New D&D Movie To Go Ahead - Produced By Lego Movie's Roy Lee

The long dispute between Hasbro and Sweetpea Entertainment has come to and end, opening the door for a brand new Dungeons & Dragons movie! The deal between Warner Bros, Hasbro, and Sweetpea, will see a movie set in the Forgotten Realms, written by Wrath of the Titans' David Leslie Johnson, and produced by The Lego Movie's Roy Lee.

The long dispute between Hasbro and Sweetpea Entertainment has come to and end, opening the door for a brand new Dungeons & Dragons movie! The deal between Warner Bros, Hasbro, and Sweetpea, will see a movie set in the Forgotten Realms, written by Wrath of the Titans' David Leslie Johnson, and produced by The Lego Movie's Roy Lee.

Lee, who also produced How To Train Your Dragon, will be producing the film which has been written by Wrath of the Titans' David Leslie Johnson. It'll be set in the Forgotten Realms (of course). At Hasbro's end, there is involvement from Brian Goldner (Hasbro's chief executive) and Stephen Davis (chief content officer). Warner Bros' Greg Silverman said that "[D&D] is far and away the most well-known brand in fantasy, which is the genre that drives the most passionate film followings."

More details on the lawsuit and its resolution can be found here. Full press release:

Warner Bros. Pictures, Hasbro’s Allspark Pictures and Sweetpea Entertainment are moving forward on a feature film franchise based on Dungeons & Dragons, the world’s most popular role playing game. Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis, Courtney Solomon and Allan Zeman of Sweetpea Entertainment, and Roy Lee (“The LEGO Movie,” “How to Train Your Dragon”) are attached as producers.

Highlighting the priority being given to the project, Warner Bros. Pictures already has a script, written by David Leslie Johnson (“The Conjuring 2,” “Wrath of the Titans”).

“We are so excited about bringing the world of Dungeons & Dragons to life on the big screen,” said Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures. “This is far and away the most well-known brand in fantasy, which is the genre that drives the most passionate film followings. D&D has endless creative possibilities, giving our filmmakers immense opportunities to delight and thrill both fans and moviegoers new to the property.”

“This is such an enormous opportunity to bring the rich fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms to life and, together with the creative powerhouse of Warner Bros., use movies to tell the stories that have enchanted passionate D&D fans for decades,” said Stephen Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer of Hasbro, Inc. “D&D is the role-playing game that started it all and now we have the opportunity to ignite a franchise for its legions of avid fans in a way never done before.”

Dungeons & Dragons first became popular in 1974, and since then has amassed millions of players and fans worldwide. The hugely popular property has also influenced numerous writers, directors, game designers, and other creative professionals throughout its four decades.

“We are thrilled that this beloved property can finally make its way to the big screen after 20 years, and that it can be realized by Warner Bros., which has been responsible for the biggest fantasy franchises over the past two decades,” said Courtney Solomon of Sweetpea Entertainment.

Today’s announcement reflects the resolution of Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast LLC’s complaint against Sweetpea Entertainment, Inc. and Sweetpea BVI, Ltd. and the counterclaims filed by Sweetpea against Hasbro in May 2013 related to the Dungeons & Dragon brand. Solomon and Zeman will be attached to produce all Warner Bros.-produced Dungeons & Dragons film and television productions. All rights for future Dungeons & Dragons productions have been unified and returned to Wizards of the Coast, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hasbro.
 

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delericho

Legend
There is literally nobody else I want involved in this movie more than I want Vin Diesel involved in this movie.

They could do a lot worse than to get him (and, ideally, the Rock) in and tell them to do whatever it is they do with those "Fast & Furious" movies, but with D&D in the title. There's a lot to be said for "unapologetically entertaining", especially when the alternative is the Jeremy Irons' school of overacting.
 

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Ryujin

Legend
Having a group of gamers be transported to the Forgotten Realms and suddenly become the heroes is way too meta and cheesy, even if most of us have fantasized about something like that now and again.

It's also been done/is being done and is purposely meta, and cheesy. It's pretty much the plot of "The Gamers IV" and the reverse was done in the first "The Gamers" movie.
 


Quartz

Hero
There's a short story, "Days of High Adventure", which I think would make an ideal D&D movie if they aim for a 15 or 18 certificate. Definitely not PG!
 

RPG_Tweaker

Explorer
I hope those who make decisions realize that for a D&D reboot to be successful, they cannot simply reanimate its corpse with another soulless sword & sorcery schlock-fest. It has to be smart, immersive, and make you connect with the characters. No stagy drama, no generic portrayals, no slapstick.

And please, please, please, at least for the first film, or three... no world-in-the-balance plots. Just the party vs. a local area menace, like in 13th Warrior.
 

I am fairly positive that the role model for this film franchise that we should all look to is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They want to use Drizzt, Elminister and Baldur's Gate, for sure; those are recognizable and have brand power. They want a never-ending stream of cash. They want to start with an Iron Man, a film that will be self-contained but springboard loads of spin-offs, sequels and stuff in the same universe. I suspect strongly that the dudes at WB think that the D&D adventuring party is the equivalent of the Avengers; the mega-movie event that will bring together the characters from disparate other films into one smash-fest. Reviews of the Hobbit tended to mention that the Dwarves were all indistinguishable; nobody said that about the Avengers.
 

Ryujin

Legend
There's a "The Gamers IV"?

Not yet ;)

I know that the concept has been fleshed out and was solidified quite a while back. Matt Vancil seems to have known where it was going for maybe a decade or more. "The Gamers: Hands of Fate" aka "Gamers III" shows where it was going, as does the planned "The Gamers: The Series", that is sitting in the sidelines and waiting for the Patreon funding to hit the level necessary to support ongoing production.

https://www.patreon.com/zombieorpheus?ty=h

On the original topic, I think that there have been many D&D movies produced over the years. They just haven't explicitly said that they were D&D movies. The most recent that I can think of is the "Mythica" trilogy, with cameos by Kevin Sorbo, two of which have already been released. Sure, they're done on the cheap, but they aren't bad. They feature the old role playing trope of getting the party together, in a very D&D fashion, then the group going out to make their name.
 
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nerfherder

Explorer
They could do a lot worse than to get him (and, ideally, the Rock) in and tell them to do whatever it is they do with those "Fast & Furious" movies, but with D&D in the title. There's a lot to be said for "unapologetically entertaining", especially when the alternative is the Jeremy Irons' school of overacting.

Heh! Very true. The number of times I have seen a fantastic cast list, but the film itself has turned out terrible... #coughTPMcough#.
 

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