The next D&D movie...

[Fumarole]

I don't know how to feel about Led Zeppelin being used in a D&D trailer. It seems off somehow.

[Thomas Seitz]

What, you wanted Dio maybe?

[JoelF847]

Fumarole wrote:

I don't know how to feel about Led Zeppelin being used in a D&D trailer. It seems off somehow.

I actually liked it - it evoked Thor: Ragnarok purposefully I think, since that seems to be the blend of humor and action the movie is going for.

[Thomas Seitz]

Yeah I mean I think there are plenty of good bands, but Led Zepplin is pretty classic.

[Marc Radle]

I don’t think they will use modern music in the actual film - I think they just did it in this first trailer to set the tone the movie will have

[Thomas Seitz]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that either. Or at least I doubt they'll have the bard/Chris Pine do Stairway to Heaven as they fight...

[dirtypool]

John Woodford wrote:

Werthead wrote:

First poster!

Including, erm, pre-existing PATHFINDER stock art of an intellect devourer.

I'm sure that's going to be fine.

It's close to the picture in the 1E Bestiary, but not quite identical.

It's directly lifted from the PF2e Bestiary 2

[Werthead]

I believe Hasbro have clarified this was a fan poster created for the event which they gave permission to have there, rather than an officially-created Hasbro product. The film's actual poster has been released and is completely different.

[dirtypool]

Werthead wrote:

I believe Hasbro have clarified this was a fan poster created for the event which they gave permission to have there, rather than an officially-created Hasbro product. The film's actual poster has been released and is completely different.

They contracted poster artist Boss Logic who creates custom photoshop posters and provided him with the art elements that were used in the creation of the poster. According to Boss Logic himself. These were posters to pass out at the booth at Comic Con.

[Thomas Seitz]

Even so, it's clearly some error that I think isn't worth discussing right now. More is how cool is it to have a decent/non-jerk paladin in the party.

[dirtypool]

Seems a stretch to make a judgement like that about the Paladin based on a fight scene, and some background dialogue free shots - but sure.

[Thomas Seitz]

Maybe I just think the casting of Regé-Jean Page is a sign of import...but that's just me.

[Tristan d'Ambrosius]

Sign of import and decent/non-jerk paladin in the party are two completely separate things. One doesn't necessarily lead to the other.

[Thomas Seitz]

Maybe so. I just think it might.

[Steve Geddes]

Im hoping for a likable paladin too.

Im hoping with the improvement in superhero movies over the last thirty years that this one wont suck. :o

[dirtypool]

Likable and not a jerk are also not quite the same thing. One can be likable while still being a jerk. E.G. Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, any Bill Murray character ever.

[David knott 242]

One interesting thing here -- it appears that the main cast are all thieves, so the paladin is not necessarily a goody two-shoes.

[Steve Geddes]

5E paladins can be wildly different from previous editions.

[Thomas Seitz]

But is it 5e? I mean it's never stated what edition we're in. Other than we're (possibly) Faerun.

[Steve Geddes]

Oh I doubt they pay much attention to the rules. I was just making an offhand comment.

If there is any effort put in to rules fidelity though, I’d expect it to be 5E, personally.

[Thomas Seitz]

Eh. I figured they'd go with old schoolish LG Paladin...

[Steve Geddes]

I think for most people currently playing, D&D = 5E.
I doubt the douchey paladin is much of a thing amongst “kids these days”.

I’ll be interested to see though!
(I hope it’s a good movie).

[Marc Radle]

We’re getting a bit off topic, but … despite all the “jerk paladin” chatter we see online, I’ve seen many paladin characters played in person (and played a few myself) and I’ve never personally experienced that type of behavior.

Not saying it doesn’t exist, but I wonder how much of it is real and how much is just self-perpetuating online bs?

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

I was unaware that paladins were supposed to be jerks/evil until I started frequenting D&D fora. Never seen it in person.

[Thomas Seitz]

I've only experienced as a DM. But very rarely.

Anyways, Bard Pine rules.

[Steve Geddes]

Marc Radle wrote:

We’re getting a bit off topic, but … despite all the “jerk paladin” chatter we see online, I’ve seen many paladin characters played in person (and played a few myself) and I’ve never personally experienced that type of behavior.

Not saying it doesn’t exist, but I wonder how much of it is real and how much is just self-perpetuating online bs?

We definitely suffered from it in the 80s. I havent seen it since we grew up though.

[Werthead]

Thomas Seitz wrote:

But is it 5e? I mean it's never stated what edition we're in. Other than we're (possibly) Faerun.

