Fantasy/D&D Films: What's next?

[Mark]

I liked to see something more on the scale of the earlier Hercules/Xena stuff but without the campiness. To that end I voted for the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser option, though I am not too particular on the characters. Might be a lot cheaper to not license existing characters/stories and just start from scrtah so they can throw that saved money toward special effects.

 

[jdavis]

The anime Ninja Scroll is supposibly in development as a live action movie. Xena is also in the works, they finally got Lucy Lawless to come to terms.

I expect we will see a rut of wanna be Fantasy movies as studios dig around looking for what books they have the rights to or can get the rights too. I figure we will get a bunch of crap and a couple of good ones. the LOTR movies are based on a good story with lots of fans, I'm sure a lot of studios will base some fantasy movies on crap and rush them through just to catch ROTC's coatails, if they make the mistake of thinking that Fantasy is the next big thing instead of we need a good story you will see a lot of crap.

 

[Alzrius]

I think that horrific fantasy is a great as a source for untapped potential.

Think about it, horror movies have recently started to come back into vogue. And even more recently in the spotlight is fantasy films. The two would mix great together.

I think a Call of Cthulhu film, if done right, could be an utter blockbuster. It should be one of those things that advances slowly and takes you by surprise, never overtly revealing whats happening, and not being totally understandable until the "twist" at the end, which would then make you wonder how you missed it, all the while scaring you silly with what you think is there, regardless of what actually is there.

It definately should not give you any hint going in that it has anything supernatural in it at all. No obvious titles that make it clear there is a fantasy element, and no trailers making it clear that the psycho cultist actually did make contact with something.

M. Night Shyamalan would be perfect to direct such a film.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Discworld - The movie.
Though this would be ... difficult...

 

[KenM]

A Xena movie? if done right, would be good, but did'nt she die in the final episode?

 

[Hand of Evil]

A Xena movie? if done right, would be good, but did'nt she die in the final episode?

Yes, she did but their are so many stories from between her start to her end that could be told.

 

[Mark]

Yes, she did but their are so many stories from between her start to her end that could be told.

...and hasn't she died a couple of times and come back?

 

[Bamphalas]

A Xena movie? if done right, would be good, but did'nt she die in the final episode?

She died, but she didn't move on. The final shots show her as an apparition hanging out with Gabrielle, IIRC.
I just wonder if they'd include Ares in a feature version, considering the actual actor died.

Back to the poll subject: It's inevitable that Hollywood will put out wannabe fantasy movies. I think a good chunk of LOTR's success was also because the movie is unique--something people have not seen in a long time, if ever. However, movie studios always think that they will continue to have success if they glut the market with the same genre. Whether they choose a great book series to adapt, or something new, chances are it will be rushed and bad. While I absolutely love the LOTR movies, my vote would be for a fantasy movie that doesn't follow the fantasy formula: No pseudo-medieval era, no cliched mythologies (dragons).

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I think a Call of Cthulhu film, if done right, could be an utter blockbuster.

M. Night Shyamalan would be perfect to direct such a film.

The best shot we have at something like that is in the works. At the Mountains of Madness is in development for Guillermo DelToro (Blade II, Devil's Backbone). He's directing Hellboy right now.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

There have been large numbers of H.P. Lovecraft movies dating back to the 60s. The problem so far is that no-one has had both the money and the script to do CoC justice yet.