What’s that sound? Listen. Hear it? Oh yes, it’s your childhood wincing. Standard practice for Hollywood now is their insistence on not leaving any stone unturned. Or any popular culture phenomenon without a reboot. On that note, it’s been confirmed that Warner Bros. have purchased the rights to Dungeons and Dragons in order to kickstart a rebooted film franchise.
David Leslie Johnson, who penned Wrath Of The Titans, is supplying the script. Johnson is to rework another script of his, Chainmail, which itself is based on the 1971 game which predates Dungeons and Dragons. Now that Warner Bros. have bagged the rights to a more profitable franchise, he’s rewriting it as a Dungeons film. He’ll not be out of his genre element either, as he’s previously delivered screenplays for Red Riding Hood, The Walking Dead and Orphan.
With the success of fantasy having risen in the last decade with the likes of The Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit and Game Of Thrones, it’s a wonder this reboot hasn’t already graced our screens. The unique angle Dungeons offers is that unlike a comic or novel adaptation, there really are infinite directions for the film to go in. Previous screen outings have created stories and picked characters from the adventure game to suit that story. So, where Johnson will take this latest version is anyone’s guess.
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson’s role playing game is of course, no stranger to the screen. It was first adapted in 1983 as an animated series via the creators’ own game publishing label TSR and Marvel. The show ran for three seasons until 1985. Fifteen years later, a live-action version came forth starring Jeremy Irons which despite flopping critically and financially, spawned two sequels in 2005 and 2012.
Warner Bros. are keen to get moving on it, stating it is a “big priority” for the studio.
More news on Dungeons and Dragons as it’s announced.