Hasbro will be cross-market-pollinating (whatever) the hell out of the movie into D&D products, so if they are referencing stuff it will be out of 5E.

Also, it is Faerun. The movie is primarily set in Neverwinter and according to the plot description they also have scenes in Waterdeep and Icewind Dale (presumably with slightly blurry posters for WATERDEEP DRAGON HEIST and RIME OF THE FROSTMAIDEN in the background).

[Steve Geddes]

Ooo, I’m very keen to see a modern movie rendition of Waterdeep.
One of my favourite TTRPG settings.

[Thomas Seitz]

I too will enjoy seeing Waterdeep. It's a nice city to visit. (not sure I want to live there though.)

[Marc Radle]

Anyone heard any new info or news on this?

[Andostre]

Delayed 4 Weeks

This is barely newsworthy; I'm just sharing it so I can then share Owen K.C. Stephens' tweet about it:

Quote:

"D&D Movie has Scheduling Problems, Will Try Next Month"

Okay, now that's a power move to prove you understand the IP.

Other comments running with the joke:

"This movie will be perfect if one of the characters died midway, and they encounter a new character played by the same actor."

"The characters should start an accent in the first hour but kind of lose it halfway through and then forget they had one entirely."

"All the NPCs should change names because no one is taking notes."

"All npcs played by the same actor doing slightly different accents"

"The movie shouldn’t end. 2 hours in the director had other commitments and just tells you where he planned to go."

[Fumarole]

Owen Stephens should not be chiding others for delayed products. Yes, I'm still waiting for the rest of the 52-in-52 products, close to two years late now.

[Thomas Seitz]

Dude. It's not chiding. It's just offering sharp witticisms at an IP that is known for gaming groups that have issues with scheduling.

[dirtypool]

Fumarole wrote:

Owen Stephens should not be chiding others for delayed products. Yes, I'm still waiting for the rest of the 52-in-52 products, close to two years late now.

He's exaggerating for comedic effect about the commonality of scheduling conflicts parties have.

In reality, it just moved three weeks to Scream 6's release date so that Scream could come out earlier in the month.

It's not that serious and certainly isn't a chance to take pot shots at anyone else.

[Quark Blast]

The latest clip from the upcoming D&D movie is pretty good satire and definitive proof the writers understand the IP. Now if there's a scene dealing with Commune and one with a Djinn-noble granting wishes, the trifecta will be complete.

[Thomas Seitz]

Yeah I've not had that experience but I certainly can relate. But Commune and divinations are often the ones that frustrate lots of players.

[Greylurker]

Saw a fun little clip of them participating in a contest against other adventuring parties. One of the other parties looks like the kids from the old 80s cartoon.

Displacer beast looks fantastic BTW

[Quark Blast]

The early reviews - IMDB and RT (not to mention all the podcasters) are quite encouraging. I'm not surprised, as it was clear from the beginning that the deciders understood the IP they purchased the rights to.

The worst criticisms seem to center on it being a little long and running the funny out of some of the gags.

[TomParker]

I really enjoyed it. It didn't go overboard on the humor, for me, and I loved the depictions of so many classic monsters. A lot of Forgotten Realms references probably went over my head but I recognized some of them from just being around the hobby.

[Greylurker]

Movie was a lot of fun. Few things I might quibble over but mostly just a lot of good fun

[Thomas Seitz]

Yay for fun! :D

[Marc Radle]

Saw the movie this evening - really liked it!

Very Guardians of the Galaxy in tone, which was absolutely the right way to go.

My son and I will probably go see it again.

Well worth seeing it in the theater!

[BigNorseWolf]

Saw it. Was definitely a LOT of fun. Maybe a little long.

The paladin is totally NOT the DMs DMNPC.

I liked how the fight scenes were mostly not wushu, and things looked like they had actual weight to them. The barbarians fighting style was just straight up brutal and there were "puny gods" feelings every time the owlbear got a hold of someone...

[JiCi]

Yeah, the movie was fun, with a LOT of references :)

BigNorseWolf wrote:

I liked how the fight scenes were mostly not wushu, and things looked like they had actual weight to them. The barbarians fighting style was just straight up brutal and there were "puny gods" feelings every time the owlbear got a hold of someone...

I'm still waiting for the day D&D or Pathfinder will allow spellcasters to fling spells as fast as a Fighter can swing a sword each round ^^;

[Fumarole]

My group saw it last night after our game session and it was pretty good. The various creatures were used well and it was a lot of fun trying to identify all of the spells used. The cameos were pretty nice too.

