Btw I’ve said it before and will say it again, all you need for the Drow to work is to visually show 2 things in the same movie. Warning: this is all adjacent to political discussion, so if it strays too far that way let me know and I’ll delete it.
A) Ethnically African Elves (and non elves played by Black actors) that aren’t drow. Also just imagine Michael B. Jordan as a Wood Elf with like two handaxes. Or Emma Thompson as a rad High Elf Bladesinger. *
2) Women in power in Good societies, being both Good and Strong, without making the movie about that. If it’s the Underdark trilogy (I don’t recommend it), then show the followers of Eelistree or whatever her name is. If it’s the LG trilogy or a later story, show one of the many powerful women of the Realms.
Because here is the thing that a lot of folks don’t understand about criticism of representation. An evil matriarchy isn’t inherently offensive. It’s offensive because we never see good, healthy, matriarchal societies. Same deal, until recently, with depictions of societies of most cultures of color in Western media.
Now, there’s no need to spend significant time on any of that. As long as Drizzt isn’t the only Black character with a real role in the movie, and the only depiction of a Black society isn’t an unsustainably chaotic evil caricature of a society, it will be fine.
I will accept your critique of my post that you quoted, it is very likely that I am out of touch as you say. I am not really familiar with D&D novels as a whole. Is there a relevant Drizzt novel with the characteristics that you mention above?