Fantasy/D&D Films: What's next?
Templetroll
Explorer
I'd like to see a fantasy series done in the way that Babylon 5 was. A 5 season Epic story arc, each season with it's own theme and smaller story arcs within each season. This would allow development of a rich fantasy world just like Straczynski did with B5.
I would love to see a miniseries of Leiber's Fafhrd and the Mouser stories. It could be entertaining, although some of the pair's liaisons might cause difficulties.
Jack Vance's"Dying Earth" stories would be great, although I cannot imagine the scripts being written the way the Vance used language, even though that is part of what I enjoy so much about them.
I did search at IMDB under Fantasy genre and the years 2003-2005 and got 68 returns. There are a few based on computer games, Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, American McGee's Alice. Some sequels, Freddie versus Jason
Shrek ,
things that sound like they might be good:
Barbarella, with Drew Barrymore.
Cat in the Hat, with Mike Myers as the Cat.
H.R. Purfnstuf No one listed yet
a new Indiana Jones adventure with a new Indy.
The Last Unicorn with a good cast - Christopher Lee, Rene Auberjonois, Mia Farrow
Peter Pan
Tir Nan Og
Thunderbirds
I would love to see a miniseries of Leiber's Fafhrd and the Mouser stories. It could be entertaining, although some of the pair's liaisons might cause difficulties.
Jack Vance's"Dying Earth" stories would be great, although I cannot imagine the scripts being written the way the Vance used language, even though that is part of what I enjoy so much about them.
I did search at IMDB under Fantasy genre and the years 2003-2005 and got 68 returns. There are a few based on computer games, Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, American McGee's Alice. Some sequels, Freddie versus Jason
Shrek ,things that sound like they might be good:
Barbarella, with Drew Barrymore.
Cat in the Hat, with Mike Myers as the Cat.
H.R. Purfnstuf
No one listed yeta new Indiana Jones adventure with a new Indy.
The Last Unicorn with a good cast - Christopher Lee, Rene Auberjonois, Mia Farrow
Peter Pan
Tir Nan Og
Thunderbirds
WayneLigon
Adventurer
Just looking through Corona's Coming Attractions site, 'fantasy', as in sword-swinging heroic fantasy, doesn't seem to be on the menu at all, at least in any form worth discussing. Most are in the category 'movies rumored' or 'development hell'; not a good sign.
About the only thing vaguely like that I found greenlighted was, surprisingly, Elfquest.
Elfquest
Genre: Animated/Fantasy.
Studio: Unknown.
Production Company: Wolfmill Entertainment/European Animation Group.
Project Phase: Greenlighted.
Premise: A conflict between humans and elves ends in the elves' forest becoming the victim of arson. Now left without a place to hang their swords, the elves must head out across the desert to find a new place to call home.
Couple of others>
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Project Phase: Greenlighted.
Who's In It: Sean Connery (Allan Quartermain); Shane West (Tom Sawyer); Peta Wilson (Mina Harker); Jason Flemyng (Dr. Henry Jekyll); Tony Curran (The Invisible Man); Naseeruddin Shah (Captain Nemo); Stuart Townsend (Dorian Grey); Richard Roxburgh ("The Fantom"); Max Ryan (Dante Alighieri).
Premise: It's 1898 and Britain on an alternate Earth requires specialized assistance in matters most important to the Crown. An anti-gravity element has been stolen by parties unknown, and a team of agents is chosen to uncover the mystery and recover the material. As for the agents that make up this League, they should be very familiar to readers on our world...
There are still some intriguing possibilities...
Zeppelin
Studio: Unknown.
Production Company: Vanguard Films/Jim Henson Pictures.
Project Phase: In Development.
Who's In It: Unknown.
Who's Making It: John Williams (Producer); Igor-alban Chevalier (Story).
Premise: The ancients once spoke of a race of evil beings that battled humanity, ultimately driven underground by the forces of good thousands of years ago. Known as The Banished, these strange troglodyte creatures lived on in the myths and legends of their evil followers, humans whose bloodlines crossed with the Banished and whose descendants formed secret societies and dark cults throughout the globe. Legend had it that there were twelve openings to the subterranean homelands of the Banished scattered across the world, and if ever they were opened, it was feared that the horde of Banished would be unstoppable this time. The world as we know it would soon fall under their dark reign of horror. Of course, they were just legends...
But in the London of 1912, Clothilde Faraday knows the Banished are very real. Twenty years earlier her father unwittingly opened one of their long-forgotten portals and barely closed it, but at the cost of many lives. Little did the elder Faraday know that one of the Banished escaped unnoticed, slinking off into the desert...to be found by its allies. To teach the others the secrets of its people. To show them where the remaining portals may be. To open the doors and free the rest of its race to claim vengeance on humanity.
Now Clothilde uses her family's vast estate to try and stop the Banished's allies before they uncover and open the remaining portals. Basing her operations in the English skies inside the Faraday family's zeppelin, Clothilde sends her trusted aides to find six young children from around the world who also harbor fantastic abilities...abilities that will be added to her own family's secret power to hopefully stop the forces of the Banished forever.
And
Murder Mysteries
In the final days of the Creation of Earth, in a place we would call Heaven the first crime has been committed. The lifeless body of an angel is discovered in the City, and Lucifer, the Morningstar of the Creator, commissions an investigator to gather evidence about the murder. Called upon to serve is Raguel, the Angel of Vengeance, who will leave no stone unturned, no question unasked and none of his brothers above suspiscion to find the murderer and uncover their motive.