[DeathQuaker]

I still remember how awful the one was 20 years ago so I wasn't expecting much...

And it was super fun. Loved it. It was cool being a longtime Forgotten Realms fan to feel like in various points sort of like, "Hey, I've been there!" (so to speak). At the same time I thought they did a good job at keeping the action moving and not having too much "As you know Bob" exposition, and the few raw expository moments were well processed.

Chris Pine never seems to play any character other than That Character That Chris Pine Plays, but that character fortunately worked really well for this story. I know I shouldn't try too hard to apply mechanics to a cinematic narrative but it being an actual D&D movie it was hard not to try... I couldn't tell if he was a bard or a rogue who happened to play a lute. As they also didn't have the druid cast any spells, I wasn't sure if they just thought it was too confusing if half the party could cast some spells, and/or it took from the sorcerer's narrative. (Or do druids and bards not cast spells anymore in D&D?)

[John Mechalas]

I saw it today and I was impressed. Based on the reviews I was expecting good, but I wasn't expecting it to be this good. They really pulled it off: it's a good movie in its own right, and doesn't need a "for a D&D movie" qualifier.

There is humor in it--sometimes a lot of humor--but it's an adventure picture at heart, once that mines its material (and, in some cases, the experiences as players) for its comedy rather than playing the material for laughs. In particular, it avoids the camp of modern superhero movies by not winking to the audience, or lingering over its gags. You either get the joke or you don't, and it doesn't point them out. It just delivers them and moves on.

The movie takes itself just seriously enough to ensure the story has stakes, that the characters care about what happens, and that the viewer is invested in events as they unfold. But not so seriously that the comedy it discovers along the way becomes awkward.

I think the biggest laughs come from a side quest, and it's here that I believe the writers really understood the game, or rather the players that play the game. They find comedy gold in the exact sort of frustrations that we, as players, have in a side quest, and they just run with it. When the side quest is over, they dial it back.

BigNorseWolf is right about the action sequences. They are well-choreographed, and look like they were heavy on practical effects because most everything--including the CGI work--moves like it has actual weight to it. The fights have actual tension because you don't get that feeling that anything can happen. Characters are bounded by the laws of physics, except where magic intervenes and even there, it is clear they are following some rules.

I think the smartest thing they did, though, was ensure the D&D references were organic and didn't stick out awkwardly from the rest of the movie. There's really not any fan-service here. There are elements, names, creatures you'll recognize if you know the game and its history, but the movie is not pointing them out to you. It's just a fantasy setting, and the writers know it.

The whole thing is a fun romp. Best of all, it's totally accessible to anyone, even those who have never touched the game.

[magnuskn]

Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Now where's my Runelord Sorshen and Nocticula movie? ^^

[Fumarole]

I'd say the inclusion of the characters from the cartoon was definitely fan service.

[Quark Blast]

The Drinker has stated that the show subverted his expectations and I've linked to the end of his video there where he concisely states why he liked the film. His summary is, I think, a minimally decent and accurate summary from the POV of a non-TTRPGer.

The showing I went to was nearly full and the families there all clearly enjoyed it - when the lights went up the faces were smiling and/or laughing and talking about it on the way out.

Iceland, sorry, Icewind Dale looked great. All ice and snow and rocky terrain. Not a speck of green in sight, let alone a forest - just as I knew it would be. ;)

And the practical effects were all excellent. People whining about the Druid's Wildshape ability as seen in the movie are to be pitied - the license to make an interesting movie rather necessitates RAW be abandoned for the Rule of Cool.

There weren't so many fan-service moments that it stalled the story or added unresolved complexity. I liked seeing the live action D&D cartoon adventuring group and was disappointed that they didn't have any lines - even a throw away "I'm scared" by Sheela, a "Let me at 'em" from her brother, or a "Scatter!" from Hank in the arena. Frankly I don't understand why, since the characters they did go with have no history with the IP, they didn't attempt to adapt existing characters.* Though I'll admit they gave enough backstory for the Bard and Barbarian, and maybe the Sorcerer as well, to invest in those characters.

I hope it clears $300M worldwide so that they make another.

* This is the problem MC and DC seem to be having lately with their movies - minor (indeed, unknown!) characters being given their own movies. Mind, I don't want to see another origin story for Spidy (e.g.) but it would be nice to continue existing concepts. Maybe see something besides the regurgitated third-act CGI blowout to end a movie with.