D&D Movie/TV What would a good D&D movie be like?

[delericho]

You can't put drow on the big screen, at least not right now. It would be too "triggering" regarding racism and sexism.

If I were WotC, I would be changing the depiction of the drow as a matter of some urgency - either make them much more diverse or go for a genuinely inhuman colouration (actually, I'd look to how "Thor 2" did dark elves, as I've mentioned before elsewhere); and instead of declaring that Drow society is ruled by evil priestesses, I'd say Menzoberranzan is ruled by an evil queen and her daughters - a subtle distinction, but important (and evil queens are hardly unknown in fiction).

Because you're right - WotC have a problem that their most famous character, and the one most likely to star in a successful film, is also one they will have real problems using.

 

[Minigiant]

Either planar invasion or plane hoping.
Or both.

Nonfans understand demonic invasion and hoping into another plane to wreck their boss.
Bonus points for a succubus/incubus helping the heroes on behalf of the devils because devil demon hatred.

 

[Ristamar]

Whether they go with an established story with established characters or merely use existing lore as a backdrop, I think the best move they could make is to decouple it from being "The Dungeons & Dragons movie." Brand it as a Forgotten Realms movie instead and make the D&D logo more of a footnote. Unless there is an amazing confluence of script, casting, effects, and a stunning trailer with a ton of marketing, the D&D brand still has too much of a stigma attached to it to be taken seriously by people outside the hobby.

 

[DEFCON 1]

As much as Hollywood wouldn't do it... I think the best way to establish the D&D "film brand" is to start small. You need to establish the fantasy world the characters live in, you need to establish many of the tropes of "D&D" that live in this world, you need to establish the premise of "adventuring", which is what D&D is about (and thereby differentiating it from all the other fantasy films / tv shows out there.)

What you need to do is ape the plot of the fantasy films that do all that in spades.

You need to ape The Goonies mixed with some Raiders of the Lost Ark.

A band of adventurers finds a treasure map, and races against another group of "evil" adventurers to reach a huge treasure in order to save their town. They face off against many other enemies and obstacles along the way... and the climax of the film is a trek through a booby-trapped dungeon.

You don't get more Dungeons & Dragons than that.

Leave the political machinations, the massive monster invasions, the Chosen One vs The World Threatening Event for a couple films down the line. We've GOTTEN those in the Lord of the Rings saga, The Hobbit, soon to be Warcraft, Game of Thrones. Dungeons & Dragons is smaller than that. At least, GOOD Dungeons & Dragons is smaller than that. It's about adventurers of different stripes coming together to find some treasure and/or rescue someone of import. Start there. Establish the premise of the game in the movie. Use the opening scene of Raiders to establish your adventurer band "in media res" invading a small dungeon... then once they acquire their treasure, transition into an scoped outline of The Goonies story for the rest. Their small town in trouble (maybe kidnappings from the outlying farms.) The Adventurers discover the humanoid bands that are taking their victims on behalf of another evil group... they learn of a McGuffin the group is trying to get via a map or something... they get hired to go get it first and they then fight their way through some old ruins... make their way into the dungeons and face off against the monsters, members of the other group and the deadly traps therein... and by the end acquire it.

Small, simple, and you give yourself the time to establish the tropes of the game that make this fantasy a bit different than the other fantasy films and worlds out there.

 

[epithet]

I would suggest that the two movies to look at for inspiration on how to begin this new film franchise would be The Mummy and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Each of them did an outstanding job introducing a world of magic and adventure, and using an ensemble cast to great effect.

 

[Lalato]

For a generic D&D movie? It has to be about a heist. Think about Ocean's Eleven, Mission: Impossible, or the recent Ant Man. A heist set in a magical world. Instead of getting past technological traps, you're getting past magical ones. Generally speaking heist movies have a team working together... so you'll have the team dynamic built in. It's a great vehicle a D&D Movie.

As for the depiction of Drow. The most recent season of Defiance (an otherwise pedestrian Sci-Fi tv show) introduces a new race that is just as close to a direct copy of Drow as one can get without calling them Drow. They have dark, purple skin and they're cruel. Anyway, the connection to Drow is pretty obvious.

 

[Mercurius]

Absolutely no stupid "in" D&D jokes. Please.

 

[Mercurius]

I would immediately hire Jeremy Irons to over-act and scream silly things like "give me the rod!!!!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28snhq40C8o

 

[iserith]

Absolutely no stupid "in" D&D jokes. Please.

You mean like "Paragon? Or Heroic?"

 

[DEFCON 1]

Absolutely no stupid "in" D&D jokes. Please.

Well, I'd say it really depends on what would be considered both an "in-joke" and what would be considered "stupid".

For instance... having some things occur in the film specifically because they are following D&D-isms (rather than generic fantasy-isms) that D&D players would understand even if no one else did. Like if the spellcaster throws a spell that sends three balls of magical "force" at a monster. The monster tries to duck or run away, gets nailed once... gets nailed twice... then is able to completely turn a corner out of sight and yet the third ball of force follows him around the corner to hit him the third time.

Everyone else just thinks this is what the magic attack did... but we D&Ders would instantly recognize the attack as a Magic Missile, and many of use would also note the fact that the spell hit unerringly even though the monster got away from the mage.

By the same token... would it be a "stupid inside joke" if the same spellcaster extended his fingers with thumbs touching and sent out a short cone of fire out from his fingertips? That's the universal Burning Hands that we all know about, and as "inside" as you could get. Should that not be used? Or is that a nod to the tropes of D&D that should appear in the film so long as no big deal is made about it to "call it out" as occurring? (In other words, no one need to then shout to the caster "Great use of your Burning Hands spell!").

I think the movie can show many of the tropes of D&D so long as the characters don't go out of their way to calling them out as tropes so the rest of the audience can "get them". Therein I agree, lies madness (or at least a poor narrative.)