Oftentimes, people’s lives are defined by one particular action, or inaction in some cases. These define how generations, including their peers, view them. Author George R.R. Martin is most notably known for his A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, which eventually helped birth the critically acclaimed television fantasy series, Game of Thrones, and the many Westerosi-based stories contained within it. However, A Song of Ice and Fire is not the full extent of Martin’s written works, not by any stretch. The author has a collection of short stories in Dreamsongs: A Retrospective. Other novels, like the Hugo Award-winning novelette A Song for Lya and Sandkings, among others, showcase the author’s range.
But before Martin began writing A Song of Ice and Fire in 1991, the revered novelist had already penned In the Lost Lands, one of his short stories in 1982. Fast-forward a few decades and the short story formed the basis for the on-screen adaptation of the same name. The adaptation saw Milla Jovovich, whose credits include noteworthy performances in films like Hellboy, and Paul W.S. Anderson, director of revered properties like Mortal Kombat, team up to deliver a desert dystopian movie. Jovovich stars as the mysterious sorceress Gray Alys, who seeks the help of the drifter Boyce (Dave Bautista) on an adventure that would include traversing strange lands and even deadlier creatures. Unfortunately, the movie which premiered on March 7, 2025, in the United States, struggled at the box office, despite the weight of names behind it.
Well over a year now since its release, however, In the Lost Lands is making moves towards a potential streaming revival as niche audiences have begun to suck it right back into the conversation. For instance, in Australia and New Zealand, In the Lost Lands has muscled its way into Netflix’s Top 10 rankings. However, it is on HBO Max that the desert dystopian movie has really made a substantial mark. In several countries across South and North America, including the likes of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, In the Lost Lands has exerted dominance, holding on to the #1 and #2 spot for nearly a week. The film reportedly cost about $55 million to produce, but upon its arrival at the box office, bowed out of theaters after grossing only $6 million.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
What is ‘In the Lost Lands’ About?
Set in a post-apocalyptic world of ruined landscapes teeming with magic, In the Lost Lands follows Queen Melange (Amara Okereke), a ruler desperate to find love, who contracts the sorceress, Gray Alys (Jovovich), to venture into the desolate, dangerous wilds known as the Lost Lands to help Melange fulfill her wish of becoming a werewolf. Bound by a curse of obedience, Gray Alys travels alongside the hunter Boyce/drifter (Bautista) into the Lost Lands, where their foes are not only supernatural but also religious zealots determined to do her harm. But as Disney has so aptly showcased over the years with so many of its fairy tales — every wish comes at a price — and in this case, only Gray Alys fully understands it. In the Lost Lands struggled initially with both critics and audiences alike, with Rotten scores of 24% from the former and only 45% from the latter on the aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes. Besides Jovovich and Bautista, the film also stars Arly Jover (Blade) and Fraser James (Terminator: Dark Fate).
In the Lost Lands is available to stream on Netflix and HBO Max. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates!
