Can't think of a better studio to bring D&D to the big screen than the one behind DC, Middle Earth and Harry Potter.
So the big questions
Will this be an original story or based off a book or AP?
Assuming it's new, what character classes would you like to see represented?
Does the franchise go big right off the bat with a world shattering event, or are the stories smaller and more personal?
For myself, I'm hoping for an original story and characters that goes big quick.
Another article.
http://comicbook.com/2015/08/03/dungeons-dragons-movie-officially-announced/
The popular role-playing fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons is finally getting the big-budget feature film adaptation that it deserves. WB and Hasbro have put out an announcement to make the news official.Press release follows:
Warner Bros. Pictures, Hasbro’s Allspark Pictures and Sweetpea Entertainment are moving forward on a feature film franchise based on Dungeons & Dragons, the world’s most popular role playing game. Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis, Courtney Solomon and Allan Zeman of Sweetpea Entertainment, and Roy Lee (“The LEGO Movie,” “How to Train Your Dragon”) are attached as producers.
Highlighting the priority being given to the project, Warner Bros. Pictures already has a script, written by David Leslie Johnson (“The Conjuring 2,” “Wrath of the Titans”).
“We are so excited about bringing the world of Dungeons & Dragons to life on the big screen,” said Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures. “This is far and away the most well-known brand in fantasy, which is the genre that drives the most passionate film followings. D&D has endless creative possibilities, giving our filmmakers immense opportunities to delight and thrill both fans and moviegoers new to the property.”
“This is such an enormous opportunity to bring the rich fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms to life and, together with the creative powerhouse of Warner Bros., use movies to tell the stories that have enchanted passionate D&D fans for decades,” said Stephen Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer of Hasbro, Inc. “D&D is the role-playing game that started it all and now we have the opportunity to ignite a franchise for its legions of avid fans in a way never done before.”
Dungeons & Dragons first became popular in 1974, and since then has amassed millions of players and fans worldwide. The hugely popular property has also influenced numerous writers, directors, game designers, and other creative professionals throughout its four decades.
“We are thrilled that this beloved property can finally make its way to the big screen after 20 years, and that it can be realized by Warner Bros., which has been responsible for the biggest fantasy franchises over the past two decades,” said Courtney Solomon of Sweetpea Entertainment.
Today’s announcement reflects the resolution of Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast LLC’s complaint against Sweetpea Entertainment, Inc. and Sweetpea BVI, Ltd. and the counterclaims filed by Sweetpea against Hasbro in May 2013 related to the Dungeons & Dragon brand. Solomon and Zeman will be attached to produce all Warner Bros.-produced Dungeons & Dragons film and television productions. All rights for future Dungeons & Dragons productions have been unified and returned to Wizards of the Coast, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hasbro.
I approve of the way WB is pretending the prior D&D movies didn't exist.
So…fifth time’s the charm? Shame Courtney Solomon still is involved. Dude will not let go of that license that he got from an ailing TSR in the 90s.
Whether they choose a new or existing IP, I think like most movies these days they’ll be hoping to make a franchise out of it.
Since it’s FR, I could see them tackling the Crystal Shard, with the option of following the rest of the series. At the same time, considering the big push towards cross-platform releases, I could also see them tying it to a new adventure path that comes out with the film.
Forgotten Realms! Finally...do it right, last chance. 
Ralif_Redhammer wrote:
proposed title and implied plot: The Youth of Elminster
The idea, much like the Merlin TV series, being to show how non-uber-mages handle challenges they encounter.
ankiyavon wrote:
ankiyavon wrote:
The only question is are they willing to take a risk and go somewhere new, or get into a subject area and canon that will create a bunch of headaches and/or pissed off fans. I guess even bad press is good if more people play the game.
BRJN wrote:
Uchawi wrote:
Uchawi wrote:
cassi_brazuca wrote:
Synjin wrote:
Pick a storyline where Elminster, Dritzz, and Volo can show up in the same movie. Throw in some red wizards of thay, and at least 2 or 3 deities, including Mystra and whichever god that was that went psycho hunting down others. So that's a cast of 6 or so main characters, although any decent voice actor and some goons will work for the Wizards of Thay. Dritzz will be the hardest to cast. Elminster will have to have a multi year renewable contract since he is the most likely to appear in sequels.
