D&D Movie/TV D&D Movie Moves Forward With Deal With Former Marvel Exec Jeremy Latcham

[Parmandur]

Could open the movie with Elminster visiting Ed Greenwood, and segue to "I have a story for you to relate to your readers since the last time we met..."

To be honest, I hope we both don't see much of Elminster, and what we do see is played by Ed Greenwood doing a cameolike Stan Lee...

 

[doctorbadwolf]

To be honest, I hope we both don't see much of Elminster, and what we do see is played by Ed Greenwood doing a cameolike Stan Lee...

I'd love to see Elminster if we must have a FR movie. He's more interesting than Drizzt, and he is very much not Gandalf. He doesn't even really look like Gandalf outside of being old and white.

And he's fun.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I'd love to see Elminster if we must have a FR movie. He's more interesting than Drizzt, and he is very much not Gandalf. He doesn't even really look like Gandalf outside of being old and white.

And he's fun.

I'd personally prefer Volothamp Geddarm.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'd love to see Elminster if we must have a FR movie. He's more interesting than Drizzt, and he is very much not Gandalf.

No, Gandalf isn't an overpowered Marty Sue who could stroll into Mordor before breakfast and kick Sauron's butt without breaking into a sweat.

Really, the presence of overpowered mega-goodguys is a serious flaw in the FR, that a movie needs to avoid like the plague if they want to create meaningful threat.

The only way a film with Elminster in could be any good is if he is the main villain.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

No, Gandalf isn't an overpowered Marty Sue who could stroll into Mordor before breakfast and kick Sauron's butt without breaking into a sweat.

Really, the presence of overpowered mega-goodguys is a serious flaw in the FR, that a movie needs to avoid like the plague if they want to create meaningful threat.

The only way a film with Elminster in could be any good is if he is the main villain.

Gandalf was overpowered against all but the few opponents who were his equal or better, like Sauron or Saruman or the Witch King or the Balrog or Smaug or any other ancient evils created by Morgoth. I think he did not show his true powers in normal situations because he was not allowed to by the one he served. That was not part of the mission the Five were sent on and was part of Saruman's downfall when he violated it.

And Elminster, and other mega-powers of the Realms, would need to be treated the way the bigger superheroes were treated at the beginning of Spiderman: Far From Home, when Peter is asking why can't all these other heroes help instead of him and they are all off somewhere else and unavailable.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Gandalf was overpowered against all but the few opponents who were his equal or better, like Sauron or Saruman or the Witch King or the Balrog or Smaug or any other ancient evils created by Morgoth.

That's five more than Elminster. Elminster stole Morgoth's dinner money.

And Elminster, and other mega-powers of the Realms, would need to be treated the way the bigger superheroes were treated at the beginning of Spiderman: Far From Home, when Peter is asking why can't all these other heroes help instead of him and they are all off somewhere else and unavailable.

Which limits the potential threat level to "too trivial to call in the real heroes". It a problem with the superhero genre in general, and the best solution is for high powered superheroes like Superman, Captain Marvel, and Elminster to not exist in the setting. "Spiderman is a second rate hero who can be trusted with important stuff" is a running joke with the character, it's not something you want to inflict on your potential heroes of a D&D movie.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'd personally prefer Volothamp Geddarm.

Aw, man, I hate that guy

 

[Ruin Explorer]

That's five more than Elminster. Elminster stole Morgoth's dinner money.

Yeah and the main issue is Gandalf doesn't so stuff because God sez no. Whereas ain't no-one saying "no" to Elminster except people who want to end up shapechanged into a toad or whatever. And indeed many of the gods are his buddies... or worse his... "friends with benefits" (shudder), rather than his strict bosses.

Which limits the potential threat level to "too trivial to call in the real heroes". It a problem with the superhero genre in general, and the best solution is for high powered superheroes like Superman, Captain Marvel, and Elminster to not exist in the setting. "Spiderman is a second rate hero who can be trusted with important stuff" is a running joke with the character, it's not something you want to inflict on your potential heroes of a D&D movie.

Precisely. There's no gain in even acknowledging Elminster etc. A character like him could literally never carry a movie by himself (he's not interesting or conflicted or trying to fit, just incredibly powerful and kinda smug), and wouldn't fit into any team movie (he's more an "I cast one spell and win" guy than a team player), so why even introduce or mention him? Or anyone like him.

As for Volo, he is beyond played-out, frankly. That schtick got old last century. That it's still being used a lot is kind of depressing. And modern audiences are unlikely to respond well to it (the whole "I, late-middle-aged man with opinions, am the guide to the truth of the realms!" deal). If I see him being used as a framing device by the movie, I'll know one of two things is true - either the writers were out of ideas and kind of desperate (uh-oh), or WotC are managing to meddle in the movie (also uh-oh). If he's just a character and portrayed as a bit of an idiot (as he is in some FR stuff), then that could probably work.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

If there is a movie set in FR the most famous characters will be only cameos or secondary until they know how to produce a true blockbuster.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If there is a movie set in FR the most famous characters will be only cameos or secondary until they know how to produce a true blockbuster.

The FR has no "famous" characters in the real world.

If characters are included, it's because they are interesting and cool in their own right (see: Xanathar), not because some obsessive geeks have heard of them.