Paramount has announced that they won’t be following up onHonor Among Thieveswith any kind ofDungeons & DragonsTV show, which is disappointing enough, but I’m surprised none of the other studios have jumped at the chance to capitalize on this opportunity.Dungeons &Dragons-inspiredfilms and shows have proven successful.Honor Among Thievesis clearly a streaming success, whileThe Legend of Vox Machinacontinues its 100% Rotten Tomatoes streak with its latest season, soyou’d think at least someone would recognize just how hungry fans are for moreD&Dmedia.
Even just fifteen years ago,D&Dwas still mostly talked about in a derogatory way as something nerds did, with notable exceptions like when it leaked that Vin Diesel was playing it with Dame Judi Dench on the set ofThe Chronicles of Riddick. This wasn’t helped when theD&Dmovies from the 2000s proved to be terribleand haven’t even been worth framing as nostalgia bait.Now,Dungeons & Dragonsis at the height of its popularity, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon.
Recent Dungeons & Dragons Successes Prove How Much Potential The Franchise Has
How CanD&DNot Work As A TV Show If It Works For Both Animated Series And Actual Play?
The film’s popularity should be no surprise. We’re living in a time when aD&Dlive show can immediately sell out Madison Square Garden, as reported byTechCrunch). That amazing, especially compared to the cultural view onD&Dwhen I learned how to play back in the 90s. Whole studios are springing up to create actual play streams, inspired byCritical RoleandThe Adventure ZoneandDimension 20and all the other incredible tables out there.The Legend of Vox Machinacontinues to beat all critical expectations.There’s never been a better time to be aD&Dfan.
As reported byScreen Rant,The Legend of Vox Machinaseason 3 currently has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Dungeons & Dragonshas as much potential as a live-action TV show as it does as a tabletop game. There are infinite worlds shining like jewels in the Astral Sea, all of which hold an infinite number of stories. This could even be the key part of a show’s premise; an anthology approach to aDungeons & Dragonsshow could allow for a variety of creators to contribute in fun and compelling ways while getting to play in all ofD&D’s campaign settings.
Studios Are Learning The Wrong Lessons From Honor Among Thieves' Box Office
It’s Not About Star Power And Special Effects, It’s About Fun
I’m always concerned about the thought process studio execs have when it comes to deciding whether something deserves a sequel, which seems to have cost us a follow-up toHonor Among Thieves. For years now, it feels like executives have been happy to eke out diminishing returns from existing mega-franchises rather than invest in new ideas or take risks. I can’t remember the last time I actually went to a movie theater. Meanwhile,films likeHonor Among Thieves,which so clearly set up opportunities for franchising with interesting storytelling, are allowed to die off.
The Best Dungeons & Dragons One-Shots Reveal How A Live-Action TV Show Can Work
Dungeons & Dragons' future is uncertain, but if a D&D TV show is to happen, it needs to take inspiration from a key part of the game – one-shots.
Of course, it’s impossible to look at the mistakes studios are making lately without mentioning the worst trend of all, which is allowing finished movies to go unreleased for the purposes of tax write-offs. The whole trend is infuriating when you look at it in combination with the way so many other films wind up in development hell for years on end only to never be finished.Studios repeatedly ignore what audiences are saying they want.Then again,D&D fans are used to being misunderstoodat times, as seen with recent controversies surroundingDungeons & Dragonspublisher Hasbro.
The most important lesson studios could have learned fromHonor Among Thievesis thatDungeons & Dragonsadaptations should be fun.
The most important lesson studios could have learned fromHonor Among Thievesis thatDungeons & Dragonsadaptations should be fun. There were loads of Easter eggs in there for those of us who still have our copies of the 2nd editionPlayer’s Handbooksitting proudly on the shelf, , but it was also an earnest attempt at replicating the adventure and chaos of a campaign of the RPG. Hopefully, soon a studio will take the chance to make aDungeons & Dragonsshow we as fans can be proud of — until then, I’ll be binge-watching moreDimension 20.