They should avoid potty humor, and avoid too many inside gamer reference jokes. 3-5 would be about the maximum. Please no Drunken Tuvok looking dwarves or Xena impersonating Rosy Odonell types.
I would really love to see a high-quality D&D feature film. Even if they stuck exclusively to FR (-yawn-), they have no shortage of characters to base a trilogy or two around.
However, they have a LOT of work to do with this film. D&D fans are the very core of the fanbase for this film, and I haven't seen anyone on a D&D website say they are confident that this film isn't going to suck. I would compare it to trying to do BvS right after the Arnold Freeze Batnipples film, but at least that sequence of Batman films started with two really solid films that gave us the best on-screen Catwoman and Penguin we've ever had (and at the time, the Nicholson Joker was also head and shoulders above the only other live action Joker we'd seen in Cesar Romero).
And then they have to sell a D&D film to the general film-going populace. This is going to be a hard sell. To the best of my knowledge, none of the D&D novels have the popularity of the Hobbit, the LotR trilogy, or of the Harry Potter series; and none of the D&D computer games are anywhere near as popular as World of Warcraft.
Shasarak wrote:
Mirtek wrote:
As far as development goes, I hope they don't keep us too much in the dark about this.
Also, I hope they can get Vin Diesel involved somehow. Not the greatest actor in the world, but you can't deny the guy's Charisma.
Brimleydower wrote:
Is Marlon Waynes making a come back? Hahahaha!
Okay in all seriousness, I like some of what I am hearing. While I am not a FR fan at all, I'm glad that they're establishing the script in a world that is recognizably d&d. This is good for many reasons, one being that ... if this movie is done well... It'll have the opportunity to bring in new players, who will immediately be able to identify with the setting. All the FR products they've released in 5th edition will be waiting. However, if they screw it up AGAIN, then FR will be synergizing nothing more than public jokes.
I've not paid a ton of attention to the lawsuit fiasco that was going on. Did Sweetpea have any legal jurisdiction regarding Forgotten Realms specifically? Or was it literally just a quibbling match over being able to slap "Dungeons & Dragons" on a movie title?
Brimleydower wrote:
The dungeon and dragon movies have gotten a pretty bad reputation and should they make another movie with dungeons and dragons in the title ?
Or might it be smarter marketing wise to give the movie a more generalised name and mention on the poster somwhere it is based on the DnD roleplaying game.
Let me rephrase the question: could Hasbro not simply release a film titled "Forgotten Realms: <Whatever>" instead of "Dungeons & Dragons: <Whatever>"?
OB1 wrote:
JohnLynch wrote:
Brimleydower wrote:
I’d watch that. It’d be horribly awesome. Can you imagine the angst? The bug-eyed scene-chewing?
Brimleydower wrote:
In retrospect, Marlon Wayans and Jeremy Irons were the best parts of that film. Because they seemed like they were the only ones that realized just how awful it was going to be, and hammed it up like nothing else.
Sands666 wrote:
So, here it is, my prediction...
Yes, it will be about Drizzt, we all know that, and yes they will keep it to the current times... I imagine though that the film will ber rife with flash backs to do an origin story of the companions...
This story will be handle same as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, they will be about the new stuff first and then later return to the older stories...
I figure that if you randomly sampled 1,000 members of the general public, only a handful would know that there was ever a D&D movie (although those who did would know it was bad). Good advertising (as LotR as they can make it) will sell the movie (and at least 1 big star trying to make alimony or condo payments--Liam Nelson, Arnold, or Wesley Snipes).
In terms of the movie itself, my guess is that it will:
focus on a "typical" D&D party (1 fighter, 1 wizard, 1 rogue, and 1 cleric), although expect just about every class to make a cameo
be an origin story
follow the Clash/Wrath of the Titans story type of 1 really good fight, 1 okay fight that provides transportation, 1 fight to show off or acquire the maguffin, and 1 fight with the big bad at the end that is too easy because of the maguffin (although they will drop it once during the fight for "dramatic tension")
Michael Bay explosions (because Hasbro)
have a dragon (hopefully the really good fight)
involve a fair amount of time in a actual dungeon
have 1 character you really want to see get beat up (because Hasbro and Clash/Wrath of the Titans)--on the plus side, you might actually see it happen.
