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."

 

[Paul Farquhar]

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

The exterior shots of the crowd entering the Neverwinter arena was at Alnwick Castle (with a lot of cgi), the scene where the Thayans arrive by boat under a bridge was in the grounds. The Neverwinter Castle interiors and the scene where the illusionary Edgin fails were filmed at the Bishop’s Palace in Wells. They could all have been done in the studio or at locations near Belfast. The other castle scenes were at Carrickfergus, which is 11 miles from the Belfast studios.

 

[TiQuinn]

Strip out stuff like the Themberchaud sequence

I can’t imagine stripping out what was ultimately the best sequence in the entire movie.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Do Ravenloft better than csstlevania and it’s a win win

I would enjoy that.

So the endgame is to do one Drizzt novel and then stop? Why? If the destination it's heading toward is an untenable one without major alterations (and it is), why would they start on this path at all?

No. The end game is to not get into that stuff in the furst movie or season 1 of a show. That stuff can come home to roost as it were later, after youve shown surface drow and evil high elves and all that and established Drizzt as one character in an emsemble, which is what he started as.

They're creating a TV series with the idea that it will be one of D&D's big media franchises.

Drizzt can show up in it (although he probably needs a new hairstyle, honestly), but his novels are not going to be the basis of his series.

Could be, could have a Drizzt show. Its not hard.

Adapting the Drizzt novels to a long-form TV show would be a smart move . . . except for the challenge of portraying Drizzt's people, the evil, dark-skinned elves who were cast out by God (Corellon) and cursed with the "Curse of Ham" (Lolth), driven underground, and had their skin darkened to jet black to mark them as outcast . . . Well, WotC and Salvatore have been working hard to soften that backstory, but it's still there

A movie would be a golden opportunity to change that. Menzo can be matriarchal and evil, as long as the audience has met more than just Drizzt to counteract that impression first. The story of the drow is fine if you show other elves in the expository montage as following Llolth and also show the Drow as already looking like that when they were part of the larger elfish community.

But all of that can wait. Furst tell the story of him and his friends against a threat, and just hint at the background stuff.

 

[timbannock]

I can’t imagine stripping out what was ultimately the best sequence in the entire movie.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that sequence. But I also can't deny it was expensive as heck and wasn't the necessary means of moving the plot in the way that it did.

A different scene with Themberchaud talking with them in this film would have been fine and probably a 10th of the price. Then leaving the rolling, charging chaos of the scene we got for the sequel that could've actually happened if the film was budgeted properly. Of course, this is all just my musing, so YMMV.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Could be, could have a Drizzt show. Its not hard.

They could. They probably won't. All of the stuff that people like about the character, other than the decades of backstory, are stuff they can remix into a new character without the baggage.

 

[Dire Bare]

I would enjoy that.

No. The end game is to not get into that stuff in the furst movie or season 1 of a show. That stuff can come home to roost as it were later, after youve shown surface drow and evil high elves and all that and established Drizzt as one character in an emsemble, which is what he started as.

Could be, could have a Drizzt show. Its not hard.

A movie would be a golden opportunity to change that. Menzo can be matriarchal and evil, as long as the audience has met more than just Drizzt to counteract that impression first. The story of the drow is fine if you show other elves in the expository montage as following Llolth and also show the Drow as already looking like that when they were part of the larger elfish community.

But all of that can wait. Furst tell the story of him and his friends against a threat, and just hint at the background stuff.

IMO, you can't do that. Well, you could, but it wouldn't work out very well.

New D&D show starts up, with an African-American actor portraying the elf Drizzt. Someone in the media learns the backstory of Drizzt and the drow elves in D&D. Media funtime begins!

To remove the embedded racist elements of the drow story, WotC would have to retcon it so hard, it wouldn't be the same at all anymore. Which might satisfy folks understandably uncomfortable with it, but then you have the opposite problem, the long-time fans freak out. It's a lose-lose for WotC.

It's a minefield that would be very difficult for WotC to navigate successfully, and so it is very unlikely Drizzt or the drow will ever be a major component to a live-action or animated D&D TV show or movie.

