WotC ICv2 Has A Theory That WotC Will Be Sold

[Burnside]

A D&D movie has to include people in the real world playing D&D interspersed with “in-game” sequences, and derive its humor and pathos from the interplay between the players in the real world and the stuff that happens in-game a la She Fights Monsters. That is the only way to differentiate it from every other fantasy movie.

Otherwise, it’s just another fantasy movie, and inevitably worse than Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.

 

[Oofta]

A D&D movie has to include people in the real world playing D&D interspersed with “in-game” sequences, and derive its humor and pathos from the interplay between the players in the real world and the stuff that happens in-game a la She Fights Monsters. That is the only way to differentiate it from every other fantasy movie.

Otherwise, it’s just another fantasy movie, and inevitably worse than Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.

I will never understand the hatred for a yet-to-be-filmed much less released film. It could be good, it could be bad, we have no way of knowing. Stating that it will "inevitably" be good, bad, or really anything seems a bit hyperbolic.

 

[ph0rk]

You don't see WH40K films because they'd be terribly politically incorrect. And, unlike Judge Dredd, the incorrectness is not satire.

And you could say the same for Forgotten Realms and the majority of other settings; the newer settings are all too new to support a major film or TV franchise.

 

[Charlaquin]

I will never understand the hatred for a yet-to-be-filmed much less released film. It could be good, it could be bad, we have no way of knowing. Stating that it will "inevitably" be good, bad, or really anything seems a bit hyperbolic.

Saying it will “inevitably” be anything is definitely hyperbolic, but I do agree with the underlying sentiment that a D&D movie would have an uphill battle selling itself as something other than just another fantasy movie.

 

[humble minion]

You don't see WH40K films because they'd be terribly politically incorrect. And, unlike Judge Dredd, the incorrectness is not satire.

There’s quite a crowded slate of upcoming WH40K animations, from what GW has been saying on their official channels. I dont think theyll get to the feature film stage at any time soon, or even ever, because the sheer volume of WH40K background etc that would need to be explained for a mass audience to comprehend a feature film would make the whole thing a very awkward infodump, but they can (and are) certainly creating more niche content for existing fans of the setting.

As for d&d, from the outside it looks to me like hasbro long ago decided to take a fairly risk-averse, conservative, even low-budget approach to managing and promoting the property, rather than the sort of aggressive marketing that has a bigger chance of going wrong. You can even see this in the release slate of books - there’s a very low volume of material coming out, which means wotc is paying for relatively little art, paying relatively few freelancers, is not having to manage storage and distribution for 100 different products, is not bringing out anything risky and revolutionary which might upset the applecart. I think wotc are aware that these days some of their best marketing is done by other people. Critical Role, and Stranger Things (I had a young relative express interest in the game to me because of ST). Making a D&D film or tv series would be an uncharacteristic risk for wotc. The upside is big, but so is the potential downside. If they make it in- house they’re spending a vast amount of money on something way outside their zone of core competencies, if they licence out they’re giving the official stamp to something they have no control over, and if it turns out to be a stinker like the last D&D movie then they’ve gone backwards.

I’m sure they’ll keep their eyes open for any irresistible opportunities, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see wotc take the safe option and just let d&d keep going as it has. It makes enormous amounts of money on relatively small inputs as it is. There’s something to be said, from a management point of view, to just leaving the goose that lays the golden eggs alone.

 

[Burnside]

The biggest question that I have (that the article also brings up) is who would/could buy it??

This is all pure speculation, but the article brings up only two possibilities: a smaller gaming company (the author correctly points out that none of them could afford it) or a third party private equity firm.

IMO, the author misses what I would think would be the most obvious answer, which is a major video game company that wants to control MtG and D&D licensing and/or produce video games using those franchises.

 

[Burnside]

I will never understand the hatred for a yet-to-be-filmed much less released film. It could be good, it could be bad, we have no way of knowing. Stating that it will "inevitably" be good, bad, or really anything seems a bit hyperbolic.

Yes, I was being hyperbolic. Like you were when using "hatred" to characterize my post.

I won't HATE the generic fantasy D&D movie. I just probably won't watch it. And I feel pretty confident in saying it will be closer in quality to The Witcher on Netflix (fun and stupid) than Fellowship of the Ring (amazing) only because, well, most things are.

 

[Oofta]

Saying it will “inevitably” be anything is definitely hyperbolic, but I do agree with the underlying sentiment that a D&D movie would have an uphill battle selling itself as something other than just another fantasy movie.

I think you could make a good D&D movie, but as others have stated it's a game system that works best because it's so easy to adapt. Your D&D may not have all that much resemblance to mine. I think a D&D movie that emphasized the differences between D&D and LOTR for example could be interesting. More monsters, powerful magic wielded by the protagonists, divine magic is actually powerful and so on. Good movies have been made on sparser foundations. Of course horrendously bad movies have been made with more as well.

I still think it would work better as an animated TV series myself. Show a group leveling up over the series going from neophytes to powers to be contended with. We'll have to see how well Vox Machina works out. If a D&D movie never gets released I'm okay with that as well, I'll just continue telling stories with my gaming group.

But making blanket statements that any movie will be inherently bad? I mean, who would have predicted back a dozen years or so ago that Robert Downey in a movie about a B-list Marvel character would be so popular?

 

[Oofta]

Yes, I was being hyperbolic. Like you were when using "hatred" to characterize my post.

I won't HATE the generic fantasy D&D movie. I just probably won't watch it. And I feel pretty confident in saying it will be closer in quality to The Witcher on Netflix (fun and stupid) than Fellowship of the Ring (amazing) only because, well, most things are.

Okay, replace "hatred" with assertions that failure is guaranteed. I think several movie series have shown that a decent story can be told about a team working together each with their own specialty to achieve a goal can work. Other movie series have shown that there's a desire for escapism and the fantastic (whether or not set in a fantasy world).

By no means am I saying a D&D movie will be good. Just that we have no clue, I think a good movie could be made.

 

[Charlaquin]

I think you could make a good D&D movie, but as others have stated it's a game system that works best because it's so easy to adapt. Your D&D may not have all that much resemblance to mine. I think a D&D movie that emphasized the differences between D&D and LOTR for example could be interesting. More monsters, powerful magic wielded by the protagonists, divine magic is actually powerful and so on. Good movies have been made on sparser foundations. Of course horrendously bad movies have been made with more as well.

I still think it would work better as an animated TV series myself. Show a group leveling up over the series going from neophytes to powers to be contended with. We'll have to see how well Vox Machina works out. If a D&D movie never gets released I'm okay with that as well, I'll just continue telling stories with my gaming group.

But making blanket statements that any movie will be inherently bad? I mean, who would have predicted back a dozen years or so ago that Robert Downey in a movie about a B-list Marvel character would be so popular?

I basically agree. Like I said, “it will inevitably be (whatever)” is hyperbole. But it will have an uphill battle to sell itself as something other than a generic fantasy movie. That goes for basically any fantasy property. Game of Thrones had an uphill battle to sell itself as something other than a generic fantasy series. It pulled it off by advertising itself as “not your grandma’s fantasy series” what with all the sex and violence. A D&D movie or series will likewise have to find the gimmick that’s going to make it stand out among the rest of the genre in order to succeed.