About the only thing vaguely like that I found greenlighted was, surprisingly, Elfquest.
Elfquest
Genre: Animated/Fantasy.
Studio: Unknown.
Production Company: Wolfmill Entertainment/European Animation Group.
Project Phase: Greenlighted.
Premise: A conflict between humans and elves ends in the elves' forest becoming the victim of arson. Now left without a place to hang their swords, the elves must head out across the desert to find a new place to call home.
Couple of others>
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Project Phase: Greenlighted.
Who's In It: Sean Connery (Allan Quartermain); Shane West (Tom Sawyer); Peta Wilson (Mina Harker); Jason Flemyng (Dr. Henry Jekyll); Tony Curran (The Invisible Man); Naseeruddin Shah (Captain Nemo); Stuart Townsend (Dorian Grey); Richard Roxburgh ("The Fantom"); Max Ryan (Dante Alighieri).
Premise: It's 1898 and Britain on an alternate Earth requires specialized assistance in matters most important to the Crown. An anti-gravity element has been stolen by parties unknown, and a team of agents is chosen to uncover the mystery and recover the material. As for the agents that make up this League, they should be very familiar to readers on our world...
There are still some intriguing possibilities...
Zeppelin
Studio: Unknown.
Production Company: Vanguard Films/Jim Henson Pictures.
Project Phase: In Development.
Who's In It: Unknown.
Who's Making It: John Williams (Producer); Igor-alban Chevalier (Story).
Premise: The ancients once spoke of a race of evil beings that battled humanity, ultimately driven underground by the forces of good thousands of years ago. Known as The Banished, these strange troglodyte creatures lived on in the myths and legends of their evil followers, humans whose bloodlines crossed with the Banished and whose descendants formed secret societies and dark cults throughout the globe. Legend had it that there were twelve openings to the subterranean homelands of the Banished scattered across the world, and if ever they were opened, it was feared that the horde of Banished would be unstoppable this time. The world as we know it would soon fall under their dark reign of horror. Of course, they were just legends...
But in the London of 1912, Clothilde Faraday knows the Banished are very real. Twenty years earlier her father unwittingly opened one of their long-forgotten portals and barely closed it, but at the cost of many lives. Little did the elder Faraday know that one of the Banished escaped unnoticed, slinking off into the desert...to be found by its allies. To teach the others the secrets of its people. To show them where the remaining portals may be. To open the doors and free the rest of its race to claim vengeance on humanity.
Now Clothilde uses her family's vast estate to try and stop the Banished's allies before they uncover and open the remaining portals. Basing her operations in the English skies inside the Faraday family's zeppelin, Clothilde sends her trusted aides to find six young children from around the world who also harbor fantastic abilities...abilities that will be added to her own family's secret power to hopefully stop the forces of the Banished forever.
And
Murder Mysteries
In the final days of the Creation of Earth, in a place we would call Heaven the first crime has been committed. The lifeless body of an angel is discovered in the City, and Lucifer, the Morningstar of the Creator, commissions an investigator to gather evidence about the murder. Called upon to serve is Raguel, the Angel of Vengeance, who will leave no stone unturned, no question unasked and none of his brothers above suspiscion to find the murderer and uncover their motive.
Ghostwind
First Post
I think both a Pern or Dragonlance series of movies could potentially be fantastic. However, given the Hollywood model of thinking, they would likely be compared to LoTR as "just another fantasy movie trying to cash in and would never succeed."
Personally, I would love to see a properly done Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter of Mars series of movies. The CGI technology is good enough now that Tars Tarkus and the white apes would be quite cool and not look like some cheap model.
Personally, I would love to see a properly done Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter of Mars series of movies. The CGI technology is good enough now that Tars Tarkus and the white apes would be quite cool and not look like some cheap model.
With LotR I think we will start to see 'volume' movies, things like Lensmen, Ringworld, Elric, Shannara, Pip & Flinx, and so many more. Movies that are action and epic, that have a story arc but can be broke down into profitable parts.
seasong
First Post
I'd like to see a fantasy movie done in the style of Plunket & Mclaine (sp?). Something gritty and stylish, with plenty of vicious politics and backstabbing.
In general, though, I've come to the conclusion that the best fantasy films are the ones where they work hard just to not suck. Those will be far and few in between, regardless of what style they choose.
When is Peter Jackson going to do Melnibourne?
In general, though, I've come to the conclusion that the best fantasy films are the ones where they work hard just to not suck. Those will be far and few in between, regardless of what style they choose.
When is Peter Jackson going to do Melnibourne?
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
Ghostwind said:Personally, I would love to see a properly done Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter of Mars series of movies. The CGI technology is good enough now that Tars Tarkus and the white apes would be quite cool and not look like some cheap model.
Ah yes "John Carter of Barsoom" would be a great Movie (I got really exitied when I was surfing and came across a John Carter Movie site - only to find that it was only a fansite saying 'wouldn't a John Carter Movie be cool")
Also I'm personally looking forward to the completion of the Scorpion King Trilogy (I want to see the expansion of the story presented in the Return of the Mummy - where he loses his Kingdom and makes a pact with Anubis, gets an army of Fiendish gnolls and is transformed into a Fiendish Scorpion Drider!)
I think we might see a few more 'modern' Fantasy movies coming up too - ya know the type were 'fey' creatures move amongst mortals and humans battle trolls (sort of Grim n Gritty Urbane Harry Potter...)
Similar Threads
