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.

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.

 

[Dire Bare]

I was thinking the same thing. Cast a white guy and put him in 'blackface', and it would definitely blow up.

They would have to burn half of a 2-2.5 hour movie in order to do an origin story, so that the average watcher would have a clue about what a Drow traditionally is.

Here's a thought, they could cast a black actor as Drizzt. Why the worry they'd cast a white guy? And really, if they make the drow character design alien enough, an actor of any race could pull it off without cries of "blackface"!

While the possible racist overtones of the drow race would be a minefield in a live action film, with careful storytelling and character design it's doable. Heck, Salvatore made it a strength in his novels by exploring themes of racism.

 

[MechaPilot]

I was thinking the same thing. Cast a white guy and put him in 'blackface', and it would definitely blow up.

They would have to burn half of a 2-2.5 hour movie in order to do an origin story, so that the average watcher would have a clue about what a Drow traditionally is.

Is that how long it took to describe what a spartan was in 300? I feel you could do the "what is a drow" question serviceably in the same time given to describing the Spartan lifestyle in 300.

 

[Ryujin]

Here's a thought, they could cast a black actor as Drizzt. Why the worry they'd cast a white guy? And really, if they make the drow character design alien enough, an actor of any race could pull it off without cries of "blackface"!

While the possible racist overtones of the drow race would be a minefield in a live action film, with careful storytelling and character design it's doable. Heck, Salvatore made it a strength in his novels by exploring themes of racism.

There could even be backlash over making a 'black' actor really black. Stranger things have happened.

Is that how long it took to describe what a spartan was in 300? I feel you could do the "what is a drow" question serviceably in the same time given to describing the Spartan lifestyle in 300.

There's a general level of understanding as to what a "Spartan" is as it's something historic (and at least part mythical), and fairly well known to the average person. Not so a Drow.

 

[evilbob]

written by Wrath of the Titans' David Leslie Johnson...

And don't forget "The Conjuring 2!"

Yeaaaaaah. That pretty much dashed all my hopes of getting decent movie.

Also, why did they say "this beloved property can finally make its way to the big screen after 20 years" when they made another D&D movie 15 years ago?

 

[Mirtek]

Guardians of the Galaxy had the same hurdle and they did okay for themselves.

Because it got credit for being "the new marvel movie". Really, I literally talked to people who didn't know it's title when they went to see it, but went because it was the latest in the series of marvel movies and those had build enough street cred that it would not have mattered at all whatever marvel would have released, people would have went to see it because of the last ones.

 

[Tonguez]

There are really three ways to tell a D&D story: straight fantasy, playing the game, and world crossover. You can have it be a generic fantasy adventure that happens to be set in the Forgotten Realms (Lord of the Ring, Game of Thrones). You can set it around people playing the game and showing their characters (Gamer and Gamers: Dorkness Rising). Or you can have the crossover (the potential Gamers 4 and the Dungeon & Dragon cartoon).

.

The third just works. You have instantly relatable characters and the basis for some plot: find a way home. Plus it fits the tone of the game in so many ways, with the heroes being jokey and making pop culture references. And it has the added level of being a metaphor for the game: regular people immersing themselves in a fantasy world and being a hero.
It's not even beyond the bounds of canon, as the Forgotten Realms is forgotten by our world as there used to be portals connecting them, and Elminster has popped into our world from time to time.

Oh yes please do a live action remake of the Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon - start with the Roller Coaster Ride and end with the redemption of Venger and actually bringing the kids home. That would be a movie

 

[IgnatiusJ.Reilly]

I agree that using that silly plot from the cartoons is the worst idea I've heard in a long time. In fact, it's so bad that I wouldn't be surprised if they used it, when considering the previous movies. They should steer away from anything that would continue D&D movies being the laughing stock of theater. I think that people can handle a D&D movie that targets grown ups.

 

[Jester David]

Oh yes please do a live action remake of the Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon - start with the Roller Coaster Ride and end with the redemption of Venger and actually bringing the kids home. That would be a movie

I'd actually rather not see a remake. Because it's animated and a fantasy, the original holds up really well. And it's even still available for dirt cheap on Amazon. I've been watching them with my son and some of the episodes are solid.

Were I in charge of the D&D movie I'd have the plot revolve around a soft reboot or sequel to the original. Anew group of people brought into the world and given different magical items, like a wand, sword, holy symbol, etc. Because that concept still works: if you have average people brought into a magical world, they need an edge to survive.

During their quest to get home, they'd receive aid and advice from white haired lord who speaks in cryptic riddles. Near the end, he reveals he's also from their world and had the opportunity to return, but he and most of his friends elected to remain because this world needed heroes. Then he'd walks to the wall and wistfully touch a battered yellow shield...

I imagine the rights to the cartoon would be the issue and potential problem area. But a "lost episode" animated by a modern studio would be an awesome bonus feature for the DVD.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Here's a thought, they could cast a black actor as Drizzt.

Wesley Snipe has wanted to play Drizzt for a very long time. DreamWorks was producing it but that was a very, very long time ago, which may mean the character cannot be part of a D&D movie and belong to someone else.

 

[MechaPilot]

I agree that using that silly plot from the cartoons is the worst idea I've heard in a long time.

For me, the crackpot fan theory about Leto's Joker being Jason Todd fits that description. That said, I don't think that recycling the cartoon premise would be a very good idea either. Transitioning regular people into another world is very hard to pull off in a fun and engaging manner. The original Matrix film did it pretty well, but that's probably the only good recent example that I can think of (I didn't see the Tron sequel, so I don't know how well or poorly that worked out).