the franchise, although the four sequels were all direct-to-video releases. This choice was in part due to the critical backlash the first film received, with The Prophecy earning just 46% from critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus on the site reads, "The Prophecy has its moments, but any fantasy thriller starring Christopher Walken as a murderous angel should be a good deal more engaging than this." A synopsis for the movie reads:

"Evil angel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) has come to earth to strengthen his powers by claiming the wicked spirit of a psychotic veteran. The benevolent angel, Simon (Eric Stoltz), wants to stop that from happening, so he hides the man's spirit where Gabriel would least expect to find it: in a little girl (Moriah Shining Dove Snyder). Caught in a cosmic battle in which even Lucifer (Viggo Mortensen) plays a part, a liturgically minded cop (Elias Koteas) moves heaven and earth to protect the child."

Will Viggo Mortensen Return to 'The Lord of the Rings'?

As anyone with even the slightest interest in movies knows, the next Lord of the Rings movie has finally been set, with The Hunt for Gollum scheduled to be released in theaters on December 17, 2027. Excitingly, several fan-favorite faces will be reprising their iconic roles in the movie, with Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, and Elijah Wood returning to play Gandalf, Gollum, and Frodo, respectively, with Serkis set to direct. However, Mortensen's name is thus far missing, although rumors suggesting the movie is set to focus on Aragorn's quest to capture Gollum would hint at the actor's return.

The Prophecy is streaming on Paramount+ this February. For updates, make sure to stay tuned to Collider.