A Dungeons & Dragons film is going to be moving forward soon at Paramount Studios and quite honestly a lot of fans could only hope and pray that this time someone gets it right. At this point here have been at least two feature films or more, none of which have done anything really but alienate a lot of fans seeing as how they’ve been slightly mishandled here and there. The roles that have been plugged into the movies have been that of a Fighter, Mage, Sorcerer, Barbarian, Rogue, and Cleric, but there are so many others that could be utilized to such a great extent. One great reason why these films never seem to go anywhere is that there is so much material to use when it comes to D&D that finding a story and sticking to it isn’t really the problem, it’s finding a story that people are really going to care about.
D&D is, as those who’ve played it can attest to, a wide open range of worlds and ideas in which anything can happen at anytime whether if it’s in accordance with the rules of the game or not. A good DM, dungeon master, will follow the rules and still make the game engaging but will find a way to make it just challenging enough that the players have to think their way through each scenario. That’s how the filmmakers need to look at this to be perfectly honest, as a game that has a number of different outcomes that are controlled by chance and fate, not desire. It’s true that if one were to make up a movie by rolling a set of dice that they might come up with some very tragic and unforeseen circumstances that might force them to write the script as they go instead of having it ready at a moment’s notice. That’s not typically how movies are made, but D&D is a different animal really and requires a different touch.
Adding in new characters this time around could possibly enliven the cast and create more interest. For instance, add in the character of the Monk, the Paladin, the Ranger, or even the Bard and such a movie might be more interesting and a little more colorful as each character class tends to come with their own set of quirks that offset one another and grant some very interesting story developments. These are the times I do wish I had gone into screenwriting, if only because Hollywood seems willing to shell out the same tired stories again and again. Had I the chance I’d delve back into my days of D&D and grant them a few stories that might not be accepted in their entirety but would still grant the audience a look into what can actually happen during a campaign and how much more engaging it can be if the story is allowed to remain in the necessary time period but incorporate more modern tones.
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