I suspect we won't see halflings, and that hobgoblins and kobolds will be the canon fodder villians instead of goblins and orcs. Also, if a troll shows up, they will make a big deal about regeneration. That should distinguish D&D's movie from LotR/Hobbit enough to avoid any other lawsuits.
Hopefully we will get a 
too since they are D&D IP.
I love Dungeons and Dragons but am laughing somewhat nervously at the thought of another stab at a movie...
There are great fantasy films and TV out there - the white walker attack in Game of Thrones, the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy etc. The plot of the Nicholas Cage film Season of the Witch can be lifted out in it's entireity and set into a series of encounters that makes one hell of a scenario (no pun attended). They can do elves well (look at the Hobbit films), they can do magical duels well (look at the end of the Harry Potter film The Order of the Phoenix - the one between Voldemort and Dumbledorf). They can do dragons well - look at Eragon. I just hope putting D&D in the title doesn't somehow curse a movie.
JohnLynch wrote:
Can we have another contest to put a d&d fan in this movie? (Anyone remember that from the last go at a movie?)
My opinion is we will see a new story, with new characters. Maybe even Drizzt's children.
OB1 wrote:
edwin_su wrote:
Wuzzard wrote:
They'll probably try to include a big epic battle somewhere in there when they should really go for a more reserved skullduggery adventure through a town. They should leave halflings our of it, or relegate them to side characters selling things in a market.
If they are smart, we won't have a fight with a dragon until the 3rd movie.
But who am I kidding, there will probably be a final fight with 1000 evil silver dragons vs 1000 good white dragons while the heroes fight against an evil wizard that can shoot green rays that do no damage but make them wiggle around on the ground in agony while the female princess fighter proves that girls can do everything guys do and throws a magic sword they found because of the prophecy into the evil guy's head, and then he falls off the tower and all the evil dragons fall out of the sky and there is a banquet and oh god make it stop!
If they put Dungeons & Dragons in the title, I am pretty sure people will expect to see a dragon in the movie. Maybe a couple of movies in, the dragon can be a cameo, but in the first one, they might as well make Tiamat the Big Bad.
The movie will probably have Elminster and Drizzt both in it somehow. Even if not main focal points, they will make cameos just to woo the crowd over. It will probably be a semi original story.
A lot will hinge on the director. Nothing I've read so far gives me much hope of this being a decent flick. I welcome a good ole wrong-proving though.
Scalawag wrote:
Alright people Reroll and we're starting a new Campaign.
I think I'll be sick if a certain mary-sue drow ranger is a protagonist in the film.
tubadancross wrote:
Don't expect Dark Elve's to be in the movie. At least not as they are in the books and rpg.
They've got 3 options for putting the dark elf race on screen.
One of them would be using actors with dark skin, but they wouldn't have the skin tones of dark elves.
Another choice would be using black face to find the right people with the right voices, but make their skin dark or a different shade if they already had dark skin.
The third option would be to have them all CG Navi/Avatar style, so they could get the right actors with the right voices, and use motion capture to create facial structure and movement. That way you could have an actor of any race portray a Dark Elf. The accent used for dark elves in fiction has been persian? This could be a likely option as many persian actors are not well known so they could work for very little.
It all seems like a lot more work then I've seen any studio do, and could be controversial. Especially if they have many dark skinned bad guys.
This is either going to be another hilarious disaster, or maybe it will turn out as something slightly decent. Either way, we win.
I hope they are not afraid to come up with a new story, a new setting, and new characters. And I hope they don't feel obligated to throw all the monsters from the Monster Manual at the screen. The real challenge here is to create a world that draws the audience in, without feeling like a Lord of the Rings rip off.
I have got a new question. What about the other setings? Spelljammer, Birthright, Mystara, Red Steel/Savage Coast. HBO with the right screenwriters could use Birthright to create a new "Games of Thrones", only the right good story is necesary.
If WB and WOTC are smart they will go for the movie based on the famous Baldur's Gate series from the PC and novel. It was a great story and would be easier than going for uncharted territory that could end up like the last three pittyful installment! Plus BG was noted as one the best all time games because of its great story. in some ways it could easily be the next Lord of the Rings Movie series. Suprises none has mentioned it? Going for Elminister or Drizz would make for another flop. So if they want to reinvent D&D BG is the best story line out there.
Warzdak wrote:
tubadancross wrote:
Nozareem wrote:
LuisCarlos17f wrote:
I do believe they'll tie it in with whatever content they are releasing around then. Not only is that a smart way to do it, I think it would be pretty cool and would likely draw more people to the game.
