D&D Movie/TV Update on D&D TV Show -- Underdark, Small, 6-10 Episodes

Writer Derek Kolstad (John Wick) has shared an insight into the upcoming D&D TV show with Collider, which he says will be 6-10 serialized episodes with an Underdark element.

His approach is a "tinier sliver" of the world, compared to epic stories like Lord of the Rings. He compares it to Star Wars and Jaws. He mentioned that he's like to go "deeper and deeper into the Underdark".

"In the first Star Wars, you heard about Jabba the Hutt and you don't see him until the third one because you earn at that point, and whatever the budget was for the third one compared to the first one, who cares, right? And I think in Dungeons and Dragons, who has this massive, dedicated community of acolytes, I don't want to suddenly throw everything on screen and say, 'Here's the buffet.' You'd much rather keep the story intimate. When you think of our favorite movies, I'd rather do the First Blood version. It's a guy in the woods being hunted. And it's very small, but you allude to the other things through conversation."

As yet the show is untitled. Kolstad talked a bit about legal meetings and available characters for use. It sounds like he wants to set it towards the end of any 'metaplot' that D&D might have -- "... don't want to go in the middle of the mythos. I want to come near the end where everything is canonical, it's biblical, it's happened. Or, it's about to happen. That way you can revisit certain sequences and storylines that everyone loved in the past through flashback, but where we go is new"

 

[overgeeked]

I mean no offense against anyone who has written a game tie-in novel, especially as I have a number of friends who have, but I think we should aim higher than that. Most of those are not amazingly well-written and most Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance novels are old and aren't much of a mainstream draw.

And the value of a mainstream draw at all is dubious. Even comic fans -- like me -- didn't know much about the modern Guardians of the Galaxy before the movie came out. (I was more familiar with the embarrassingly goofy team led by Vance Astro.) A good story in a D&D universe (meaning IP critters to differentiate it from Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and the Witcher) and they'll be fine.

Exactly. The trick isn't going to be getting D&D nerds to go see it, we will almost no matter what. The trick is getting non-D&D nerds to go see it. They'll need a bit of fanservice, sure. But they'll need to cast a much wider net than that if they want a successful movie, TV series, whatever.

Hell, I'd almost rather they update the old D&D cartoon and do that as a series. Or a show about people playing D&D that also shows them as their characters in the game world than yet another Underdark or Drizzle story. Especially with their current image and inclusivity issues, WotC does not want to put out a series about a society of entirely evil dark-skinned elves. Especially one where the protagonist is "one of the good ones". They really, really don't want to do that.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

HarmonQuest was a really fun (in a Dan Harmon way) Pathfinder game where they alternated between showing the players at the table and showing the adventures in animated form. I only saw the first season, before it went off to some obscure micro-streamer, but I thought it was a clever little series.

 

[Scott Christian]

Ugh. It’s going to be a Drizzle origin story or lead into a a Drizzle focused show.

They wanted to focus on characters. You need a few strong character leads for that to happen. Besides, characterization has been selling shows lately. All of them hyper-focus on the characters. That is why the proverbial flashback has become a staple.

 

[MNblockhead]

and rpg video games. Baldur's Gate III is all about mind flayers. Can we just skip the beholders and mind flayers this time around please? Wishful thinking, I know.

It would be new and different for most of the audience. And, if done well, they would be compelling, interesting, and "cool" villains. Beside, even as someone who has been playing D&D since the 80s, I still think it would be fun to see the Underdark depicted on TV. Personally, I think that setting the show in the Underdark is a great way to give the D&D show a different feel from other fantasy TV shows and films.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

I also demand mimics in the D&D TV shows and movies. They're iconic monsters in danger of just becoming a generic RPG beasties.

I think the gooey attacks of an actual D&D mimic aren't very cinematic, though, which is why you see them pictured chomping down on adventurers, rather than clubbing them with gooey fists like in the 1E Monster Manual. If the movie/TV folks could get WotC to tweak the mimics to be a bit more cinematic, that'd be a great benefit. (Seriously -- a chest biting off an adventurer's hand is awesome. An adventurer getting stuck to an animated glue trap is a lot less so.)

Mimics might be iconic, but they aren't iconic D&D IP. They are just as iconic in the Final Fantasy games. And probably in a lot of other stuff as well.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Mimics might be iconic, but they aren't iconic D&D IP. They are just as iconic in the Final Fantasy games. And probably in a lot of other stuff as well.

This is a good opportunity for WotC to reassert themselves, then. And letting mimics not be part of their core IP was a mistake.

In any case, it's a good signpost that "this is an RPG monster," rather than something based on myth or non-D&D fantasy novels.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

This is a good opportunity for WotC to reassert themselves, then. And letting mimics not be part of their core IP was a mistake.

They maybe could try to own the rights to a specific type of Mimic monster, but even that would probably be an uphill battle.

Edit: after looking around a bit, it looks like the Mimic is WotC IP when it comes to other TTRPGs not being allowed to use it. It is just video games that seem to not have to follow that rule.

 

[Sacrosanct]

It would be new and different for most of the audience. And, if done well, they would be compelling, interesting, and "cool" villains. Beside, even as someone who has been playing D&D since the 80s, I still think it would be fun to see the Underdark depicted on TV. Personally, I think that setting the show in the Underdark is a great way to give the D&D show a different feel from other fantasy TV shows and films.

Everything you say is true. I was more speaking from my own preferences, which I admit will never happen

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Can I just say, if anyone hasn't watched the interview, they should. Kolstad here is talking about the project with some passion, and seems to want to really delve in more to character's stories and intimate moments. This could end up being a fun project!

 

[Ogre Mage]

and rpg video games. Baldur's Gate III is all about mind flayers. Can we just skip the beholders and mind flayers this time around please? Wishful thinking, I know.

If the show is really "starting small" it would be ridiculous to show a beholder in the first season. It would be like showing Daenerys' Season 8 dragons in Season 1.

But a mind flayer as the big bad lurking in the shadows could be an effective antagonist for low-level PCs. Especially given the mind flayer's mental powers, the first season could show unsettling hints as to what is really behind the problems that are occurring. If the show is a hit, we might see the mind flayer in Season 2 when they have a bigger budget, lol.