The D&D Movie Finds Its Director

The Dungeons & Dragons movie has found its director - Rob Letterman (Goosebumps, Monsters vs. Aliens, Shark Tale). The Warner Bros. movie, scripted by David Leslie Johnson (Wrath of the Titans), is being produced by Rob Lee (The Lego Movie, How To Train Your Dragon) and others after the longstanding legal dispute involving Sweetpea Entertainment and Hasbro was resolved. The script is based on Johnson's script Chainmail, itself based on D&D's precursor and will be taking cues, stylistically, from Guardians of the Galaxy.

There's more information on the Guardians of the Galaxy inspiration here. We know it is set in the Forgotten Realms, is an ensemble piece, and is hopefully the first in a franchise spanning multiple worlds. "This new Dungeons & Dragons will be a Guardians of the Galaxy-tone movie in a Tolkien-like universe. Because when you think of all the Hobbit movies and The Lord of the Rings, they have an earnestness to them, and to see something fun, a Raiders romp inside that world, I feel is something the audience has not seen before."

This latest info comes from Tracking Board. The other tidbit in that article is that "sources say that producers are eyeing a Vin Diesel-type for the film’s lead characters". Additionally, WotC staff has indicated occasionally that they have some involvement in the movie.

 

[Dausuul]

I think property like this needs people who know it through and through.

Like Duncan Jones being a player of WarCraft for a long time, he knows the tone, the story, all those details of that world and story is written by Chris Metzen himself... Or with the GotG example, James Gunn read all those comics long time before there was any Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I think property like this needs people who can write their way out of a paper bag. Knowledge of the source material is good, but not nearly as important as writing chops. Sometimes it can be helpful to have a fresh set of eyes, somebody who can see how the material will look to people who aren't steeped in it.

I don't care whether David Leslie Johnson is a D&D nerd. I do care that "Wrath of the Titans" was a craptastic movie and he wrote the script. I'm hoping Rob Lee has a lot more influence than Johnson on the final product.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

Well....Rob Lee's good news as I see it, but otherwise I'm now officially going to lower my bar of expectations very, very low.

 

[Hand of Evil]

As I have said in other threads, think it should be animated or better yet, a high-end cable series like Black Sails, Spartacus, Banshee or Game of Thrones with money behind it.

 

[Arilyn]

If Vin Diesel is such a D&D fans, he would probably ask for less money than he would otherwise (like in a Fast and Furious movie).

Anyway, there's probably a saying that "hope is the last one to die" (at least in Portuguese there is !)... so... there's still hope...

Considering that most of us have little hope for this movie, why would Van Diesel wish to be in it?

 

[Kramodlog]

No production date, so a lot can still change.

 

[Tiles]

The currant climate is to shoot for franchises. A stinker is just as likely as a relitive hit. It will at least get studio support for the first film. I expect it will surpass most expectations solely because they are so low.

 

[darius0]

They should just do "The Crystal Shard" and be done with it. Vin Diesel would even make a good Artemis Entreri.

 

[Storyteller Hero]

I'd like to add that a producer's role in the creative aspect of a film production is limited, so it's more accurate to predict a movie's story quality based on the writer(s) and director(s) working on it.

One large worry is that this will end up becoming a repeat of the gods-awful "Gods of Egypt", a big budget epic fantasy film with a team focusing more on impact than substance.

 

[Tiles]

If they can make people care about the characters and the story, they won't need a big bugget.

 

[martinlochsen]

Seems Wizards have an exceptional talent for choosing the wrong people to work with (outside of the actual ttrpg sphere, that is). Project Morningstar stranded, n-Space went bankrupt, and now this movie... there is just no way this is going to be good.