D&D Movie/TV (Yet another) D&D Movie Speculation thread.

[Jester David]

So far, the only gamble that paid off was Transformers, while the rest failed.
Meanwhile, D&D failed repeatedly. So they probably won't start high.

 

[Parmandur]

So far, the only gamble that paid off was Transformers, while the rest failed.
Meanwhile, D&D failed repeatedly. So they probably won't start high.

G.I. Joe Retaliation went on to have a $155 million budget: the first one paid off well enough, even if they went slightly smaller and did a soft reboot, and toy sales and other aftermarket considerations probably made up the difference with the others to lessen any losses.

The point isn't that it always works to make these big bets: it's that these big bets are what is in right now in Hollywood, particularly from Hasbro and Paramount. They do this by making several big ridiculous bets, because they only need an occasional bet to pay off given the structure of that industry.

D&D has only been attempted in film by cut-rate amateurs. Now it is being made by major players who want their own toy creation engine. What we are going to see is a fairly ridiculous amount of money (even $100 million is a lot of money) thrown at some objectively talented people (I can't make a fraction as interesting as Michael Bay is capable of doing). It probably won't work (though it might, which is why Hollywood keeps doing these things), but that is what they are gearing up to do.

 

[Caliburn101]

D&D got along fine for a long time without Drow characters and entire campaigns have gone by without using Drow as antagonists.

They aren't necessary, so just leave them out.

 

[lall]

D&D got along fine for a long time without Drow characters

Almost made it through first edition without their inclusion.

 

[Parmandur]

It seems we will start getting details within a year, as Paramount is already getting the logistics together to shoot the movie in Summer 2019:

https://movieweb.com/dungeons-and-dragons-movie-reboot-production-start-summer-2019/

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yes apparently Hollywood thinks evil elves are albinos, or near albinos. The D&D movie should probably just stick with that, as it's a well established trope at this point anyway.

Thor 2

Hellboy 2

You still haven't understood the real issue. The political climate has changed, even since Thor 2. Enough people know that drow are supposed to be black that you would be accused of "whitewashing" and thereby "denying jobs to black actors". Currently, there is absolutely no way to have drow and not have damaging controversy.


No reason you can't have evil elves who aren't called Drow (Shadar-kai would be an obvious choice) but actual drow need to be absolutely avoided at all costs. The elf in Hellboy 2 is a normal elf who happens to be evil, not a drow.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Correction: Hollywood thinks albinos are evil.

See The Omega Man, Stick, Foul Play, Defiance, Stargate: Atlantis...

The DaVinci Code...

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The robots have had a large fan base for decades but generally, although we go to see them, my friends and I don't really like them. Star Trek the Motion Picture was the most financially successful Star Trek movie until 2009 but not many view it as the best Star Trek movie. Sure, I could come on here and say, let's hope the Dungeons and Dragons movie churns out the same turgid, hollow, derivative, craptastic actionfest just to make a buck to ensure we get more of the same, or we can ask for something smart, and intriguing, as well as entertaining.

No, I wouldn't want to see that movie either.

But the thing is, you can have visual spectacle and plot and character. But without some eye candy you would just end up with another Hawk the Slayer/Beastmaster/Deathstalker/Red Sonja/Krull that would inevitably flop.

"Stunning Visuals" also cost mega $$$. They're not going to give that to the first D&D movie. It's going to have a moderate budget as a test, which might increase over time.

Not necessarily. The first Star Wars was done on the cheep. You just need sufficiently talented people. It's cgi creatures that are expensive. If you focus on things that are static (but have a dynamic camera) a talented artist can produce something awesome with matte painting/real world locations/bigatures and minimal cgi.

One thing is certain: if the first movie looks cheep there won't be a second.

 

[Pauln6]

You still haven't understood the real issue. The political climate has changed, even since Thor 2. Enough people know that drow are supposed to be black that you would be accused of "whitewashing" and thereby "denying jobs to black actors". Currently, there is absolutely no way to have drow and not have damaging controversy.No reason you can't have evil elves who aren't called Drow (Shadar-kai would be an obvious choice) but actual drow need to be absolutely avoided at all costs. The elf in Hellboy 2 is a normal elf who happens to be evil, not a drow.

The original Dungeons and Dragons movie had an African actress as the elf and she didn't look very elven at all. I suppose if she had been a half elf I would have preferred it. Elves are not humans with pointed ears, they are supposed to have almond eyes and angular features. I also thought that Celeborn and Haldir did not look elven enough in LOTR for my taste. They should employ actors that look elven, regardless of ethnicity. Dark-skinned actors are going to have to apply extra make-up to achieve coal black skin like Christopher Eccleston in Thor 2 in any event. The point is, it's ludicrous to suggest that dark elves must be played by African actors, but some might fit the bill - Iman would make an awesome Eclavdra for example. They'd be better suited to dwarves, humans, and other races under prosthetics. There's no reason to suggest that 'denying' African actors dark elf jobs would be whitewashing - that's just nuts. In particular the allegation can't be raised if you employ a multi-ethnic cast overall. Our ethnicity evolved, so I have no problem, if the setting is set in a hot nation for the entire human cast being black (as long as they resist the temptation to make the principal hero white). Equally, if there is maritime trade, it would make sense for the cast to be multi-ethnic. I just want the story to make sense.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The original Dungeons and Dragons movie had an African actress as the elf and she didn't look very elven at all.

Which is why you can't go the other way either. The Left would be happy if you cast a black actor as Drizzt and emphasised the point that surface dwellers believed Drow where evil. But the Right would take up the cause that they "didn't look like an elf".


You might just about get away with casting an Asian, but since Drizzt is a lousy character anyway, better to go with something else all together.