D&D Movie/TV ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Live-Action Series Not Going Forward At Paramount+, Will Be Revamped & Shopped By Hasbro

[Stormonu]

In the past, May used to be the month I'd go to the movies quite a lot. There are definitely some movies I do want to see (watched Godzilla x Kong on Vudu last night, for example), but I no longer like the cinema experience. It's just more enjoyable at home where it's less expensive, I can pause a movie if I need, watch it alone or with a small group of my choosing and most of all, the sound isn't cranked so high* I need to wear earplugs to keep my ears from getting blasted out.

* I guess it's so high so they drown out the folks talking during the movie, sheesh

 

[Grendel_Khan]

A deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars to sell eOne was likely in the works for 6 months or more. That's not the type of thing that typically happens overnight.

Great point. But the D&D movie was in the works for much longer than that, and development deals for shows also tend to move slow. Why undercut themselves just as they're positioning themselves to possibly hit the jackpot?

For comparison's sake, imagine if Marvel had sold off Marvel Studios in the months before Iron Man came out. Are there some corporate/financial shenanigans that actually make sense, or was it just a near-term stock-price freakout?

 

[Meech17]

In the past, May used to be the month I'd go to the movies quite a lot. There are definitely some movies I do want to see (watched Godzilla x Kong on Vudu last night, for example), but I no longer like the cinema experience. It's just more enjoyable at home where it's less expensive, I can pause a movie if I need, watch it alone or with a small group of my choosing and most of all, the sound isn't cranked so high* I need to wear earplugs to keep my ears from getting blasted out.

* I guess it's so high so they drown out the folks talking during the movie, sheesh

I still really love the cinema experience. I always get a giddy feeling when I sit down in those plush theater chairs with my gallon of Cherry Coke and my bag of sour gummy worms. I love feeling the rumbling bass in my chest. That moment where the lights go down and and a hush (hopefully) goes over the room.

I also really miss previews.. The one or two movies I go to a year anymore are the only place I learn about new movies coming out. I haven't had cable in years, and I feel like movie advertising has slowed down in general.. Or at least I just don't see it anymore. More often than not I only learn that a movie has come out when I see an article talking about how poor it's reviews were.. Or the in case of Furiosa all the nimrods on twitter trying to say it did poor box office numbers because cool girl character bad.

But it's just hard to justify the cost, and like you said, the potentially poor experience. It feels like no one cares about not being on their phone the whole movie anymore. I always feel bitter coming out of a movie knowing I just paid $30/head to get blinded by the jerk in front of me every two minutes, or have the screen blocked by some bozo taking a picture. The movie could have been great but if you share the room with jerks it's going to taint your experience.

 

[Wolfpack48]

Stepping back, I am thinking D&D would be better served by a mini-series than by a movie. It really is the preferred medium these days -- I mean, Fallout is basically a movie trilogy done in installments, and it serves the story so much better. The question is, what would be the best way to relay the story? I am thinking each season would be a campaign, with perhaps persistent characters each with story arcs as well as very identifiable "adventures" that have many cliffhangers along the way. I mean, imagine starting with Hommlet, then Slavers, then Giants, then the Drow, then Lolth.

I think part of the issue with all these D&D movies has been faint fan service and allusions to D&D, without actually structuring the series like, you know, actual adventures.

 

[payn]

Stepping back, I am thinking D&D would be better served by a mini-series than by a movie. It really is the preferred medium these days -- I mean, Fallout is basically a movie trilogy done in installments, and it serves the story so much better. The question is, what would be the best way to relay the story? I am thinking each season would be a campaign, with perhaps persistent characters each with story arcs as well as very identifiable "adventures" that have many cliffhangers along the way. I mean, imagine starting with Hommlet, then Slavers, then Giants, then the Drow, then Lolth.

I think part of the issue with all these D&D movies has been faint fan service and allusions to D&D, without actually structuring the series like, you know, actual adventures.

Part of the issue is D&D's identity is intentionally vague becasue the players are deciding on the characters, plot, and setting. Sure, there is some published adventures and novels, but they dont penetrate outside the fanbase (and even leave a lot of the fanbase behind.) I know settings are all the rage, but with every new published setting, D&D gets harder and harder to identify. From a game perspective, thats a good variety thing (though I question even that looking at PF) from a film/series perspective its really bad.

 

[Reynard]

I still really love the cinema experience. I always get a giddy feeling when I sit down in those plush theater chairs with my gallon of Cherry Coke and my bag of sour gummy worms. I love feeling the rumbling bass in my chest. That moment where the lights go down and and a hush (hopefully) goes over the room.

I also really miss previews.. The one or two movies I go to a year anymore are the only place I learn about new movies coming out. I haven't had cable in years, and I feel like movie advertising has slowed down in general.. Or at least I just don't see it anymore. More often than not I only learn that a movie has come out when I see an article talking about how poor it's reviews were.. Or the in case of Furiosa all the nimrods on twitter trying to say it did poor box office numbers because cool girl character bad.

But it's just hard to justify the cost, and like you said, the potentially poor experience. It feels like no one cares about not being on their phone the whole movie anymore. I always feel bitter coming out of a movie knowing I just paid $30/head to get blinded by the jerk in front of me every two minutes, or have the screen blocked by some bozo taking a picture. The movie could have been great but if you share the room with jerks it's going to taint your experience.

I don't want to alarm you, but you can watch movie trailers on the internet.

 

[payn]

I don't want to alarm you, but you can watch movie trailers on the internet.

Yeap. Though, I do love the trailers before a movie and hate being late and missing them. I have noticed some companies though have an insane amount of trailers like 20 min worth before starting the feature.

 

[Meech17]

I don't want to alarm you, but you can watch movie trailers on the internet.

Yeah, but they're no longer front and center. Now I have to remember to go check Youtube weekly or something to see if anything is coming out. It sounds silly, but honestly I probably should set a reminder to do just that.

The way it is now, I either get the desire to want to go to the movies, and check my local theater's showtimes only to discover there's nothing interesting on offer.. Or I find out that something I am interested in came out and I go to look for showtimes only to discover I've missed the window.

 

[Meech17]

Yeap. Though, I do love the trailers before a movie and hate being late and missing them. I have noticed some companies though have an insane amount of trailers like 20 min worth before starting the feature.

20 minutes of trailers would be fine.. The fact that there's now an additional 20 minutes of non-trailer ads included in the pre-show is what's really frustrating.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Sony not interested apparently.


I use this guy for Hollywood type stuff. Non chud.

I don't think Paramount Plus will survive, and I should be cancelling my subscription soon now that Star Trek: Discovery is over, and renewing it whenever Star Trek: Lower Decks comes back before cancelling again.

The one streaming service I won't cancel is Netflix because it's the most ubiquitous one.