D&D Movie/TV Paramount+ Will Not Proceed with Dungeons & Dragons Live-Action TV Show

Deadline reports that the live-action Dungeons & Dragons television series will not continue at Paramount+. The show was originally announced in January 2023 as Paramount+ placed an eight episode straight-to-series order. Normally that’s the best you can hope for in terms of a guarantee of the show happening as the show would produce the entire first season instead of needing to make a pilot to be approved.

Two big corporate changes happened since then, however. First, Hasbro sold the show’s co-producer Entertainment One to Lionsgate in December 2023 and shifted the production to Hasbro Entertainment. Currently, Paramount is searching for a buyer for the company with the current front runner according to reports being Sony Pictures, who have partnered with private equity firms to place a rumored $26 billion offer for the studio.

Little was announced about the plot other than it would be character-focused and involve the Underdark. These tidbits plus the fact that the character of Xenk from the 2023 film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was originally intended to be Drizzt Do'Urden but changed during pre-production led to speculation that the series would be an adaptation of the Drizzt novels, particularly the origin story novel Homeland.

Creator Rawson Marshall Thurber (Red Notice, Easy A, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) and showrunner Drew Crevello (The Grudge 2, WeCrashed) are still attached to the project. Hasbro will repackage and update the pitch for the show and stop it around to other distributors.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah, what this all tells me is that Paramount picked both the right and wrong time. The season was primed for a theatrical movie come back, but DADHAT just got dwarfed.

This is why movie studios move movie dates. Them releasing up against Mario (effectively) was something they could and should have avoided.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What I never understood was movie prices in Los Angeles were super high? I can literally see where the movie was made from the top of the parking lot? Shouldnt they be cheaper than Connecticut?

Real estate prices are high. Salaries are high. And most movie theaters in the Los Angeles area have been refurbished and have nicer amenities than the average theater elsewhere. (I've had one sticky shoes situation since moving to Southern California, which was the norm for me even in fancy Fairfax County in Virginia.)

 

[Zardnaar]

What I never understood was movie prices in Los Angeles were super high? I can literally see where the movie was made from the top of the parking lot? Shouldnt they be cheaper than Connecticut?

When I am in Idaho pottatoes don't cost more.

Rent and staffing costs I'm guessing.

I live in the "poor" part of NZ.
Slumming it up.

Movies fairly cheap here. Similar in price to 20 years ago. Parking easy except maybe weekend/Friday night (5 minute walk vs 2).

 

[Abstruse]

The D&D movie wasn't an attempt at creating a shared universe (at least not the same way as the DCEU or Dark Universe). Dungeons & Dragons, because of the nature of D&D, had to be an ensemble movie. It's about adventuring parties. The problem with a lot of those movies is they're all set-up for sequels and spin-offs with little closure within themselves. D&D:HAT didn't include the Red Wizards to set up a film about Thay coming later. They just had a Red Wizard as a villain. All the references were easter eggs, not promises of future stories.

The big issue with the D&D movie was the timing of the release date during a packed release schedule when audiences still weren't quite comfortable returning to theaters following the pandemic lockdowns and were used to streaming. And they have been streaming the film. If I had to guess, it's because Paramount+ is the Star Trek streaming service and there's a lot of crossover between Star Trek fans and the sort of people who'd be into D&D.

As far as the budget for a live action D&D show...based on the rumors and what little info was released, it looks like they were covered with a lot of that. Setting it in the Underdark means much less spending on location shooting because it's shot on a set. That speeds up production by doing it all on a soundstage.

However, the problems with a fantasy production are still there. There's no off-the-shelf costuming (unless you re-use for another production) because nobody's selling screen-appropriate outfits and armor at cheaper prices than the costume department can make internally. All the weapons and other props have to be custom made as well. Practical make-up and other effects are also expensive, often more than CGI is (especially with the way studios use so much cheap, rushed CGI).

My guess on what happened: Hasbro sold Entertainment One which puts them in a bad place for producing anything internally like they seem to have planned. Meanwhile, Paramount's been a mess the last year or so. They cancelled two very popular and successful Star Trek shows (Prodigy and Lower Decks) while another is closing out (Discovery) and that franchise is the cash cow for Paramount. The impending sale of the company also puts a damper on starting any big projects because it's investing a lot of money in something risky, which isn't an incentive for another company to buy them. It'd also be put at risk of being first on the chopping block when the new buyer takes over.

 

[Hussar]

Uh, what? Average price in 2023 was 1,424 Japanese yen. That's $9. Price at one chain was 1,900 yen. That's $12.

I'd love to find a theater that costs 1400 yen for a regular feature. Where are you getting that?

The only time you get those prices are matinees or special nights.

Also, note, 1900 yen is 12 bucks now, but, that's because the yen is absolutely in the toilet. That 1900 yen price hasn't changed in like 20 years.

But, sure, you thirty second google search trumps me living here for twenty years.

But, here's the price information for the local theater: ((You might need to translate from Japanese - but that top line reades General 18-59 years old - 2000 yen))

T・ジョイ リバーウォーク 北九州

tjoy.jp

 

[AstroCat]

Thank goodness, dodged a bullet there.

 

[Mistwell]

I'd love to find a theater that costs 1400 yen for a regular feature. Where are you getting that?

LINK

 

[MNblockhead]

Different studio/streamers have different release methods and writing styles. HBO does a traditional weekly release on schedule. Netflix drops all at once (usually). Each series is written for its release style. Binge or schedule.

The Prime template is in-between. It usually starts with a three episode arc that sets up the entire season. Then, followed by weekly releases leading to a final episode.

The issue I have with the Prime template is the initial hook 3 episodes are by far the best material. I mean, its job is to hook folks and they do that well enough, My big issue comes next with 4 episodes of wheel spinning go nowhere boring keep ya coming material. Finally, a final episode that has to cover a ton of material in a very short run time and set up the next season. I find it to be the most consistently disappointing approach of any producer currently. YMMV.

Gotcha. Vox Machina certainly took that approach. But I would say in terms of the best content for Vox Machina it is the reverse. So many people are turned off by the first three episodes where they go heavy into to crass humor to make it REALLY OBVIOUS THAT THIS IS NOT A CARTOON FOR KIDS. I think it probably turned off many people who would have enjoyed the excellent storytelling and some great animation that the rest of the series offers. I suppose there may be those who were disappointed when the show got more serious and felt tricked that it isn't all gore, sex and toilet humor.

 

[MNblockhead]

What I never understood was movie prices in Los Angeles were super high? I can literally see where the movie was made from the top of the parking lot? Shouldnt they be cheaper than Connecticut?

When I am in Idaho pottatoes don't cost more.

Big city. High taxes, high rent. High building costs. Etc.

 

[payn]

Gotcha. Vox Machina certainly took that approach. But I would say in terms of the best content for Vox Machina it is the reverse. So many people are turned off by the first three episodes where they go heavy into to crass humor to make it REALLY OBVIOUS THAT THIS IS NOT A CARTOON FOR KIDS. I think it probably turned off many people who would have enjoyed the excellent storytelling and some great animation that the rest of the series offers. I suppose there may be those who were disappointed when the show got more serious and felt tricked that it isn't all gore, sex and toilet humor.

That’s interesting because I’m one of those that bailed two episodes in. Is Vox released the same way?