If they did attempt it . . . I would retcon the idea that the drow were cursed with jet-black skin when they rebelled against Correllon, in fact, I would retcon the idea they rebelled as a people at all. I would retcon the drow as a people who were already dark-skinned and fled unjust persecution by the followers of Corellon. And a subset of the drow who worshipped Lolth, turned to evil in their anger and trauma, and managed to take over the city of Menzoberranzan. I would turn Lolth and the drow's fall into a tragic story, rather than a story of good driving out evil.

A lot of this has already been kinda-sorta worked into the drow story by WotC over the years, but it hasn't been fully retconned. But even if they do fully retcon the drow origin story, it's still there, like a landmine, waiting for the outrage machine to find it . . .

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I have said before I advice animation for iconic characters to avoid possible troubles with the production.

Hasbro is still learning about how adapt its franchises into videogames and cinematographic productions. Some times it works and other it doesn't.

Witchlight could be perfect for a child-friendly animation. I suggest a domain of delight with ha'ponies (centaurkins with halfling and pony traits).

 

[doctorbadwolf]

They could. They probably won't. All of the stuff that people like about the character, other than the decades of backstory, are stuff they can remix into a new character without the baggage.

Okay? When did i say anything about what they are likely to do. I spoke on the spurious claim that they cant or shouldnt.

IMO, you can't do that. Well, you could, but it wouldn't work out very well.

New D&D show starts up, with an African-American actor portraying the elf Drizzt. Someone in the media learns the backstory of Drizzt and the drow elves in D&D. Media funtime begins!

So what? The show itself will be the primary thing that drives the narrative.

To remove the embedded racist elements of the drow story, WotC would have to retcon it so hard, it wouldn't be the same at all anymore. Which might satisfy folks understandably uncomfortable with it, but then you have the opposite problem, the long-time fans freak out. It's a lose-lose for WotC.

Hardly. Even if that did play out like that, the long time fans are dozens of people. We do not matter. A fraction of that group that yell about it online? Nada. This aint star wars.

But it also doesnt have to be any more of a retcon than already exists. The drow were drow before Llolths fall, and not all Drow followed her, and there have always been Drow on the surface who arent evil. That is the current canon, and that is completely doable.

It's a minefield that would be very difficult for WotC to navigate successfully, and so it is very unlikely Drizzt or the drow will ever be a major component to a live-action or animated D&D TV show or movie.

Maybe Drizzt wont, but i guarantee that if we get more than one tv show and movie in this era, we will get a drow major character. I will put money on it.

If they did attempt it . . . I would retcon the idea that the drow were cursed with jet-black skin when they rebelled against Correllon, in fact, I would retcon the idea they rebelled as a people at all. I would retcon the drow as a people who were already dark-skinned and fled unjust persecution by the followers of Corellon. And a subset of the drow who worshipped Lolth, turned to evil in their anger and trauma, and managed to take over the city of Menzoberranzan. I would turn Lolth and the drow's fall into a tragic story, rather than a story of good driving out evil.

Not far from current canon. I wouldnt make Corellon into that much of a villain though. It is very bad optics to present him as one of the good guy deities (which he is regardless of alignment) but also say he persected the darkskinned elfs until they fled. instead, i would mix 4e Heroes of The Feywild lore with 5e lore, makig the Seldarine complex and fey-like, and Llolth lead many elves into acts that lead them to exile, and most were her preciouw drow who she was obsessed with, and the others eventually came to be called drow as well and over time intermingling made them one people with a wide range of blue to purple to black skin tones.

A lot of this has already been kinda-sorta worked into the drow story by WotC over the years, but it hasn't been fully retconned. But even if they do fully retcon the drow origin story, it's still there, like a landmine, waiting for the outrage machine to find it . . .

Doesnt matter if the outrage machine finds it. When Conan gets adapted there are no major news stories about qhat makes him problematic, people just talk about the movie and whether it holds up to other Conan media. The small crowd yelling never rate a second look. And companies just do not lose out by being progressive. Sometimes they make something more progressivw but it also juat is not that good, but it is never tanked by the loud yelling people. There just arent as majy of them as there are the combo of people who are either happy about it or who don't care.