I also bet Drizzt will be in there! You know he will. Maybe lead, maybe cameo, but Drizzt is in that movie!
tubadancross wrote:
LuisCarlos17f wrote:
Ok I see a lot of people want the movie to star Drizz and Elminister and they would like the story to be current, but this won't work well because it leaves out a lot of cannon and history to get to this point. If they do BG which is set just after Time of Troubles which was one of the first big shake ups in the realms there will be less cannon to explain in the opening seen in the narrative of the movie. Also if they went with BG they could do a cameo of Elminister in the first movie and Drizz in the second as was done in the game. Which could open ideas for latter.
Nozareem wrote:
I expect ****. Surprise me WB and WotC.
I suspect as many have already done so on this post, is that WotC will continue to use the brand as they have from the begining of 5e. Cross marketing, overlapping storylines. I also expect that it will be a trilogy, and that it will be modeled off of the success of either the Lord of the Rings movies or the Marvel movies. In either case I agree that Forgotten Realms is the right place to start. I don't know but i would assume that there are more people who read the forgotten realm novels than there are that play the game. Much like the McU, I cant emagine that they would not want to include their most popular characters in the film. Elminster = Gandolf, perhaps the Companions, Drizzt, I HOPE WE SEE Farideh. I just don't see WotC avoiding the use of their big guns as it were. Yes Marvel got away with using their Second Tier heros at the time (The Avengers) but thats only because they had to. They didnt have the movie rights to the xmen and had little other choice. Im glad they were forced into that position because I actually prefer the Avengers to the Xmen now. With that said I don't think WorC has that luxury.
I also think they have to go big, or go home. In a world with well made fantasy movies like the Harry Potter films, LotR, The Hobbit, and Game of Thrones, there is no excuse for a poorly writen, poorly acted, poorly made film. I think if they don't hit on all of the marks it will be glaringly obvious and fail. If they succeed....we all win and win big. I hope they succeed, and succeed big. I would love to see a trilogy of trilogys and i don't care what D&D world they are in.
I think there are endless possibilities and the only thing that can make them fail, is themselves. I am rooting for them, and hope its amazing.
Its to bad Ed Greenwood isnt an actor, he TOTALLY looks like Elminster. LOL
They could use Minsc in a post-sundering movie which negates the need for explaining all the canon and backstory as the bulk of that is pre-Spellplague so over a century before the setting, we don't get a Civil War history lesson when we see a movie set during the Vietnam War and that'd be about the same timespan. Minsc has been brought to the post-Sundering period in Baldur's Gate due to a wild mage elf, see the Legends of Baldur's Gate comics, and also appears in Neverwinter Online as part of the Elemental Evil content. They could add Elminster and even Drizzt as well if they wanted as both are still around, and also appear, or will appear, in Neverwinter Online.
I'm hoping they do an adventuring party style script though. Have the big names appear in the movie but in the same way as they appear as an NPC in a game setting, not as the main protagonists. Minsc would work as a PC maybe at the level of Gandalf involvement, but I don't think Elminister or Drizzt should be even that involved. Make them more of the level of involvement as Elrond. Personally I hope if Drizzt appears he has about as much screentime and input as Beorning did in The Hobbit, pretty much just a cameo.
If they do feature Drizzt or Elminster you pretty much have to do flashbacks with a history lesson to explain why they're doing what they are doing and why they're important. If they get relegated to "supporting cast" at the level of Elrond or less then you don't need any sort of exposition unless it ties into the main plot of the movie, like Elrond's fight with Sauron in the past or Smeargle's finding of the One Ring.
I also hope they avoid direct appearances by the gods or their avatars, though some divine presence might work if not too direct. Think of the limited ways they appeared in Clash of the Titans, the original, or Conan the Barbarian. If there's a wizard maybe we see the glowing eyes and stars of Mystra with a message that kicks off part of the plot, or a sign from Selune. City scenes should have some temples and clergy, priests, and layfolk of various gods, and the main character(s) will likely call on the favor of Tymora, Torm, Helm, or Mask depending on what they're doing. If they feature drow as an atagonist then there should be signs from Lolth involved, perhaps even a drider or three.
