A big screen adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, the popular RPG, has been in the works for a while. Since the popularity of the game skyrocketed in the 2000s thanks to the participation of various celebrity players and nerd culture entering the mainstream, Hollywood has been trying to cash in. Unfortunately it’s never quite got off the ground. But that may be about to change.
Paramount is eyeing Game Night directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley to direct Dungeons & Dragons. With Game Night, the duo brought endless fun to the idea of adults playing games, while also riffing on the tropes of the psychological thriller. They also wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming. They would be a perfect fit to adapt the popular board game.
Dungeons & Dragons has been around since 1974 and is credited as the start of fantasy roleplaying games. The game did actually get a big-screen adaptation back in 2000 with Courtney Solomon directing. Unfortunately, it was widely panned. It was also before D&D had entered the pop culture vernacular. One expects a version made today would perform a lot better.
Paramount has had this in the works since December 2017, when they slated the film to hit cinemas on July 23, 2021. Months later, Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie) was rumoured to be helming the project, but nothing came of it. Warner Bros. also had an adaptation in the works for a while with Ansel Elgort. That also fell through. This time, there’s more hope that the project will move forward.
Considering the amount of effects a D&D adaptation will likely need, the studio better get moving quickly if they want to hit that date. But Goldstein and Daley are a great choice to bring the right amount of levity to the project without demeaning it.
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