Warner Bros. Secures Rights To ‘Dungeons & Dragons’
After the success of theLord of the Ringsfilms,The Hobbitand nowGame of Thrones, Warner Bros. is looking to kick off another major fantasy franchise. They’ve just purchased the rights toDungeons & Dragons, the incredibly famous tabletop role playing game in which players create characters and go on adventures through mystical worlds.
ScreenwriterDavid Leslie Johnsonis writing the film based on his own script,Chainmail, which was itself based on a fantasy game that predatedD&D. Now that Warner Bros. owns the rights to the more popular brand though, Leslie Johnson is retrofitting his script to fit that game. One of this film’s producers,Courtney Soloman, actually directed aD&Dfilm released by New Line 13 years ago. (There have also been two direct-to-DVD sequels.) That 2000 release was a financial and critical disaster, but WB is going to try again.
Deadlinebroke the news of this project, which they say is “a big priority” for the studio.
That makes sense. Everyone knows Warner Bros. has been on the search for some more major franchises withHarry PotterandThe Dark Knight ending in the past few years.Man of Steelis a likely winner but they obviously feel likeDungeons & Dragonshas the potential to pick up where Peter Jackson’sThe Hobbitleaves off in a few years.
As for the screenwriter David Leslie Johnson, he’s no stranger to fantasy. He wroteWrath of the Titans, Red Riding Hoodand worked with Frank Darabont onThe Walking Dead.
Dungeons & Dragonsis an almost limitless property so the franchise potential is most definitely there. The problem is that it is a concept and a world, rather than a set of fan-favorite characters — in that respect it is like theWorld of Warcraftmovie. There’s potential, but the direction isn’t obvious, and audiences will have to be sold on the particulars. Who do you think should take the reigns?
