D&D Movie/TV Spider-Man: Homecoming Writers Talk D&D Movie

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley talked to Hollywood Reporter about the D&D movie, it's comedic themes, and how the directors are working directly with WotC.

They directed Game Night, and wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming. They mentioned that they had been supposed to fly here to the UK to scout locations in March, but the pandemic interrupted that.

They also mentioned comedic elements and characters in the movie, which currently has a projected release date of May 27th, 2022. No actors are yet cast.

It's not an out and out comedy, but it is an action-fantasy movie with a lot of comedic elements and characters we hope people will really get into and enjoy watching their adventures.

Daley plays a weekly D&D game, so he is familiar with the genre. But the pair are working directly with WotC.

We haven't been accosted by players yet, but we are working with the Wizards of the Coast, the brand holders of D&D. They are the experts. We have people there that we work with and it's pretty helpful, because as much as we know about D&D, it's a drop in the bucket compared to the 45 years of lore that's out there, so these guys are such a resource. If we need a particular spell that a [high]-level wizard could do, they could give us a list. It's a lot of fun.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Maybe a touch of Princess Bride?

The Princess Bride is a bit of a tiger trap. It deconstructs a lot of the fantasy tropes that D&D uses, and the chances are a greater proportion of the audience (and certainly critics) will have seen Princess Bride than have played D&D.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Blackadder is one of the sitcom classics. If any D&D entertainment product were to be that well crafted and written I'd be delighted.

Blackadder is an excellent example of what was being talked about upthread, where delivery can elevate the script. The jokes are not bad, to be sure, but on paper they're pretty blunt instruments compared to some other classic comedies famed for their writing. Get the greatest British comedians of their generation in the same room reading them, however, and you've got solid gold.

But yes, if the D&D movie had writing and cast comparable to Blackadder, that would be a very good thing.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Tony Robinson as a really irritating dwarf...

 

[Fenris-77]

The Princess Bride is a bit of a tiger trap. It deconstructs a lot of the fantasy tropes that D&D uses, and the chances are a greater proportion of the audience (and certainly critics) will have seen Princess Bride than have played D&D.

I should have been clear, I wasn't suggesting the movie reference the Princess Bride in any way. Only that its a good example of a fantasy movie with snappy, funny dialogue that still manages to colour inside the lines, if you know what I mean. It deconstructs those fantasy tropes without sliding too far down the slippery slope of textual self awareness.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I should have been clear, I wasn't suggesting the movie reference the Princess Bride in any way. Only that its a good example of a fantasy movie with snappy, funny dialogue that still manages to colour inside the lines, if you know what I mean. It deconstructs those fantasy tropes without sliding too far down the slippery slope of textual self awareness.

I don't think you could get more textually self aware than the Princess Bride. The whole thing is a meta-commentary of fairy tales.

 

[Fenris-77]

I don't think you could get more textually self aware than the Princess Bride. The whole thing is a meta-commentary of fairy tales.

It's not textually self aware in the sense that the characters themselves overtly make fun of the tropes being deconstructed, or have some awareness they they are characters in a story. It's not Deadpool, I guess is what I'm getting at. Fourth wall breaking for a D&D movie would probably suck.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It's not textually self aware in the sense that the characters themselves overtly make fun of the tropes being deconstructed, or have some awareness they they are characters in a story. It's not Deadpool, I guess is what I'm getting at. Fourth wall breaking for a D&D movie would probably suck.

Actually, yes it is - Grandpa is a character.

 

[Fenris-77]

Actually, yes it is - Grandpa is a character.

No, it isn't, not in the way I described. The characters in the fantasy story aren't winking at the audience. That's separate from the story within a story conceit.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

No, it isn't, not in the way I described. The characters in the fantasy story aren't winking at the audience. That's separate from the story within a story conceit.

Deadpool is also narrating the story, so no it isn't, it's much the same.

 

[Fenris-77]

Deadpool is also narrating the story, so no it isn't, it's much the same.

No, it's actually entirely different. Deadpool has no story within a story. He's both the narrator and main character, and is fully aware of both facts and also the presence of an audience. There's none of that in PB, especially the awareness of the audience part, but also the awareness by the characters of their state as fictional characters. I'm not sure what you'e trying to prove here, the differences are pretty stark.