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.

 

[mamba]

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and that is enough to push it past PG-13? Not even sure that would not be possible in a PG movie (if so it would be banned for the theme, not the nudity)

 

[Parmandur]

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That's 1970s PG. So, obviously for babies, just like Patton.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

That is the true key, the best writters will want to enjoy total controll about their work. Wouldn't you do the same? But if you are producing a show for children then you don't need so good scriptwritters because the plots have to be simple.

Other idea is Hasbro to create new ID but these to be included within D&D multiverse. Maybe they release a D&D version of My Little Pony+Equestria Girls.

 

[bedir than]

The D&D movie has already been forgotten for the most part

It's the 7th most watched film on Paramount+ this year. It's also a top 50 purchase on iTunes.
Studios dream of having films that are relevant more than a year after release.

Paramount's only objection, per their triple CEOs, is that they want 100% control of licensing. That's why they consider the much less popular TMNT movie a success -- it sold about a billion in retail and Paramount controlled the licence.

 

[bloodtide]

A quick Google search says that you're mostly wrong. GoT was top. But the others you list? Not even in the top 50. In fact quite a few are, for example, the Arrowverse shows which you don't seem to think are worthy because they aren't "adult" enough.

Well, I'm sure there are at least 100 lists.

What I'm saying is Hasbro/WotC can follow the crowd...again. And make the Y7(despite whatever rating label it gets) kids fantasy show. Maybe it will be a Drizzit show. So they can have endless CGI Spam of Drizzt swinging his scimitars around and around and around...and dancing...and cool "matrix moves". And....just like the novels....Drizzt will 'tap' orcs with his scimitar and they will fall down and go to sleep, Drizzt will cut the rope holding a chandelier and it will fall on an orc and knock over an apple cart and all the orcs will trip and fall on the apples. Just like the novels!

And sure some people will like it. Some people will watch anything that says "D&D". Some people will watch any fantasy. Some people will watch anything new.

And some people will love how Drizzit and his cat do the goofy "run away" from an owlbear...just like Shaggy and Scooby-Do!

But it won't really light a fire...or get much attention. Even more so from the general folks. It will get a season or two...maybe....and then get canceled.

OR they can make a more unique show that really, really, really stands out. And a big part of that is them looking right at all the under 18 out there and saying "this show is not for you".

But to be fair...they can release and animated D&D adventures cartoon for the kids...

 

[Oofta]

Well, I'm sure there are at least 100 lists.

What I'm saying is Hasbro/WotC can follow the crowd...again. And make the Y7(despite whatever rating label it gets) kids fantasy show. Maybe it will be a Drizzit show. So they can have endless CGI Spam of Drizzt swinging his scimitars around and around and around...and dancing...and cool "matrix moves". And....just like the novels....Drizzt will 'tap' orcs with his scimitar and they will fall down and go to sleep, Drizzt will cut the rope holding a chandelier and it will fall on an orc and knock over an apple cart and all the orcs will trip and fall on the apples. Just like the novels!

And sure some people will like it. Some people will watch anything that says "D&D". Some people will watch any fantasy. Some people will watch anything new.

And some people will love how Drizzit and his cat do the goofy "run away" from an owlbear...just like Shaggy and Scooby-Do!

But it won't really light a fire...or get much attention. Even more so from the general folks. It will get a season or two...maybe....and then get canceled.

OR they can make a more unique show that really, really, really stands out. And a big part of that is them looking right at all the under 18 out there and saying "this show is not for you".

But to be fair...they can release and animated D&D adventures cartoon for the kids...

The level of gratuitous violence isn't what makes a show enjoyable or mature. There are plenty of blood-and-guts poorly made horror/slasher flicks. It's the writing, the characters, the stories that matter.

You can look for yourself (and I did miss Breaking Bad), but out of the top 50 most watched TV shows, 6 are TV-PG, 22 are TV-14 and 22 are TV-MA. Some of the TV-MA such as 13 Reasons why are rated MA because of their subject matter. Top 100 most watched tv shows of all time

Note: not sure why, but after 50 or so they start repeating which is why I only counted the top 50.

 

[MNblockhead]

And.... that's not PG 13?

Nope. You can show a town's worth of people being shot to death in a single scene with blood spraying and splattering, but showing boobies would be a step too far. Can't let the kiddos see that. Best they stick to wholesome, gratuitous violence.