If they stay focused on the Sword Coast region then Drizzt is more likely to appear than Elminster. We may see Mirt the Moneylender though if they hit Waterdeep. Even in post-Sundering the antagonists can be everything from a chromatic dragon to Many-Arrows, Zhentarim, and Red Wizards. If they want to stretch it past one movie then it can involve some of the heavier-hitters like Manshoon or Szass Tam.
Of course we don't know what adventure paths are coming out past the demons of this year, which we know will have Drizzt, and the movie obviously won't be out that quickly so if it ties in to the AP around the time of release it probably won't have Drizzt and may not even be Sword Coast focused anymore. Perhaps by then we'll move towards Cormyr, Sembia, the remnants of Shade, and Thay.
Of course they could break with the Euro-centric fantasy and give us something out of Amn, Calimshan, Rashaman, or the Steppes. I doubt they'd go as far as Zhakarra, Chult, Maztica (if it's returned post-sundering), or Kara-Tur though.
tubadancross wrote:
If they're smart, they'll do a Drizz't story. He's their most popular character in their most popular setting, so if anything works, that should. A second decent choice might be Time of the Troubles if they want Michael Bay style action/apocalypse movie. The one thing I hope they don't do is make up their own half-assed story to make a movie about. It's sure to be a disaster if they do that, but I have a feeling they'll fall into that same trap they seem to always fall into with a D&D movie.
Also they shouldn't call it a D&D movie, it should just be a Forgotten Realms movie.
What Hasbro, the director, and the studio people decide the plot of the D&D movie will be will almost certainly determine what the plot of the AP (released around the same time) will be. Hopefully WotC will have a seat at the table, but having seen Transformers and G.I. Joe, I am not sure that will be the case (although Transformers finally has a writer's room, so hopefully Hasbro has decided to change how it does business on the creative side of these movies).
A chilling point. I kinda liked the second G.I. Joe movie, but still. At the same time, I’d almost be willing to forgive that sort of vapid spectacle storytelling over blue-lipstick Damodar.
Mechatarrasque wrote:
Don't forget Netir Vale and Jakandor settings.
My opinion is the movie will be not for D&D fans but for people who loved Lord of Rings but they know nothing about Baldruc Gate or D&D.
* Birthright is perfect to be a HBO teleserie, but it needs a really good story, and to avoid the mistakes by "Heroes" serie.
* Urban Arcana can be a tv show. Why not? It may be so good like "Gotham".
* What about D&D videogames but no-FR settings (Greyhawk, Ravenloft, Mystara, Birthright, Eberron?). You know FR is the most famous setting by the videogames "Baldruc Gate" and "Newerwinter Nights". The goal of the movie is the promotion of D&D franchise.
* Warner Bros is the "owner" of Babylon 5? Maybe we could see a Spelljammer TV show.
Dwarfslayer wrote:
What they need to do is after the final scene of the story is fade to black, have Vin Diesel say "Good game, guys. See you all next time.", and then reveal that the entire movie was just a game of D&D with the cast of the party sitting around a table. Pan back to Vin Diesel behind the DM screen petting a hamster. Roll credits.
ZHDarkstar wrote:
Between the time that people start seeing the trailers, and when the movie comes out, most people will have a general idea of what a drizzit is.
Vulf wrote:
MechaPilot wrote:
Mechatarrasque wrote:
edwin_su wrote:
To contrast D&D w/LotR, maybe they should emphasize the "four unlikely heroes randomly thrown together" element of the tabletop game itself. Personally, I think it'd be cool if they did the real world crossover thing...four friends playing D&D get swept into the Forgotten Realms. Haha! Or that might be cheesy. Lol, but I'd love it!
Keeping in line with their previously stated desire to show all sorts of character representations in the game, I don't think another one male protagonist-centric storyline would be carving out much of a name for D&D. They should have a storyline which includes a strong female lead in the party (i.e. along with Mr. Conventional Character) who's not just a "pretty spellcaster/romantic interest" and who actually drives the story.......a la Lightning of Final Fantasy XIII, Shandril of Spellfire, Black Widow of Avengers, etc. Being set in the Forgotten Realms.....does no one else see potential in the Seven Sisters? Storm Silverhand?? Selune vs Shar as the big good and bad?
Having said all that, my expectations are measured to say the least. Best of luck to them, though.
marius4 wrote:
Steve Buscemi as Drizzt.
Cate Blanchett as totally-not-Galadriel-you-guys.
