D&D Movie/TV D&D Movie Plot Revealed

[Sunseeker]

Am I the only one that thinks a big screen feature involving a dungeon delve with the entire party and nps all having dark vision would be pretty awesome? Buy a ticket and get handed a pair oh night vision goggles.

I'm pretty sure that movie was called The Blair Witch Project.

 

[Inchoroi]

Depressingly, if they make it a "half-real world half in-world" sort of thing, a la The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, it will flop harder than anything. They'd be best to just pretend the words "Dungeons and Dragons" don't exist, and just make a good story in a fantasy setting that resembles Forgotten Realms. They're doing a similar thing with The Bright on Netflix, which is obviously just Shadowrun: The Movie, but it looks good simply because it doesn't advertise as "Shadowrun: The Movie".

 

[Imaculata]

Depressingly, if they make it a "half-real world half in-world" sort of thing, a la The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, it will flop harder than anything. They'd be best to just pretend the words "Dungeons and Dragons" don't exist, and just make a good story in a fantasy setting that resembles Forgotten Realms. They're doing a similar thing with The Bright on Netflix, which is obviously just Shadowrun: The Movie, but it looks good simply because it doesn't advertise as "Shadowrun: The Movie".

Then what's the point of making a D&D movie? You might as well just make a fantasy movie at that point and leave D&D out of it completely.

 

[MechaPilot]

Then what's the point of making a D&D movie? You might as well just make a fantasy movie at that point and leave D&D out of it completely.

Honestly, apart from the Forgotten Realms bit, I agree with Inchoroi.

The D&D movies have been just awful. If they plan to make an actual fantasy action-adventure film, then they should make the whole movie without reference to it being a game, and then at most throw in an after-credits bit with the gamers around the table.

The only movies I've ever seen that did a good job of cutting between a fantasy story and the in-film "real life" people involved in telling it are The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story. Frankly, I'm just not convinced the people they have working on it are capable of doing it as well or better as either of those films did.

 

[guachi]

The point of making a D&D movie is so that Hasbro has a property it already owns that it can turn into a movie.

Personally, I think what they did with Jumanji or the D&D cartoon could work. The players, themselves, know enough about the game that they can provide knowledge about what they are facing to the audience (but maybe do it via the one character who's never played before)

Otherwise, yes, it's just a generic fantasy movie.

 

[schnee]

That's always been the issue IMO.

A fantasy world game setting accessible enough to attract a lot of gamers is really generic. D&D is derivative of LOTR, Conan, and all the other stuff that people are bought into.

The best fantasy movies with original settings are weird. Labrynth, Pan's Labrynth, Princess Bride, Neverending Story, Time Bandits.

The ones with 'generic' fantasy, like Ladyhawke, Dragonslayer, Legend, etc. have aged really poorly. They're not memorable. they're being left behind.

A 'real' D&D movie is a very odd beast. Other than Stranger Things, I'm not sure how it would ever translate.

Like I posted before, I feel like an early Peter Jackson or Gilliam-flavored absurd gory murderhobo comedy would do it justice, but it couldn't get made.

 

[Imaculata]

Like I posted before, I feel like an early Peter Jackson or Gilliam-flavored absurd gory murderhobo comedy would do it justice, but it couldn't get made.

Wasn't the previous failed attempt at a D&D movie already an absurd comedy?

 

[robus]

Wasn't the previous failed attempt at a D&D movie already an absurd comedy?

Yeah but that's implementation not concept. A D&D movie without its tongue firmly in its cheek is going to look ridiculously self-important IMHO.

Unless of course they show how the game is actually a vehicle for personal expression, then they can be sincere.

But to pretend that D&D is great literature brought to the screen...? Battleship all over again

 

[LordEntrails]

I thought we already knew the movie was going to be set in the Forgotten Realms and most likely Undermountain...

...If they plan to make an actual fantasy action-adventure film, then they should make the whole movie without reference to it being a game, and then at most throw in an after-credits bit with the gamers around the table....

Agreed. Just give me an awesome fantasy action adventure movie set in a D&D setting. No need to try and be creative with some sort of juxtaposition with Players and DM.

 

[LordEntrails]

Wasn't the previous failed attempt at a D&D movie already an absurd comedy?

Yes it was. And it grossed $33.7 million. What was the market for hobby gaming last year... $45mil?

 

[MechaPilot]

Yes it was. And it grossed $33.7 million. What was the market for hobby gaming last year... $45mil?

Is that gross receipts or gross income? If it's gross receipts, it doesn't really mean much. You'd want to compare the percentage of net profit per dollar of proceeds of the two. Also, when considering a D&D movie from WotC's perspective, you'll want to look at how much WotC got from the licensing agreement (which likely includes a percentage of receipts after a certain amount), and not what the film's gross receipts were.

 

[LordEntrails]

Is that gross receipts or gross income? If it's gross receipts, it doesn't really mean much. You'd want to compare the percentage of net profit per dollar of proceeds of the two. Also, when considering a D&D movie from WotC's perspective, you'll want to look at how much WotC got from the licensing agreement (which likely includes a percentage of receipts after a certain amount), and not what the film's gross receipts were.

I don't know how it's defined. And business generally don't publish their profits.

I only pointed it out to get a relative idea of what we are talking about. i.e. Even if the movie is not wildly successful, it is still likely that it could be the major source of profit for D&D in the year it is released (2018?).

 

[MechaPilot]

I don't know how it's defined. And business generally don't publish their profits.

I only pointed it out to get a relative idea of what we are talking about. i.e. Even if the movie is not wildly successful, it is still likely that it could be the major source of profit for D&D in the year it is released (2018?).

Sure, it has the potential to be a big money maker.

Now, how much of that money WotC/Hasbro will see will depend heavily on the licensing contract with the studio making the film. I just wanted to make sure people weren't mistaking the gross receipts of a D&D film as being the same as gross receipts from selling RPG products. The former will be heavily whittled down by not just the costs of producing and distributing a major motion picture, but also whatever profit margin the production company has negotiated in the license.

TL;DR: $50 Mill in film receipts and $50 Mill in D&D book sales do not result in the same amount of money flowing to WotC/Hasbro. Which, I'm sure you probably already knew. But, I felt it was a good reminder to put out there.

 

[Henry]

The best fantasy movies with original settings are weird. Labrynth, Pan's Labrynth, Princess Bride, Neverending Story, Time Bandits.

Funny enough, Princess Bride was one of the best D&D-ish movies out there: it had monsters (ROUS), a Giant, swordsmen, a hero who leveled up, quests, daring swordfights, memorable funny quotes, and even a PC resurrection! They WISH they could do as well as Princess Bride.