D&D 5E So What Are the Odds of a Good D&D Movie/Game

[Zardnaar]

Generally I am a natural cynic. It has some great advantages, you rarely get disappointed (expectations are low eg The Last Jedi), every now and then you get a pleasant surprise (that was better than expected eg Terminator 3, The Force Awakens).

In the great D&D cycle every now and then WoTC talks up a new D&D game, and once upon a time in Dragon Magazine a D&D movies. This generally brings out the optimists and the gamers who like juggling cinder blocks that land on their heads with gushing enthusiasm about how D&D will go all mainstream. Even 5E as well as its doing is still niche.

As a cynic I tend to think of it this way.

1. The last D&D movie that was good was never.

2. The last time D&D had a great game there was an A in the title of the RPG and a gate.

3. The last time D&D had a good game was over a decade ago.

4. The last time I played a D&D video game was last century. And there was an A in the title.

The solution is obvious for a good D&D game you need Advanced players and an A in the title or put the letters TSR on it. A good D&D movie would need to be made in New Zealand while a good TV show would need dragons, incest, political drama, a Dwarf, sexposition and boobies. or you can stick elf ears on Idris Elba or black face on a white dude throw in a scimitar and take your chances. Perhaps WoTC can flash some money around and hire great actors like Adam Sandler and Nicolas Cage they probably need some work. Wesley Snipes could play a dude hunting Strahd.

Such a franchise would be great at least until they make episode IV. Episode V would be great of course, just have The Gygax Strikes Back. Cool kids of course start with episode IV, it worked in 1977 for Georgie Boy. Don't put Teddie Bears in episode VI though bad idea. For the 7th instalment just recycle the 1st one (or IV??). Putting it all together.

The Advanced Gygax Strikes Back (TSR)
Episode IV
Dark times have fallen on the galaxy. A Dragonborn Warlord named Bongwalker flees the tyranny of.........

You need tie in toys though sold in collectable packs. Bongwalker can be a mythic rare.

Waiting for Mearls to call me any day now. My idea is not the worst D&D movie idea they produced right?

 

[Shiroiken]

I would say the odds are better for a good movie than for a good game. The problem games have is that modern crpgs use real-time, rather than turn-based combat. D&D is turn based, and making a D&D game real-time plays havoc with the core mechanics of the game (players do no react as quickly as their characters are supposed to). Non-D&D gamers, however, would generally hate turn-based games, since that's not what they're used to. Because they want to sell as much as possible, it's certainly going to be real-time, to appeal to the average crpg gamer, which will make it suck by D&D standards.

A movie COULD be good, but probably won't be. Like you, I'm a cynic, and movies based on games don't generally do justice to the game, even if they're a decent movie (which they usually aren't). If they want' to do a good movie, the best way to make it happen would be to base it on a popular stand alone novel (trilogies create too many expectations). I'm not sure which one to use, but I would guess probably a FR novel.

 

[Storyteller Hero]

As a filmmaker myself (though I'm still in resumé building phase), I can say with confidence that it's at least possible to make a great big budget DnD movie, but only if it doesn't make the mistakes of the first attempt.

For example, the director of the first film wasn't a real professional director, but rather someone who capitalized on connections to make that horrid travesty of over-acting and hammy writing.

To make a good DnD movie, whoever writes it has to approach the screenplay not as they would a DnD game translated into a fantasy film but as a fantasy film with a DnD theme, and whoever directs it has to have a true understanding (by gaining real experience) of the difference between the mediums of tabletop and screen.

The ideal writer needs to at least have written specifically for live action performance (novels don't count due to the differences in medium), and the ideal director needs to have had genuine experience and training for film and/or stage, not just editing or camera work but actual work with actors, writers, and designers in professional productions.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Slim and none? Fat and fatter? Oh, I got it! Critical miss and fumble! God, I love these topics.

 

[billd91]

As a cynic I tend to think of it this way.

1. The last D&D movie that was good was never.

2. The last time D&D had a great game there was an A in the title of the RPG and a gate.

3. The last time D&D had a good game was over a decade ago.

4. The last time I played a D&D video game was last century. And there was an A in the title.

There may be a couple of things I agree with here. There are no good official D&D movies - there are, however, movies like Fellowship of the Ring and Hawk the Slayer that scratch the D&Desque movie itch quite well.

But the last time D&D had a great game? That's now. 5e's as great a game as AD&D 1e or 2e.

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

Outlook not so good..

 

[DEFCON 1]

3,720 to 1.

 

[ccs]

On the + side, having seen the animated Dragonlance movie, it'll be REALLY hard for them to do worse.

 

[Charlaquin]

A good D&D movie is possible, but difficult. Part of the problem is a lack of definitive source material to adapt. D&D’s customizability is a strength in the RPG space, but a weakness in the film writing space. They could adapt one of the Forgotten Realms novels, but that might be a tough sell with mainstream audiences. Fantasy in general is hard to sell unless it’s attached to the name of a well-respected author. It’s also tricky because you have to walk a thin line between alienating the audience with an unfamiliar world, and boring them with a bunch of hackey exposition. But I do think it’s possible. Just very difficult, and I don’t have high hopes for them actually pulling it off.

Now, making a good D&D video game, I think would actually be quite easy. But it wouldn’t be competitive in the mainstream market, particularly the console market. An Indy D&D game on Steam could be fantastic, but niche. In order to sell well to a broader gaming audience though, it would lose a lot of what would make it a good D&D game.

 

[robus]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The upcoming D&D movie should emulate the Jumanji reboot. That thing has done amazingly well and it plays to D&Ds strengths, which is regular people taking on new personas and having fun and learning about themselves at the same time (+ a lot of meta/in jokes)

Is Jumanji a great movie? No. Is it wildly popular? Absolutely yes. This is the sweet spot for a D&D movie. Take yourself too seriously and you risk people laughing at your pretension. It's a game where people laugh a lot, so the movie needs to be light hearted. But witty dialogue takes skill.

However, I expect this movie to be dire.