Andy Serkis will portray a dragonborn sorcerer, but due to budget cuts his CGI will never be completed. You'll simply get Andy Serkis walking around in a leotard with green dots on his face and a head-mounted camera.
Liam Neeson playing an American guy.
Ed Greenwood himself will play Elminster, and mostly just make lewd jokes and borderline sexual harassment innuendos/puns/euphemisms at the Simbul (also played by Steve Buscemi)
Horribly assembled beholder animatronics whose eye-stalks annoyingly bump into actors, who swat them away repeatedly.
BG is the only movie they should do for WB's first shot at FR movie!
Imaculata wrote:
I predict, if not actual protagost/antagonist roles, at least cameos, of Elminster, Driz'zt and Tiamat. FR novels have reached more readers than LotR & Hobbit combined, and these are the most recognized figures in the D&D fiction brand.
Here in Spain the D&D cartoon show has been one of the most loved serie from my generation.
Hasbro Studios doesn´t need Warner or Disney to create a new serie. My suggestion is about the next generation, after children come back to the Earh.
OB1 wrote:
I hope it is serious, like LotR, and does not have comedy forced into it, like the first D&D movie or the Hobbit trilogy. And not a spoof/goofy movie either, like Your Highness.
I also want them to do the character classes and spells in a way that does not require them to announce to the audience what they are. Leave the declaration of the move/spell to anime.
Enevhar_Aldarion wrote:
ZHDarkstar wrote:
MechaPilot wrote:
joeburgos wrote:
I think they should've chosen Greyhawk instead of FR. But whatever they do, I hope they just focus on making a good movie. Don't focus on how you can incorporate playing d&d, don't focus on connecting it to a greater multiverse with other worlds of d&d (yet), just focus on making this movie good. Cause if it's not, it'll hurt the brand. And we have enough movies that've done that for d&d. If the movie is good, then start thinking about what you can do next.
It's going to tie directly into whatever the active Story is. Whether that's Rage of Demons or whichever ones come afterward, I can only speculate. This is also assuming they have enough creative control to get the story they want. I have no clue about the lawsuit or the agreement. Regardless, FR has been flagshipping for a long time, and I don't see that changing.
Brimleydower wrote:
Yeah, I'd expect either a August 2017 or Feb 2018 release. I agree they need to focus on making a great movie first, but am hoping that WB sees this as a franchise opportunity, as that will direct more resources to the film. Of course, if the script is solid it should help to attract solid talent as well. Hopefully we will start hearing some real details in the next couple of months.
OB1 wrote:
I'm think they can have a idea for how it would work across multiple movies while still starting small with a complete story (again, think Iron Man here).
Completly agree that it can't be a LotR clone, and staying away from Orcs would be a very wise idea. Honestly a story like LMoP wouldn't be a terrible idea, but I think something like Baulder's Gate give an opportunity to see more of the unique sites of FR. My bigest problem with them going with the BG storyline is that it is a Chosen One story, which I also think they need to stay away from.
Think you're right on about the pantheon, dviing magic, glashy spellcasting, magic items and superhero type fights. That's also why I'd like to see the first story be about seasoned adventurers (6-10th level) and not an origin story for the first film. Go ahead and make the first story The Avengers.
Finally, they shouldn't be afraid to throw the audience into the deep end and let them figure some stuff out. Not everything needs to be explained or set up slowly. Thinking the original Star Wars for inspiration here.
Azzy1974 wrote:
OB1 wrote:
Something else to remember. There is a very good possibility that the Warcraft movie will come out before the D&D movie. Even though they are totally different worlds and lore, if Warcraft is stupid, corny, and/or a flop, it will only bring more negativity on the D&D movie. I also hope they do not come out too close to each other, as it seems that any time two similar movies come out close in time, the second release almost always does worse than the first.
Don't worry, Lord of the Rings and Hobbit is enough for the prestige by Warner Brothers. I mean if Warcraft movie is a epic fail, Warner Bros can still say "but we can do it better".
FR allows to do a lot of things couldn´t be allowed in Tolkien's universe.
Maybe Drizzt will be in an animation movie, or a cartoon show.
Enevhar_Aldarion wrote:
Mirtek wrote:
Nozareem wrote:
Brimleydower wrote:
The first point:
It will be for people who know nothing about D&D at all. It is like start from zero.
