Beloved tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons is being adapted into a theatrical film starring Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez, set to premiere in 2023. The franchise has been the subject of a trilogy of films from 2000 to 2012, as well as a Saturday morning cartoon in 1983, but it exists in a massively different cultural context in the modern day.
The upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie has been plagued by production difficulties and legal battles over the past several years of its production, but the current status seems to place its release in 2023. More than two decades after the previous D&D film hit theaters, and more than long enough for the less than glowing opinion of the film to settle in.
The trilogy of existing D&D films are not fondly remembered, the first was the only one to be released theatrically and it currently has a scathing 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The second film, subtitled Wrath Of The DragonGod, was slightly better received and vastly more reverent of the source material, going so far as to create character sheets for the main characters. This sequel was made for and released directly to TV, reducing its audience and memorability. The final entry in the trilogy, The Book Of Vile Darkness, released straight to DVD, exclusively in the United Kingdom. These films are generally either forgotten or despised amongst the community, and not well known outside of it.
The other significant adaptation of the game was the 1983 cartoon series, which ran for three seasons. The show centered around a group of children who, by way of roller coaster, find themselves transported into a tabletop-inspired fantasy world where they must face monsters at the behest of Dungeon Master. The kids' main foe is an evil wizard named Venger, but D&D fans will recognize their secondary nemesis, a comically weakened version of the 5-headed dragon goddess Tiamat. By online ratings alone, this is by far the most beloved adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, though it is routinely a subject of mockery by fans.
Dungeons & Dragons was first released in 1974, over the decades since it has undergone several new additions and total overhauls in the form of new editions. When the cartoon was airing, the most recent release was the first Dungeon Masters Guide. The first film released in the same year as D&D 3rd edition, the third was released the year before 5th edition, the current standard. 5th edition, usually referred to as 5e, was a huge moment for the franchise which saw massive gains in popularity, changing the place of the game in the cultural zeitgeist.
The status of D&D and of tabletop gaming, in general, has shifted from an extremely niche nerd hobby toward a common social hobby enjoyed by millions. This is partially a result of the general shift towards traditionally nerdy media, such as the mass popularity of comic book movies or the gradual rise of video games, but D&D has been a unique winner of this particular movement.
Right now, two beloved podcasts wherein hosts play D&D 5E are in the process of being adapted into animated series by two different studios. The Adventure Zone is currently in development for NBC's Peacock streaming service and Critical Role, which was picked up for two seasons by Amazon after a monstrously successful Kickstarter campaign. The idea of audio dramas in which actors play D&D reaching a level of popularity where they can successfully fund full animated series would have been beyond the wildest dreams of D&D fans of the year 2000.
D&D is a subject of well-received series like Stranger Things, which based much of its first season around the game. Celebrities have made a habit of coming out to talk about their fandom for tabletop gaming, from Daredevil star Deborah Ann Woll to well-known character actor Joe Manganiello to Vin Diesel, who helmed The Last Witch Hunter, a movie largely based on his old D&D character. Famous people chat about D&D on talk shows, brands argue about character alignment, D&D sourcebooks are available in almost any bookstore and the 5e starter kit holds a place of honor amongst board game shelves. Entering this new world could radically change the perspective with which fans view the new film.
The original film adaptation borrows extremely little from the game it is named after, partially because most of the references would be expected to fall flat to a wide audience. A modern adaptation would have much more to pull from, hundreds of official adventures, thousands of monsters, and set pieces from the countless sourcebooks and extraneous materials. It would also have an easier time trusting its audience to get the references. A faithful adaptation could be a charming celebration of fans favorite hobby, while also being the point of entry for new converts.
One of the problems with adapting D&D is the fact that the adventures are inherently different for each group that participates. Every adventuring party has different aspects of the game that they enjoy, from campaigns laden with role play and social intrigue, to pure strategy games about non-stop action. Aside from scant references, the previous adaptations could have likely changed their names and blended in with hundreds of other fantasy films. With that handicap to the narrative design, this could be the first adaptation to do what all the others refused to do; acknowledge the presence of the game.
Consider the long-beloved classic The Princess Bride. The narrative structure focuses around the swashbuckling adventures of Westley as he adventures to rescue his true love, set within the framing device of a grandfather reading a story to his grandson. In adapting a novel to screen, the filmmakers made the presence of the novel crucial to the presentation of the film. Shows like Stranger Things have demonstrated that characters playing D&D can be dramatic and engaging, films like The Princess Bride have laid out how centering a story in an in-universe fiction can be an excellent structure and actual play podcasts likeCritical Role have made audiences fall in love with the game.
The upcoming D&D film could establish from the outset that the story is a role playing game, or slowly hint at the prospect, unveiling it in the third act as a world-shaking twist. 2014's The Lego Movie could be the perfect influence, turning on a dime in the third act to reveal the real world, while brilliantly examining the cultural place of the medium would be a revelation in the world of D&D.
Given the challenges of the past D&D adaptations, the upcoming film has a great history to learn from. The new cultural high point of D&D's relevance provides an opportunity to create something powerful, if the filmmakers are willing to try something weird. Fans will have to wait to 2023 to see what this new team can create with the iconic world of Dungeons & Dragons.