Warner Bros. Acquires "Dungeons and Dragons" Movie Rights

[Sawyer]

LINK

Rejoice, basement dwellers.

 

[Octoberist]

The bad news is that the script is being done by the dude who did 'Wrath of the Titans' and 'Little Riding Hood', and is being produced by Cournety Solomon (a guy by the way, not a girl) who directed the 2000 masterpiece...Dungeons & Dragons.

 

[Sawyer]

Well, in that case... wallow in fear and hatred of Hollywood, basement dwellers.

 

[Octoberist]

cue that cartoon trumpet: wah wah wahhhhh

 

[Ultimatehero]

I'm actually confused lol. Silver Pictures has had the rights to this property for years. They're a or rather were Warner Bros. company. So Warners has always had the rights, they never lost them. Unless when Joel Silver left he took those rights with him and just gave them back to Warners recently? Otherwise, I am 99% sure there was no acquisition.

 

[Octoberist]

I never thought about it, but when Silver left WB, it left their Sherlock 3 in limbo.

 

[Octoberist]

I'm ignorant to this universe, but I just feel like a straight-up adaptation of one of their stories or novels might come off as a little generic (just like I'm fearing about the 'Warcraft' adaptation though I trust Duncan Jones). It's a different medium so they can afford to be a little derivative when you're a board game but as a film? I don't know.

I wouldn't mind a loose, maybe more serious adatpation of the cartoon show, where modern day teens get teleported to the DnD world. That way, makes the franchise already different from the heavy-hitters like 'Lord of the Rings/Hobbit' and 'Game of Thrones'.

 

[Ultimatehero]

Maybe, maybe not. Silver knew for quite a while that there was going to be a falling out with WB. So, I'm pretty sure he kept those rights or found a way to. It wasn't as instant as it might have come off from the web. While there actually were plans for a 'Dungeons & Dragons' sequel, there are sequels on a number of films in development hell actually, I don't think he would care about trying to take those rights with him since from what I recall the film didn't do that well. And if WB did 'acquire' them, maybe he did take them with him and gave them back (?) Just the whole article's confusing considering there was still sequel talk. But, that could be what happened.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

I wouldn't mind a loose, maybe more serious adatpation of the cartoon show, where modern day teens get teleported to the DnD world. That way, makes the franchise already different from the heavy-hitters like 'Lord of the Rings/Hobbit' and 'Game of Thrones'.

I still think this is the way to go and have been saying it for years but apparently no one can hear my tiny squeaky voice.

 

[Thundarr]

I still think this is the way to go and have been saying it for years but apparently no one can hear my tiny squeaky voice.

I've been saying so as well. So I guess Nobody can hear either of us.

I'd also like to see an adaptation of one of their novels. Perhaps one of the Drizzt Do'Urden books. Or maybe The Finder's Stone Trilogy. Or perhaps even The Spellfire Trilogy. The Forgotten Realms is filled with just so many great stories, any one of which would make for an excellent series of films.

 

[terry78]

Fanboys would cry over that. They want an adaptation of the game, not the cartoon. Rangers and elves and all that **** that seems to be the rage these days.

 

[Thundarr]

Maybe, maybe not. Silver knew for quite a while that there was going to be a falling out with WB. So, I'm pretty sure he kept those rights or found a way to. It wasn't as instant as it might have come off from the web. While there actually were plans for a 'Dungeons & Dragons' sequel, there are sequels on a number of films in development hell actually, I don't think he would care about trying to take those rights with him since from what I recall the film didn't do that well. And if WB did 'acquire' them, maybe he did take them with him and gave them back (?) Just the whole article's confusing considering there was still sequel talk. But, that could be what happened.

There have been two actually, both have gone straight to DVD. The first one was Dungeons & Dragons II: Wrath Of The Dragon God, and considering the budget and direct to DVD quality, it was actually a pretty decent film (could have been much better if they had the budget to get some known actors in the roles and give it a theatrical release).

The second one, Dungeons & Dragons III: The Book Of Vile Darkness, I haven't seen yet. From what I've heard, the web series Standard Action has better production values and writing. Although I generally tend to ignore the opinions of critics, simply from the premise of the film, I'd be inclined to agree with them. The movie's a sequel in title only and actually has little if anything to do with the two that came before. And I heard they reused some clips from the second film in the third one. I'll have to wait and try catching it on Netflix or renting it at whatever video rental store Netflix hasn't been driven out of business yet.

