D&D Movie/TV (Yet another) D&D Movie Speculation thread.

[Parmandur]

Why?

The last "serious" D&D movie was released in 2000.

WoTC acquired TSR in 1997.
Hasbro acquired WoTC in 1999.

Without going into the rights issues and development time (I don't know, and don't feel like looking into it, but assumedly the rights to the 2000 movie were likely acquired many years prior, probably from TSR, and I know there was a lawsuit between the Hasbro and other re: rights since then) making movies is hard.

But some things holding D&D back were:

1. Audience acceptance of fantasy. The first LoTR movie was released in 2001, and they've kept trucking (with Hobbit movies, of course, after that). Game of Thrones, too.

2. Special effects. Don't discount this. The increased sophistication and decreased price in the past two decades has been extraordinary.

3. Desire for tentpole movies and/or shared universes for IP. Iron Man on has really changed the movie business. Whether that's a good or bad thing is in the eye ... OF THE BEHOLDER.

Thank you. I'll leave now!

A potential "D&D Cinematic Multiverse" has an attractive-to-Hollywood feature of providing a theoretically endless well for franchise storytelling, even more than Marvel does.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Parmandur]

Despite the relative success of a number of animated works aimed at adults (*cough* Bojack Horseman) as well as the relative success of the new Spiderman animated movie as well as the DC Universe animated movies, it is still the case that IMO a D&D animated series would skew much younger.

Although, as I stated previously, I would love a She-Ra style D&D cartoon. Um, for the kids. Yep.

Stuff for kids that is watchable is better than pure gold.

 

[generic]

What elements do you propose to include which would actually make it a "D&D" movie if you intend to remove both the name and the setting specifics from it?

Imagine if they said about a proposed Transformers movie, 1) don't use the word Transformers in the title of the movie, and 2) don't have them transform.

I mean...on some level there is no point to the project if it doesn't cater somewhat to people who recognize the D&D brand. That's pretty much the point of doing this to begin with. Generic Fantasy Movie will fail before it starts.

Hmm, I think you're right.

That was an oversight on my part.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Good points, I agree with most of them.

However, I'm curious about which novel series you think would be a good movies or series of movies?

I don't doubt the quality of D&D fiction, I'm actually curious.

I would go for Darkwalker on Moonshea. It's the first FR novel written, it follows (what later became) established YA tropes, as well as conforming to archetypical D&D race and class tropes, and it isn't all that good. - "why is that a good thing?!" I here you exclaim. Because the scriptwriter can muck about with it without annoying hardcore fans of the book. If you did a Salvatore novel you would have scores of outraged Twitter rants complaining that Drzzt's skin-tone was off.


Oh, and it is both entirely self contained and the first book in a trilogy.


And it's drow quotient is zero.


Failing that, you would probably have to do the first Dragonlance Trilogy. But that has two major problems: the first book doesn't stand on it's own, and by 2018 standards it is rather sexist. On the up side, it also has zero drow.

 

[Azzy]

Despite the relative success of a number of animated works aimed at adults (*cough* Bojack Horseman) as well as the relative success of the new Spiderman animated movie as well as the DC Universe animated movies, it is still the case that IMO a D&D animated series would skew much younger.

Given the prevalence and popularity of anime, I would think that the target audience for a proposed animated series would cater to early teens (like the bulk of modern anime).

 

[Mistwell]

Given the prevalence and popularity of anime, I would think that the target audience for a proposed animated series would cater to early teens (like the bulk of modern anime).

Anime remains pretty niche. It's still not a mass market appeal.

 

[Jester David]

I'm not sure what route they'll take for the movie. Basing it on a novel might be fun, as it gives another product to sell, but most D&D novels are pretty terrible. And you really want something stand alone in the likely event the film fails.
And something simple, where they can take liberties with the characters and plot elements.
Pool of Radiance might work:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pool_of_Radiance#Novelization
Or Azure Bonds:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azure_Bonds

Or it could just adapt something modern like Tyranny of Dragons.
That story was designed that way for a reason. Dragons are big and iconic and ending with a fight against a dragon god is pretty epic. And being able to direct people to that product as a starting place is desirable for WotC.

Still, this is a more than two years away. And the project has already changed directors a couple times. There's pretty good odds it could still fail.

 

[gyor]

https://m.imdb.com/news/ni61967391?ref_=m_tt_nwr_1

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Tyranny of Dragons, while more than a little railroad-y, wouldn’t be a bad choice indeed.

But I think when the movie happens, it’ll be the other way around. We’ll see a module and an Adventurers League season that ties into the movie. Heck, they kind-of did that with the third D&D movie, releasing the 4e Book of Vile Darkness. I imagine it would’ve helped if more than 100 people saw the film.

Or it could just adapt something modern like Tyranny of Dragons.
That story was designed that way for a reason. Dragons are big and iconic and ending with a fight against a dragon god is pretty epic. And being able to direct people to that product as a starting place is desirable for WotC.