D&D Movie/TV New D&D Movie: July 23rd 2021

It's official - the new Dungeons & Dragons movie is coming, and it's coming in four years - July 23rd, 2021, as announced by Paramount.

We already know that the movie will be produced by the Lego Movie's Roy Lee, that it will be directed by Rob Letterman (Goosebumps, Monsters vs. Aliens, Shark Tale). Originally scripted by David Leslie Johnson (Wrath of the Titans), it's now being written by Joe Manganelio, might be Dragonlance and then again might feature the Yawning Portal, and will adopt a Guardians of the Galaxy tone. Oh, and that we should take everything I just said with a pinch of salt as the movie appears have jumped from WB to Paramount at some point in the process!

 

[MechaTarrasque]

I figure it will be an ensemble movie that at most will only loosely be based on any given book/adventure (and won't be four hours long), so the "lead" is probably only looking at ten percent more screen time than any other party member.

 

[LordEntrails]

Sorry, but most of us are very tired of racism, sexism, homophobia etc etc. And as such, those attitudes are not welcome here. It's not politically correct, it's being a decent person.

Not what I was commenting on. But as Morrus has made clear, it's not a topic to be discussed here.

 

[LordEntrails]

So name a starting adventure you'd like them to turn into a d&d movie?

None. I would like a new story. Not one we have seen once, twice or four times before.

 

[Kaodi]

I do not know that it has to be a completely new story but it might help if it came in the category of "lesser known" . If you were to look at the entire print run of Dungeon Magazine surely to God there must be at least one adventure in there that would make a solid bare bones inspiration for a D&D movie.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That’s a decent idea. The only flaw is that there may be some copyright issues. Depending on the story and how TSR or WotC drafted their submission policies, you might have to track down somebody for royalties.

But that’s a relatively minor hassle.

 

[ArchfiendBobbie]

That’s a decent idea. The only flaw is that there may be some copyright issues. Depending on the story and how TSR or WotC drafted their submission policies, you might have to track down somebody for royalties.

But that’s a relatively minor hassle.

If all else fails, they could just run a contest where people submit entries and the best one becomes a movie. Note the submissions do not entitle one to royalties, but instead they get a prominent position in the movie's credits.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I don’t know that I’d enter that contest.

I’ve entered contests wher I submitted character designs, but for something intended to become the core storyline of a motion picture? Nah. I’d need some kind of $$$$ as part of the prize. And any royalties to be paid out of the gross receipts, not net.

 

[GreyLord]

So name a starting adventure you'd like them to turn into a d&d movie?

How about Tomb of Annihilation? It has relatively old elements in the adventure with new elements tossed in.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

There’s a common belief that if a job doesn’t require specialist tools (like carpentry), anybody can do it. Therefore anybody can write a novel, anybody can write a a script, anybody can design an RPG, etc. That’s why those jobs are not valued.

Returning to this for just a moment...

I was just wanting a documentary about the history of Sci-fi, and Arthur C. Clark said it took him and Stanley Kubrick 2 years to adapt Clark’s “The Sentinel” into the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Clearly, either they were utter hacks who wasted a lot of time, or screenwriting takes time, even for experienced writers.

 

[pemerton]

So name a starting adventure you'd like them to turn into a d&d movie?

I think the first X-Men movie did a good job of evoking/echoing core X-Men ideas, but in a coherent package more tightly written than even the best of Claremont's run.

A D&D movie might want to do the same: take core ideas and tropes - the party meeting in a safe place, like a keep or a tavern, but having to go to a dangerous place to stop the forces of chaos, etc - but render them as a tighter, more coherent package.