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."

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Other option could be the cinematographic producer starting from zero with its own setting, for example Izmir empire (2000 movie).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Other option could be the cinematographic producer starting from zero with its own setting, for example Izmir empire (2000 movie).

Because that worked out really well.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Because that worked out really well.

To be fair, that worked out badly because of the people involved, not because it could not be done.

 

[bedir than]

The reason HAT is considered a failure was it cost too much too make. (Which should serve as a warning with regards to any attempt at live action fantasy).

A reminder, more than 30% of that cost was due to filming in four different countries during peak covid-restrictions.
The exact same film now, even with inflation, is much cheaper

 

[Paul Farquhar]

A reminder, more than 30% of that cost was due to filming in four different countries during peak covid-restrictions.
The exact same film now, even with inflation, is much cheaper

It didn’t need to be filmed in four different countries though. They could have made the exact same film all within 40 miles of Belfast. The English locations where completely wasted.

 

[timbannock]

Yeah, all of that. The D&D movie was a victim of timing and over-budgeting. Strip out stuff like the Themberchaud sequence and you still get a dragon in the story in a much less expensive way (the one strafing the battlefield in the flashback). Strip out the many non-critical CGI inserts and you miss a single joke about the party being made up of morons. (I really liked that joke, though, so I'd say that one's worth keeping. But the blink-and-you-miss-it baby rust monsters? Probably not necessary.)

As Godzilla Minus One shows us, you can create a movie like D&D on about a 10th of the budget and it can still be awesome. So...there's an avenue, at least. I don't necessarily know that they'll take it, but it's sitting right there.

 

[bedir than]

It didn’t need to be filmed in four different countries though. They could have made the exact same film all within 40 miles of Belfast. The English locations where completely wasted.

To complete this the other locations were Iceland (a running scene and a shot of an active volcano) and some sets in the US. Most on-set work was in England though.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

To complete this the other locations were Iceland (a running scene and a shot of an active volcano) and some sets in the US. Most on-set work was in England though.

Are you sure you don’t mean Ireland? So far as I’m aware there was no studio work in England, it was all in the Belfast studios.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

To be fair, that worked out badly because of the people involved, not because it could not be done.

IIRC it was something like TSR had script approval but they had already sold the franchise to WotC so there was something about them picking a deliberately bad script to sabotage the movie.

 

[bedir than]

Are you sure you don’t mean Ireland? So far as I’m aware there was no studio work in England, it was all in the Belfast studios.

Ah, yes. You are correct! Studio was almost entirely Belfast area.
Neverwinter exterior and interior were two castles in England.