Dungeons & Dragons Comments On Possibility of Future Movie Projects

Wizards of the Coast is "exploring" the possibility of new Dungeons & Dragons movie and TV projects. In the build up to the release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Hasbro seemed to have an ambitious D&D Cinematic Universe plan in place. Although the movie underperformed, Paramount+ still picked up a Dungeons & Dragons television show with Rawson Marshall Thurber as the pilot script writer and director of the first episode and Drew Crevello as the showrunner.

However, Hasbro's sale of eOne, its in-house entertainment studio seems to have caused those plans to come crashing to a halt. The Paramount+ TV show was announced as no longer moving forward last year and other loose plans to continue a shared D&D universe seems dead in the water.

Despite the underperformance of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the movie was spoken fondly of and often during an EN World press visit to Wizards of the Coast headquarters last week. When asked if this talk meant we'd be getting an update on a possible sequel, Jess Lanzillo, the VP of the D&D franchise at Wizards, said "Not officially, no."

However, it appears interest remains high in possible future D&D projects. "After I joined the team at the end of Q1 2024, we kind of reestablished our relationship with a lot of studios and partners," Lanzillo said. "And we're doing a lot of exploration. We basically have aligned our philosophy to we want to pair up with the best creators and let them tell the best stories that they already know how to do, because all of these people started telling stories through playing D&D. And through that, there are a series of explorations that we are very, very excited about. When we're ready to announce them, we will let you know."

Reading in between the lines, it appears that decoupling from eOne has opened up the possibility of other studios and partners jumping into a D&D live-action or animated project. We'll have to see if it will be another 12 years in between Dungeons & Dragons movies.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

After the original D&D movie, WotC posted what appeared to have been the fragments of what was to have been some tie-in book online. And it was pretty fun! Basic setting info, I think a magic item or two, etc.

I'd love to see whatever leftovers they have for DADHAT beyond what's published in the art book for the movie.

 

[AlViking]

I enjoyed the movie and thought it was really solid. The people I know who are gamers but have been curmudgeons about movies and tv shows for the last few years agreed with that. The movie just wasn't as popular as it should have been.

I hope we see more along the last movie. I've seen all of the D&D films, including the direct to video and this was the best. And I'd consider it a good movie period, not just a good D&D movie.

The movie had bad timing and a bloated budget. I think a movie with a more modest budget, but not bargain basement cheap, could be profitable.

 

[Burnside]

The movie had bad timing and a bloated budget. I think a movie with a more modest budget, but not bargain basement cheap, could be profitable.

I loved the movie, but I was really surprised that it was so long, which no doubt ballooned the budget. To me it's clear that a D&D movie should be a tight 90-95 minutes, 100 tops. 134 minutes is crazy to me, but I guess a blockbuster movie has to be that long now? 90-95 movie gets more screenings in a day, as well.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

So, you're saying there is a chance!

Yeah that's basically exactly the analogue here!

Like, sure, okay, WotC would love it if someone made some D&D stuff, but everything we knew was in development is dead, and nothing is actually, at least official happening, and there are no credible rumours of anything happening either.

But... in theory... someone could make a D&D movie or TV show...

 

[Clint_L]

So, you're saying there is a chance!

I will say that the last one was better than the others in the franchise. Still not as good as the first or even the second Conan movies, but better than the Conan remakes.

Hard disagree on the Conan movies (especially the second one, which is strictly B fodder), but those aren't D&D films, so it's neither here nor there.

D&D: Honour Among Thieves is a well made, well performed action comedy that goes for, and successfully achieves, the vibe of a pretty good MCU film. I've seen it twice, and enjoyed it both times. I think it basically suffered from lacking a really distinct brand identity. D&D is ultimately a bunch of books of game rules; it has never been driven by well known IP. There aren't millions of people who are interested in seeing what the Forgotten Realms look like on-screen, unlike, say, Middle Earth, Narnia, or even the Hyborian Age.

 

[Chaltab]

I truly think of they had not branded it DND, or world have done better. My non nerd friends who eventually saw it loved it. It was fun. But they had avoided it because they didn't want DnD, they wanted fantasy movies....

I'm not sure I follow. What would a D&D movie be if not fantasy?

 

[Zardnaar]

Translation no movie anytime soon. No sequel probably ever.

 

[mellored]

Just going to point out that Honor Among Thieves made a profit.

Cost $150 million and made $200 million.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The movie had bad timing and a bloated budget. I think a movie with a more modest budget, but not bargain basement cheap, could be profitable.

Mid-budget movies basically don't get made, anymore, thanks to a combination of streaming services and movie studios feeling like only blockbusters are worth investing in, and in part because well, they don't seem to be profitable the way they once were. You might even be right that a mid-budget D&D movie would make money, but you try pitching a mid-budget movie to a streaming service or Hollywood...

It sucks because the vast majority of truly interesting and good movies (including most long-term favourites) over the last century fit into those eras definitions of mid or low budget. Now we get 150-200m blown on absolute brain-dead and not even exciting drivel for Netflix or Prime or whatever, because they know if they just give it an obvious lowest-common-denominator-appealing premise (even if it completely fails to more than superficially engage with that premise), a couple of big stars* (even if they can't act and increasingly lack charisma, like The Rock), they'll get a bazillion views, because that's how streaming works. And Hollywood keep struggling to try and make everything (including the MCU) into the next MCU because they're incapable of perceiving any other way!

(I will say, it kind of seems like Hollywood might be trending very slight away from this, if perhaps only because so many CU attempts have failed, but frankly streaming is just get worse and dumber and lower quality despite higher budgets, c.f. Red One with a $250m budget, but which manages to look cheap and is absolutely unwatchable-without-mind-altering-chemicals drek.)

* = This is going to get worse btw. Right now the stars are generally people Hollywood has made big and often are at least charismatic and/or able to act. As Hollywood slowly dies, they're going to replaced. And with whom? Influencers. Influencers who can't act, don't have any charisma, and we'll basically just have the Generation Alpha equivalent of Mr Nanny and Suburban Commando over and over and over again until films die out entirely as a mainstream medium. I know at least one of you sick freaks (and I say that with love but people...) is looking forwards to this, salivating at the very thought of a paunchy, 50-something Mr Beast starring in the worst action movie you've ever seen.

 

[Zaukrie]

I'm not sure I follow. What would a D&D movie be if not fantasy?

Not branded DND.... People that don't play have views on DnD, that aren't always positive