 

[MNblockhead]

and that is enough to push it past PG-13? Not even sure that would not be possible in a PG movie (if so it would be banned for the theme, not the nudity)

Probably, depends on how long and how explicit. I would bet that to be on the safe side that a film studio that wanted to include a scene like this in a movie, yet keep a PG-13 rating, the woman would be partially covered in a sheet, have a bra and panties on, or some covering of breasts and genitals. Esp. genitals. Or the party walks in and briefly sees that scene and woman has her leg closest to them partial raised and is turned slightly away from them.

The only movies that come to mind that had full-frontal nudity and had a PG-13 rating are Titanic (though Dicaprio's character's sketch book blocks out genitalia IIRC. The Woman in Red shows full frontal nudity for a very brief period.

Current MPA guidelines for PG-13 ratings, for anyone interested:

(3) PG-13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13.
A PG-13 rating is a sterner warning by the Rating Board to parents to determine whether their children under age 13 should view the motion picture, as some material might not be suited for them. A PG-13 motion picture may go beyond the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, adult activities or other elements, but does not reach the restricted R category. The theme of the motion picture by itself will not result in a rating greater than PG-13, although depictions of activities related to a mature theme may result in a restricted rating for the motion picture. Any drug use will initially require at least a PG-13 rating. More than brief nudity will require at least a PG-13 rating, but such nudity in a PG-13 rated motion picture generally will not be sexually oriented. There may be depictions of violence in a PG-13 movie, but generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent violence. A motion picture's single use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context. The Rating Board nevertheless may rate such a motion picture PG-13 if, based on a special vote by a two-thirds majority, the Raters feel that most American parents would believe that a PG-13 rating is appropriate because of the context or manner in which the words are used or because the use of those words in the motion picture is inconspicuous.

Motion Picture Association, Classification and Rating Rules, Effective July 24, 2020, https://www.filmratings.com/Content/Downloads/rating_rules.pdf (last visited June 11, 2024).

 

[Jaeger]

Nope. You can show a town's worth of people being shot to death in a single scene with blood spraying and splattering, but showing boobies would be a step too far. Can't let the kiddos see that.

That is an instant R rating. And too much gets you an NC-17.

Tarantino had to switch the Kill Bill swordfight scene to b/w just to maintain the R rating.

PG13 does not like the blood stuff with people.

But in some PG13 films you can see brief nudity from the back and the side.

It's the 7th most watched film on Paramount+ this year. It's also a top 50 purchase on iTunes.
...

Still no context shown for what those numbers actually mean in terms of dollars earned.

And the only tangible results we have seen post D&D:HoT's theatre run are the following:

1: Wotc took a 20 mil write-down on the film.
2: Paramount+ canceled the D&D tv series that they had previously green-lit.

 

[bloodtide]

The level of gratuitous violence isn't what makes a show enjoyable or mature. There are plenty of blood-and-guts poorly made horror/slasher flicks. It's the writing, the characters, the stories that matter.

My other point is D&D takes place in a brutal time. So there should be more violence and really dark violence. It is not a world where PCs arrest the orc bandits and take them to town to have a trial.

Writing, characters and story do matter. But you get the huge difference between the goofy bard that never uses a weapon...never kills anything. Does crimes like Only stealing from "offical bad guys". And has some story where they want to buy a new horse. But a cynical bard that is often forced to kill and deeply regrets how easy it has become for him to just do it. Often has to do the worst of the worst crimes that often hurt innocent people. And has a story where he wants to free his wife from some horrible fate.

You can look for yourself (and I did miss Breaking Bad), but out of the top 50 most watched TV shows, 6 are TV-PG, 22 are TV-14 and 22 are TV-MA. Some of the TV-MA such as 13 Reasons why are rated MA because of their subject matter.

Again, it's not just the violence....it's everything that "everyone" would say in shock "you can't do that in a kids show!"

Nope. You can show a town's worth of people being shot to death in a single scene with blood spraying and splattering, but showing boobies would be a step too far. Can't let the kiddos see that. Best they stick to wholesome, gratuitous violence.

The rules make no sense...and are just made up.

The list of Badwrongthings is huge. They "can't be shown". Other things....are ok.