A new movie based on the hugely popular fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons is heading to cinemas following the settlement of a long-running legal battle between studio Warner Bros and rights holder Hasbro, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The complex deal paves the way for Warner Bros to put a new film into production while unifying screen rights under the toy manufacturer. The studio now plans a fantasy epic based on a screenplay by Wrath of the Titans’ David Leslie Johnson, to be set in the popular Forgotten Realms game universe.
“We are so excited about bringing the world of Dungeons & Dragons to life on the big screen,” Warner’s Greg Silverman told the Hollywood Reporter. “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 film-makers immense opportunities to delight and thrill both fans and moviegoers new to the property.”
Hasbro’s legal team, Maura Wogan and Jeremy Goldman of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, issued a statement as follows: “This settlement accomplished our overarching goal of unifying all Dungeons & Dragons rights under Hasbro’s control, paving the way to make a blockbuster film. It’s a great outcome for those involved – especially Dungeons & Dragons fans who will now get to see D&D on the big screen.”
The new film will follow the poorly received 2000 fantasy Dungeons & Dragons, which starred Jeremy Irons, Marlon Wayans and Thora Birch. The previous movie’s march to the big screen was fostered by a 1994 deal that allowed production company Sweetpea Entertainment to purchase rights for just $15,000 from a Hasbro subsidiary, and to maintain them provided it continued to produce sequels. Two made-for-TV follow-ups duly arrived in 2005 and 2011 to a less-than-enthusiastic reception.
Fans of the game will be hoping that the new Dungeons & Dragons film is produced with more attention to detail than past efforts, at a time when Hollywood is crying out for swords and sorcery fantasy material in the wake of huge success for television saga Game of Thrones and Peter Jackson’s blockbuster Hobbit trilogy. Warner Bros was responsible for releasing the latter saga, as well as Jackson’s Oscar-winning previous foray into the world of JRR Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, between 2001 and 2003 (via its New Line subsidiary).
There are high hopes for Duncan Jones’s Warcraft, based on the popular online multiplayer role-playing game World of Warcraft, despite an extended gestation period stretching back to at least 2009. The film, starring Ben Foster, Travis Fimmel, Dominic Cooper and Paula Patton, is due for release in June 2016.
