I suspect Universal (whom Wizards of the Coast have partnered with for the next D&D movie project) and Hasbro would like to develop the D&D/ franchise in a similar way to how Disney are handling the Marvel and STAR WARS properties: film series, possibly stand-alone films and related TV series.
The logical first step is indeed Drizzt. RA Salvatore by himself has sold more novels (c. 30 million) than the D&D game has sold sourcebooks over all editions (c. 20 million), whilst Ed Greenwood has also sold a lot (I wouldn't be surprised if it was over 10 million novels for him alone). Even Paul Kemp's sales are in the low millions. Total FORGOTTEN REALMS novels sales are probably on the order of 70-80 million, and Salvatore and Drizzt account for a massive proportion of that. For a big-budget film, you go where the money is, and that's Drizzt. The DARK ELF books a bit claustraphobic and intense, so I can see them starting with THE CRYSTAL SHARD: it has an ensemble cast, dragons (well, one, briefly) and big battles as well as being relatively self-contained, so if it bombs there aren't lots of people hanging for a sequel.
As above, I know some people are fed up with Drizzt's dominance of FORGOTTEN REALMS media, but on the plus side a lot of people who picked up a Salvatore novel eventually got into the Realms in a much deeper and more meaningful way. He's a good 'gateway character' to not just other REALMS fiction, but the setting itself. Certainly my first taste of the Realms - after playing EYE OF THE BEHOLDER on my Amiga in 1992 - was reading THE CRYSTAL SHARD.
If that's successful, they can look at doing a related TV series further down the line. However, a TV series would need some central hook. It can't just be jumping from random adventure in one part of the continent to another. It has to have a recurring cast, a recurring location (for standing sets) and some sort of long-form story arc (as they are all the rage these days). There's lots of angles here, such as a series set in Waterdeep or another in the Savage North, or a Knights of Myth Drannor series, or maybe a series about the Harpers.
quote:I don't think there will ever be a Drow movie, simply because a studio getting behind the idea of an entire race of evil black skinned people will never happen.
I don't think this is a major problem until you get to the DARK ELF trilogy, because most of the time you're with Drizzt and he's very much a good guy. And, as in the novels, you can overcome the racial issue by focusing on the other 'good drow' like Zaknafien and the morally ambiguous ones like Jarlaxle and the least-insane of Drizzt's sisters. You could also tweak the story a little and also maybe bring in followers of Eilistraee as well. You don't have to stick closely to the novels if they throw up a problematic issue like that.
All of this depends on the legal clash between Universal and Warner Brothers/Courtney Solomon (producer of the existing three movies), of course. If WB manages to uphold the rights, then the chances of seeing a FR movie or TV series in the near future become very remote.
The DARK ELF books a bit claustraphobic and intense, so I can see them starting with THE CRYSTAL SHARD: it has an ensemble cast, dragons (well, one, briefly) and big battles as well as being relatively self-contained, so if it bombs there aren't lots of people hanging for a sequel.
I agree. The Crystal Shard in it has enough characters and action to make for a solid film. If the whole trilogy succeeds the Dark Elf trilogy is an obvious follow up prequel. The success of the Dark Elf movies rests solely on the straight of the actor they cast as Drizzt and while I believe Ray Park could easily handle the action and stunts, you'd need someone charismatic enough to carry the prequels through many spotlight moments.
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act." The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy.
The drow skin colour shouldn't be an issue. Todd Lockwood's covers give them a purplish hue. I would rather see someone other than Drizzt. Like Aoth's company. The novels seem very TV friendly, for the most part. They might need to get creative when they adapt the third in the series. The advantage to using these particular characters is that they are all very likeable, and don't immediately strike the casual viewer as Tolkien copycats.
Prior to getting into the Drizzt novels, I looked at them as rips from Tolkien with some Robert Howard thrown in (looking at Wulfgar, though at the time I didn't know the Howard's Conan had black hair).
"...the will is everything. The will to act."--Ra's Al Ghul
I think the advantage of SHARD is that it immediately does the opposite to Tolkien: the elf is feared and hated by most people, the halfling is a dishonest fraudster and the dragon is one that breathes ice. The Gem/Ring comparison is there, but the Gem gets taken care of pretty quickly (well, as far as the first film is concerned anyway).
I agree that creatively, there are lots of other things you could do. Other books or campaigns you could adapt, or even original stories you could come up with (and there is something to tailoring a story for the screen against adapting a story from another medium that wasn't designed with it in mind). But I think commercially, and for the prospects of other, later REALMS movies and TV series, the first film out of the gate needs to be as popular as possible and you do that by making a Drizzt movie, as much as some I think will have to grit their teeth through it.
Why a movie when a TV series is better?
Posted - 06 Nov 2013 : 17:02:54