Second point:
They toys.... I doubt Hasbro likes LEGO selling FR miniatures when it sells Kre-o building toys. What about comics, or any cartoon show?
Third point:
Adaptation of a novel, or a new storie after spellplague?
Fourth point.
Maybe Warner has noticed d20 Future (Star Frontiers, Gamma World Star*Drive, Dark Matters) with the right story could be a blockbuster like "Guardians of Galaxy"
Fith point.
If WotC could play the right cards, we could be a d20 Superheroes, with settings from DC and Marvel. Maybe a new AAA in the rpg industry, but a great headache for game designers about balance of power.
Sith point
Open door for future spin-offs. Maybe another settings like Greyhawk, Mystara and Birthright. We could see something like Xena the warrior princess.
LuisCarlos17f wrote:
ZHDarkstar wrote:
What I meant was referring to expectation of the audience's preexisting D&D knowledge level, not necessarily the levels of the characters portrayed. The movie should be accessible to newbies, but not insult the intelligence of D&D veterans. In terms of actual character levels, start them at 3rd and end in the middle of Tier 2, like 8th or 9th. That would still leave room for character growth if done as a trilogy of films. The second film would end with Tier 3 characters, while the third would show the full power of 20th level characters in the climax. Although stretching the story out to four films allows each movie to be representative of games within each tier of play.
Yes, I think that outline would work well. I'd end the trillogy with them no higher than 15th or 16th before pushing them into Planescape. If I was designing a complete D&DCU, it would look like this
Film 1 - Tier 2 FR Harper Story (Centered on one primary location)
Film 2 - Tier 3 FR Harper Story Pt 2 (Travel across the realm)
Film 3 - Tier 1 FR New Adventurer story (Mix of 1-3rd level given quest by the Harper party)
Film 4 - Tier 2 FR New Adventurer story pt 2 (One of the party went bad, and now they must hunt her down)
Film 5 - Tier 3 Team Up Story between Harper party and New Adventurer party against major threat to FR
Film 6 - Tier 3 Rescue character lost in Film 5 from Hades, introduce concept of Multiverse
Film 7 - Tier 3 Dark Sun Story
Film 8 - Tier 2 Eberron Story
Film 9 - Tier 3 Homebrew Story
Film 10 - Tier 3 Multiverse Team Up Story in Sigil
Film 11 - Tier 4 Save the Multiverse Team Up Story Pt1 (gather help from the positive planes)
Film 12 - Tier 4 Save the Multiverse Team Up Story Pt2 (battle evil across the negative planes)
I think the Harpers allow for a good entry point into the Realms for the unintiated. By jumping around to other parties once they reach Tier 3, it saves the God like abilities of Tier 4 for the endgame of the series.
If you had free reign to design a 12 film D&DCU, what would you do?
ZHDarkstar wrote:
Mecheon wrote:
While it'll be based on D&D and set in FR (they've stated as much already, including that they already have a script) I hope they don't try to force the mechanics of classes and levels into the story. Classes can work for the most part as they do in the books but any sort of level consideration is too meta and would interfere with telling a good story. You can look at a character and try to guess their level based on what abilities they use (casters are easier than fighter/rogue types due to spell lists) but the focus should be on telling a good story using the flavor of D&D, not the mechanics of the game.
Just as you can't do a direct, exact book to movie translation (some things in written form don't translate well to a visual medium and vice versa), they shouldn't try to force a game mechanics "pure" translation to a movie script or novel.
I don't think you will here a line of dialogue in the film about "She's a 4th level figher" or "I'm down to 10 HP", but I do think it will be possible to sus out from clues what levels any character classes are. Like a good session of table top D&D, the mechanics should be invisible and behind the scenes, a clear set of rules that makes the world work, but not somethingthe characters are aware about in the same way the players are. To be clear, I'm not arguing against metagaming here, I'm arguing that in the story fiction the characters understand and talk about the rules of the world in a different way than the players do.
Yet again if the next D&D movie does anything like the last 3 then they will fail and look stupid on the big screen! The movie should be ran like LOTR where as you see the characters you will know what they are and what their class is . If their is any stupidity of " I will cast a 4 lvl spell" or " I'm a 8th lvl theif " then the movie will be a rap and seen as another stupid joke by the public. I strongly believe that WB will not allow rediculous crap like that in their brand of D&D and side with that as well!