Back in August, a two-yearlegal battleover the rights toDungeons & Dragonsfinally came to a close, which resulted in Hasbro teaming up with Warner Bros. to move forward on a live-action remake. The report revealed that a script was already in place byDavid Leslie Johnson(Wrath of the Titans), with Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis teaming up withCourtney Solomonand Allan Zeman of Sweetpea Entertainment to produce, alongsideRoy Lee.Colliderrecently had the chance to speak withRoy Lee, who revealed that theDungeons & Dragonswill combine the tone ofGuardians of the Galaxywith a fantasy world likeThe Lord of the Rings.
“This newDungeons & Dragonswill be aGuardians of the Galaxy-tone movie in a Tolkien-like universe. Because when you think of all theHobbitmovies andThe 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.”
As of now, the project doesn’t have a director or any cast members lined up, but an interestingrumorsurfaced last year.Vin Dieselclaimed that E. Gary Gygax, who co-createdDungeons & Dragonswith Dave Arneson, told a mutual friend that he wantedVin Dieselto “tell his story.” He wouldn’t elaborate if that meant portraying E. Gary Gygax, who passed away in 2008, in a biopic, or if that meant he may star in thisDungeons & Dragonsmovie. Regardless, producerRoy Leerevealed that he thinks Warner Bros. will move forward quickly on the movie.
“I think it will really be moving forward quickly, and I don’t anticipate it not getting greenlit this year, mostly because Warner Bros. hasDCnow, andLEGO, and theHarry Potteruniverse that’s being cultivated as their franchises. I believe they seeDungeons & Dragonsas something that could be cultivated as a multi-universe movie where there will be spinoffs from the first movie being in Forgotten Realms and subsequent movies being in different worlds. Everyone who’s involved with it now, especially the writer of the first draft is a fan from the very beginning starting with Chainmail, which turned intoDungeons & Dragons, so you’ll see things that are very faithful to the source material as well as new elements are being incorporated with help from Wizards of the Coast, who are giving a lot of input on the script.”
The producer also confirmed that the movie will take place entirely in the fantasy realm, instead of having people transported from our world to this universe. He also added that the Yawning Portal from the game will feature prominently and “it’s going to be one of people’s favorite set pieces,” while confirming that the adaptation will be a large ensemble. What do you think aboutDungeons & Dragonsfinally moving forward?
