Dragonlance Joe Manganelio is Writing the D&D Movie? And Is it DRAGONLANCE?

Actor Joe Manganelio (from True Blood, Magic Mike, and more) appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast this week, and reported that he is co-writing a movie script. While he doesn't namecheck D&D, his description sounds a lot like it, and he did recently meet up with WotC. "Last year with a playwright I went to Carnegie Mellon with, I actually made a draft of a film, and now we're talking to all the right parties. I had a two-day creative summit with the Wizards of the Coast...we had like a two-day summit about where the movie could go or TV series, products, synergy, the whole deal… Obviously, there's a spectacle. There's dragons breathing fire and lightning. But what makes a great superhero or fantasy movie is the human aspect. It's got to be about something. We root for those characters in Game of Thrones. Fellowship of the Ring was about friendship, this undying love for your friends. That's something everyone can identify with. When a movie is about something human and real emotionally people are going to want to see. Then you get some dragons breathing fire, and hey, I'm in." And to add fuel to the fire, he even tweets a photo of a DRAGONLANCE script! (thanks to darjr for the scoop)

The D&D movie is being directed by Rob Letterman (Goosebumps, Monsters vs. Aliens, Shark Tale), produced by Rob Lee (The Lego Movie, How To Train Your Dragon) and was/maybe still is being penned by David Leslie Johnson (Wrath of the Titans). Previous reports indicated that "This new Dungeons & Dragons will be a Guardians of the Galaxy-tone movie in a Tolkien-like universe. Because when you think of all the Hobbit movies and The Lord of the Rings, they have an earnestness to them, and to see something fun, a Raiders romp inside that world, I feel is something the audience has not seen before." and that "producers are eyeing a Vin Diesel-type for the film’s lead characters".

Of course, we also know that Vin Diesel plays D&D, as does Joe Manganiello.

So is he co-writing the D&D movie or is that something else? To add to the rumour pile, he tweeted an image of a DRAGONLANCE script (shown below). Of course, he could be playing with us. But maybe there is something in it? His name isn't that script, nor is David Leslie Johnson's. Let the speculation begin!

Manganelio at WotC in February

Manganelio tweeted this image



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[Henry]

Honestly, some of the best D&D sessions I've had were filled with Monty Python or Hitchhiker's Guide level of shenanigans, but they also had epic moments of badassery. I suppose the trick is finding the balance between those ingredients.

I have to agree. A movie that took itself totally seriously, like a fantasy version of a Tom Clancy flick, would not be D&D. D&D has been defined ever since the days of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson's groups as a mix of the dramatic, heroic, low or high fantasy, and the silly. Even Gord the Rogue had hilarious moments between Gord and Chert, just like the Mouser and Fafhrd; even Dragonlance had Tas and Flint, or the Gully Dwarves, or Fizban; Lord of the Rings had Merry and Pip.

And, God Help Me, even the first D&D movie had some good moments in it like the cut sewer escape scene or Richard o'brien as the guildmaster. Even real life has its occasional "No ****, there I was" absurdity story, so the wink and nod in a D&D movie is a required spice --just as long as you don't use too much of it (like any spice).

 

[Argyle King]

I'd prefer to see a Dragonlance Hulu series.

I think too many things would need to be cut out to fit into a movie. I wasn't thrilled with how The Hobbit turned out after all of the changes and cuts to the story.