D&D Movie/TV Chris Pine To Star In D&D Movie

The long, slow process towards a modern take on D&D movies took a large step forward with the announcement of a huge star signed to the project. Considering that filming is set to start soon a cascade of announcements should be revealed in initiative order imminently. Filming begins in Q1 2021.

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley will be directing the film which features "an ensemble cast and take a subversive approach to the game."

Chris Pine In Talks To Star In ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ For eOne And Paramount; Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley Direct

Chris Pine is negotiating a deal to star in Dungeons & Dragons, the live action film based on Hasbro’s massively popular role-playing game from Wizards of the Coast. Hasbro/eOne and Param…

deadline.com

Chris Pine has closed a deal to star in Dungeons & Dragons, the live action film based on Hasbro’s massively popular role-playing game from Wizards of the Coast. Hasbro/eOne and Paramount are jointly producing and financing, with eOne distributing in the UK and Canada, and Paramount the rest of the world.

 

[Gradine]

Elvis and Nirvana weren't 150 years ago.

They were, respectively, 70 and 30 years ago.

Congratulations, everyone here now feels older.

 

[Zardnaar]

They were, respectively, 70 and 30 years ago.

Congratulations, everyone here now feels older.

Cheers. Nirvana gets played on classic rock stations now

 

[Gradine]

Cheers. Nirvana gets played on classic rock stations now

I've heard Green Day on classic rock stations before. The causal flow of time is meaningless

 

[Zardnaar]

I've heard Green Day on classic rock stations before. The causal flow of time is meaningless

I like Nirvana but prefer Alice in Chains and Soundgarden more. Better vocalists, Nirvana ahead of pearl Jam. Out of the big 4 grunge bands.

AiC with new lead singer is also very good imho.

 

[Mercurius]

Yep, even noted allegory-hater Tolkien made commentary on real life in his work.

Most good fantasy and sci-fi does.

I'm not sure that is true - that "most good fantasy and sci-fi...made commentary on real life." Here I would differentiate between fantasy and sci-fi, which have deeper differences beyond tech and magic that are relevant.

Sci-fi is (generally) an extrapolation from our world. It is a possibility of what could be. Fantasy is a different creature, and is an impossibility - of what couldn't be (at least according to our current view of physics).

One of the disciplines of good fantasy, in my opinion, is resisting the temptation to overly insert real world stuff into the fantasy world. The key being to "let the world speak for itself." It all has to make sense within the internal logic of the world.

So if a fantasy writer inserts, say, commentary on contemporary socio-cultural issues, and it doesn't fit the fantasy milieu, it has a jarring effect and breaks immersion. This also applies to other aspects of writing: dialogue that adheres to our own world, say American slang, or figures of speech that refer to real world ideas.

I'm not saying that a writer can't incorporate some of those things, whether intentionally or not, and still write a good fantasy. But that it is a matter of degree. I just think this is an element of fantasy that is under-acknowledged, but crucial to creating fantasy worlds and stories.

I vaguely remember Tolkien "erring" in this manner more frequently in The Hobbit, which was a far less serious work than The Lord of the Rings, and a much simpler tale.

His work isn't allegory, but it does contain commentary. The two are different, and it's only allegory that he rejected.

Yes, I understand that - although, again, I think his commentary was minimal, and mostly unintentional. I would add another point of difference: between intentional commentary and influence through one's life experiences.

Tolkien, like most/all great secondary world fantasists, let the world and story speak for itself. As a general rule I don't think he incorporated ideas and dialogue unless it made sense within the context of the world and story.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

One of the disciplines of good fantasy, in my opinion, is resisting the temptation to overly insert real world stuff into the fantasy world. The key being to "let the world speak for itself." If all has to make sense within the internal logic of the world.

I disagree, and I’m going to leave it at that, for now.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Elvis and Nirvana weren't 150 years ago.

And if you want to see whether critics' judgement has stood the test of time, you have to look at critics whose judgements were made long enough ago to be tested.

Only if you assume all critics are stamped out of the same mold and haven't changed in 150 years.

Criticism has changed dramatically in the last 10 years alone.

Complaining that someone crapped on Wuthering Heights is silly.

Also, if you don't find value in criticism, don't consume it. If no one consumed professional criticism, it would vanish.

