D&D Movie/TV D&D Movie should follow the Deadpool model

[payn]

though that is PG 13...

Exactly, by the time the trailer ends I was saying, "thank god". Can you imagine 90+ min of that?

 

[hopeless]

No update on this?

 

[Scott Christian]

So, Deadpool provided the perfect template for a D&D movie.

There should be a deadly serious underlying plot, ideally involving a PC party oriented heist with dungeon crawling elements, but the film should be an over the top action comedy, with hyper-violence played both straight in terms of cool action scenes that make sense within the context of the world, but mixed with absurd comedic moments that unapologetically break the 4th wall.

Although the world itself should be played straight, the player characters and some of the villains should totally break the 4th wall with all sorts of in-jokes, characters arguing with an off camera (and unheard DM), scene rewinds to simulate cocked dice, or long drawn out planning montages where the PCs describe everything they are about to do before they do it, and then revise the plan while arguing with each other.

And all the characters should recite pop-culture movie references, speak frequently to off-camera players and a DM, while the NPC's are totally oblivious and played straight. Never show the off-camera players, but have the characters occasionally speak in the third person as if being played by someone else off camera.

Do fun things like have a PC die, but then the exact same actor comes in playing a different character that randomly joins the party but is now a different class or something but otherwise looks and acts the same. Joke about their contrived backstory, joke about the character having player knowledge they couldn't realistically have, etc.

Basically it should be like a real session of D&D.

But so over the top with cool action and fun humour that even non-gamers not versed in D&D tropes will have a great time and enjoy it for how ridiculous it is.

This would certainly allow them to address things like drow and orcs with a sense of humor, while not casting them aside.

 

[SirMoogle]

I think that if it's going to be played straight without a framing device (the campaign isn't being played by players), it should be an established well-known D&D setting like Eberron; it'd be harder to do something like Forgotten Realms and differentiate it from other high-fantasy films. The mechanics would have to be shown without being explicitly announced, but if it decides to go the Goblin Slayer route (with the adventuring team strategising over how many spells/miracles they have left) that might be doable.

The movie could go the game-within-a-movie route, but that usually requires that the players be involved in their own plot as well.

 

[NotAYakk]

I think the portal fantasy is a good way to go.

Hell, go buy Guardians of the Flame from Joel Rosenberg (science fiction author) - Wikipedia 's estate.

A bunch of college students get sucked into a D&D world with magic and stuff, and it suuuucks. They work to rebuild it.

 

[Mort]

I think the portal fantasy is a good way to go.

Hell, go buy Guardians of the Flame from Joel Rosenberg (science fiction author) - Wikipedia 's estate.

A bunch of college students get sucked into a D&D world with magic and stuff, and it suuuucks. They work to rebuild it.

While I get your broader point, I recently reread the first book in this series and it stands up to modern rereading almost (though not quite) as poorly as rereading Anthony's Xanth novels. I would not recommend it to anyone today. In my Opinion, of course.

As to the "portal" idea in general, Jumanji just did it (twice). So you'd have to be careful a broader audience doesn't just think of it as some kind of rip off (even if that belief is misplaced). D&D may be bigger than ever now, but most people still don't know that much about it and it looks like they're looking for a big budget movie this time around.

 

[MGibster]

With all due respect to my fellow EN Worlders who want "serious" fantasy movie, that will not work. There is a reason that virtually all fantasy movies just become B-movie cheese, even with a big budget. I mean look at Warcraft! That was a 'serious' D&D movie if ever there was one. It had the biggest MMO in the world behind it with millions of players and it was basically 'meh' and pretty much disappeared shortly after release. Frankly, this is the best a serious D&D film can achieve. Wouldn't be terrible, but would be a huge missed opportunity.

By most accounts, Warcraft was just a bad movie. Critic Christy Lemire described the orcs as, "Refugees from a Gwar concert." Being serious isn't what hurt Warcraft, being crummy hurt it. I don't expect a D&D move to be as successful as Lord of the Rings nor do I require a movie to take itself 100% seriously. The Marvel movies have done a remarkably excellent job of respecting their source material while having fun with it. And that's what I'd like to see them do with a D&D movie.

 

[NotAYakk]

While I get your broader point, I recently reread the first book in this series and it stands up to modern rereading almost (though not quite) as poorly as rereading Anthony's Xanth novels. I would not recommend it to anyone today. In my Opinion, of course.

I guess JR is a bit of a nut and it leaks through.

As to the "portal" idea in general, Jumanji just did it (twice). So you'd have to be careful a broader audience doesn't just think of it as some kind of rip off (even if that belief is misplaced). D&D may be bigger than ever now, but most people still don't know that much about it and it looks like they're looking for a big budget movie this time around.

Hmm, I had forgotten about Jumanji.

 

[hopeless]

So perhaps a mix of the Gamers meets the Lord of the Rings?
Unknown to them their game is effecting another reality and the legend of their former characters results in them (not their characters) being recruited by a resident of that other reality to help when the enemy they defeated in their perceived fantasy game returns and they're the only ones who can turn the tide?
Something that insane, could it be any good?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

By most accounts, Warcraft was just a bad movie. Critic Christy Lemire described the orcs as, "Refugees from a Gwar concert."

I have seen it.

1) They tried to hard too stick to the look of the game. Here is something that should be obvious: something designed to look exaggerated and cartoonish just looks dumb in live action.
Lesson: If you are doing live action try and look real.

2) They tried to stick to much lore from the game into the movie, and butchered it to make it fit.
Lesson: let the movie have it's own story.

3) They spent too much effort setting up a sequel.
Lesson: just focus on this movie, if it aint good there won't be a sequel.

It's not a really really bad movie. You can still get some entertainment from it. The occasional humorous bits are possibly the best bits. And sexy half orcs.