Shawn Levy Provides Update on Netflix D&D Show

Shawn Levy has provided a brief update on the Forgotten Realms series in development at Netflix. Speaking to Collider ahead of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, Levy was asked about the progress of the new Dungeons & Dragons series that he's producing for Netflix. "I think that the reason it's taken so long and the reason why it is a challenging process is you're not adapting story IP," Levy told Collider. "You're adapting a world and a lexicon and a spirit, but story needs to be invented largely from scratch. And it needs to be invented in a way that feels organic to everything that's great about DnD. So that one is in very active every day chipping-away-at-it development at Netflix."

Announced earlier this year, Netflix is developing a live-action television series titled the Forgotten Realms. No further details were provided about the nature of the series, but Levy's comments suggest that they're developing an original storyline as opposed to adapting a novel or adventure story into TV. Levy is serving as the producer of the series, with Drew Crevello serving as the writer/showrunner.

Collider also asked if the Forgotten Realms series would move forward, Levy replied "I really hope so. I really really hope so."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

haven’t watched them. I was more thinking along the lines of Pixar animation for something to watch

I don't know how the math works out, but while animation isn't free or cheap, it feels like it's a lot cheaper and easier to have some of the BIG stuff happening in the Legend of Vox Machina than it would be to even half-heartedly attempt it in live action, if that's the direction Levy's D&D show goes. (I personally would prefer something pretty grounded, but who knows what he has planned.)

I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone, but I have found Vox Machina and Invincible, which has similar animation, work out well in practice. (The amount of money they save on fake blood in Invincible alone is probably saving the production a fortune.)

 

[mamba]

I don't know how the math works out, but while animation isn't free or cheap, it feels like it's a lot cheaper and easier to have some of the BIG stuff happening in the Legend of Vox Machina than it would be to even half-heartedly attempt it in live action, if that's the direction Levy's D&D show goes. (I personally would prefer something pretty grounded, but who knows what he has planned.)

I agree, it would be cheaper, esp. if you want to go high fantasy. It’s just that I would prefer live action

I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone, but I have found Vox Machina and Invincible, which has similar animation, work out well in practice.

maybe I will give them a shot, so far I just never was interested, and it being animated definitely plays a role in that… Need something new while I am on the treadmill anyway

i did see the animated Rohirrim movie, or at least the first half hour of it, then we looked for something else.

 

[timbannock]

Given the apparent takeaways from Honor Among Thieves, I suspect they would do well to be pretty grounded, as well, if they are going with live action. But in the current market of "MOAR EPIC!!!" I bet that would create an ever more difficult hurdle in that they have to come up with a hook that really sells the show, because the look and feel is gonna be awfully close to a lot of other stuff that's out now, some of which is on shaky ground.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Given the apparent takeaways from Honor Among Thieves, I suspect they would do well to be pretty grounded, as well, if they are going with live action. But in the current market of "MOAR EPIC!!!" I bet that would create an ever more difficult hurdle in that they have to come up with a hook that really sells the show, because the look and feel is gonna be awfully close to a lot of other stuff that's out now, some of which is on shaky ground.

Yeah, it's going to be hard to outdo A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in terms of grounded fantasy.

 

[M_Natas]

I think this is somewhat ironic in that much of major criticism of recently adapted major fantasy IP (Witcher, Rings of Power, The Wheel of Time, etc.) has been that writers rooms are full of people who want to write and produce their own stories and consequently run roughshod over the IP source material, producing very mixed results at best.

Now I don't want to start an argument about the quality (or lack thereof) of recent adaptations, but this may show that starting with a blank slate, so to speak, is not as easy or desirable as some believe.

The Problem is more, that you have to balance the game feel with the story. Like right now I'm reading the Fallbacks - and it is ... not good. It is too much "Look! DnD! But ad a Story!" Which is strange because the same author wrote Road to Neverwinter, which did the same thing 10 times better.
Road to Neverwinter works as a Story sat in the forgotten realms, while The Fallbacks feels way too much like a GM wrote down their table game as abook. And not a very good one.
So even an Author who got it right the first time, can fail to do it twice, to make a good DND story.
I think that could be a reason why they are stuck.
Like, they try to make it more "D&D", but by making so, destroying the quality of the story they are writing and they can't find the right balance.
They needed four tries to make a good D&D movie. And even than that flopped. So I think the, are quite anxious to get this one right.

 

[Parmandur]

I agree, it would be cheaper, esp. if you want to go high fantasy. It’s just that I would prefer live action


maybe I will give them a shot, so far I just never was interested, and it being animated definitely plays a role in that… Need something new while I am on the treadmill anyway

i did see the animated Rohirrim movie, or at least the first half hour of it, then we looked for something else.

There is som really excellent D&D-ish animated Fantasy out right now: Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren are extremely good, and also very low budget.