 

[Azzy]

Only if you assume all critics are stamped out of the same mold and haven't changed in 150 years.

Criticism has changed dramatically in the last 10 years alone.

Irrelevant. The more things change, the more they stay the same—critics' tastes do not define what is art, what art is worthy of merit, or what art will have a lasting impression on culture. Critics are just people with opinions who happen to get paid for sharing their opinions.

 

[Ravenbrook]

The idea that great artists, writers, musicians, etc. are totally misunderstood in their own times and invariably end up in poverty is a hackneyed trope that seems to have arisen around 1800. Examples: Mozart was actually quite successful, but he simply wasted his money. He was widely considered to be the greatest composer of his epoch even during his lifetime. Raphael was hailed as the "Prince of Painters" and hugely successful. His career was only cut short by his illness. Michelangelo was also incredibly successful despite the fact that he was very difficult to get along with. Titian died an incredibly wealthy man and was even made a count palatine by the emperor. Dickens was a hugely successful novelist. Although Wagner had some problems early in life, he also became very wealthy and had a massive impact on the development of classical music even during his lifetime. There are of course always critics who like to whine about everything, but these people are generally quickly forgotten. For example, nobody would know of the music critic Eduard Hanslick today if Wagner hadn't used him as one of the models for the character of Sixtus Beckmesser in his opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

 

[Bilharzia]

The film will be like "Game Night", in this case 'subversive' means - a jokey ironic comedy with a much higher budget than all the amateur and television jokey ironic comedies about rpgs made in the last ten years, and Chris Pine is the perfect lead for that kind of film. If they were making anything close to a more serious film it would star Paul Bettany as the tortured hero getting the band back together for one last quest.

 

[Don Durito]

The film will be like "Game Night", in this case 'subversive' means - a jokey ironic comedy with a much higher budget than all the amateur and television jokey ironic comedies about rpgs made in the last ten years, and Chris Pine is the perfect lead for that kind of film. If they were making anything close to a more serious film it would star Paul Bettany as the tortured hero getting the band back together for one last quest.

Sounds about right.

 

[Remus Lupin]

I thought this was really good news at first, but then I remembered that legit actor Jeremy Irons was in the OG D&D movie.

 

[Gradine]

I thought this was really good news at first, but then I remembered that legit actor Jeremy Irons was in the OG D&D movie.

And he knew exactly what kind of movie he was in

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The film will be like "Game Night", in this case 'subversive' means - a jokey ironic comedy with a much higher budget than all the amateur and television jokey ironic comedies about rpgs made in the last ten years, and Chris Pine is the perfect lead for that kind of film. If they were making anything close to a more serious film it would star Paul Bettany as the tortured hero getting the band back together for one last quest.

If it is, there goes any interest I'd have.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If it is, there goes any interest I'd have.

Whatever they do there will be some people who don't like it.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Whatever they do there will be some people who don't like it.

I mean, sure, but the premise I replied to seems particularly bad.

I want a D&D movie, not a parody.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Ha, no.

Bowing out, but wow, no.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If they were making anything close to a more serious film it would star Paul Bettany as the tortured hero getting the band back together for one last quest.

I would also be in for this kind of movie. Critical Role is much more self-serious than most of my D&D games, but there's definitely a time and a place for that kind of storytelling.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

The D&D movie shouldn't be "isekai", the subgenre about people from our real world who appear in a fantasy realm. The 80's cartoon was "isekai" and it was right, but now everybody can produce their own Jumanji rip-off.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I mean, sure, but the premise I replied to seems particularly bad.

I want a D&D movie, not a parody.

You can make comedy without parody (e.g. Guardians of the Galaxy) or parody without comedy (Knives Out). They are not the same thing at all.

But any reference to D&D mechanics, no matter how oblique, would kill any attempt to make a deadly serious movie. You can make a serious fantasy movie, but it would not be a D&D movie*. Conan the Barbarian is a serious fantasy movie, but Conan the Destroyer is much more D&D-like.

And the world has turned since Game of Thrones, the current entertainment climate if for light-hearted escapism, people have enough Grimdark in their real lives.



*You might make a deadly serious "isekai" movie, as @LuisCarlos17f terms it. The Bridge of Terabithia could fall into this category. That would be my pet "I would absolutely hate this" idea though.