 

[Thundarr]

The bad news is that the script is being done by the dude who did 'Wrath of the Titans' and 'Little Riding Hood', and is being produced by Courtney Solomon (a guy by the way, not a girl) who directed the 2000 disasterpiece...Dungeons & Dragons.

^Fixed^.


Well, I've never seen Wrath Of The Titans nor Red Riding Hood, so I don't know what to think about that bit of news.

As for Solomon? Well, while I agree that the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons movie was poorly cast, directed, and written, I will give it props for being well (if a bit overly) produced. They found some amazing locations in Prague, and the CGI was really well done (if a bit over used). Do how good/bad this news is depends entirely on how "hands on" Solomon gets with the production of this new film, as well as how well he learned his lesson from the the first film.

 

[Nathan]

I remember when I watched the first Dungeon & Dragons in Theaters. I went with my friend, who is a huge fan of the pen & paper game and often played sessions back then. He kept listing what the movie got wrong.

 

[Thundarr]

Fanboys would cry over that. They want an adaptation of the game, not the cartoon. Rangers and elves and all that **** that seems to be the rage these days.

AS a long time player of the game AND a fan of the cartoon, I have to disagree. I for one would LOVE to see an adaptation of the cartoon.

Fanboys want to see Rangers in the movie? You seem to forget that that's what Dungeon Master called Hank when he gifted him with the Energy Bow.

As for elves? While the six protagonists would all be human, who's to say they won't meet an elf on their travels in a live action film adaptation? Perhaps a female elf to become the love interest of Presto The Wizard or Bobby The Barbarian? More likely to be Presto's, as Bobby had always been shown as being in the "Girls are gross" stage of his youth. Besides, most fan-fic pairings have Hank romancing Sheila and Eric romancing Diana, which could be explored more in a live action film.

Only thing is, the D&D cartoon was owned by Marvel Studios, which is now owned by Disney. And the D&D name is owned by Wizards Of The Coast. So a film adaptation of the cartoon would require a collaboration between WB, WoTC, and Disney.

 

[Thundarr]

I remember when I watched the first Dungeon & Dragons in Theaters. I went with my friend, who is a huge fan of the pen & paper game and often played sessions back then. He kept listing what the movie got wrong.

I went to see the first D&D movie with my entire gaming group. We spent hours afterwards going over everything the film got wrong.

Still, it is a movie on my Guilty Pleasures list.

 

[SuperFerret]

That cartoon was utter ****.

Someone call me when they adapt an actual property and not just a banner that many, many, many, many properties fall under. You want to know what a generic D&D movie would look like? The Lord of the Rings, because the game borrowed nearly everything from Tolkien. If they adapt the Dragonlance saga, or the Drizzt stuff, or any other legitimate story set under the D&D banner, then I'll care. Otherwise, it'll just be another fantasy movie that fails to get it right.

Again, that cartoon was ****.

 

[Victarion]

Fanboys would cry over that. They want an adaptation of the game, not the cartoon. Rangers and elves and all that **** that seems to be the rage these days.

Rangers and elves are bollocks.

They need to base it off Eberron: airships, monorails powered by elementals, sorcerer-investigators, werewolves, good orcs and stuff. The setting is "mage-punk": science fiction meets sword and sorcery. That's how you separate yourself from the humdrum melodrama of LOTR.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

And the D&D name is owned by Wizards Of The Coast.

And WotC is in turn owned by Hasbro, who have been mining their IP for feature films for several years (Transformers, GI Joe). I don't get why they'd just license D&D off like this, unless the don't consider it a worthwhile brand on it's own (and they very well may not, considering Magic is WotC's real moneymaker - D&D is justa tiny drop in the bucket compared to M:tG).

 

[Silvermoth]

There's no way a film with that much of a geek following could be successful...said the 1990's.

I'm kind of curious.

 

[Iceman]

I want some good fantasy style films. Hope this turns out well.

 

[terry78]

How many of you have actually played the game? I mean actually used the 12 sided die and everything.

 

[Nathan]

I did. But I was always more of a casual player, who tagged along just to hang with my friends.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

How many of you have actually played the game? I mean actually used the 12 sided die and everything.

Started in 1983 or so and still going today, although I DM rather than play.

(Also the 20 sided die is the one that gets used a lot - 12-siders doesn't see much action, aside from long sword damage vs large creatures )

 

[Pink Ranger]

Yeah, I too was a player, up until the last year of highschool no less.

Oddly enough, two of the most popular guys in our school were also part of our D&D group too. Go figure.