It’s almost the 20th anniversary of the first cinematic adaptation of Dungeons and Dragons, and considering how that was critically received, presumably it won’t take much for the upcoming reboot to turn out as a better product. Major updates concerning the next Dungeons and Dragons movie have been light over the last several years, but it looks like the project has finally some new directors: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
Last year, The LEGO Batman Movie’s Chris McKay was being lined up to helm Dungeons and Dragons, but he eventually departed to work on Skydance’s Ghost Draft, which stars Chris Pratt. Now Variety reports that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have been eyed to fill that directorial vacancy, with negotiations currently underway.
Daley and Goldstein’s notable credits together including directing Vacation (which they also wrote) and Game Night, and penning Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, before Dungeons and Dragons came their way, they were set to direct The Flash for the DC Extended Universe. Alas, after more than a year, eventually the duo decided to depart the project due to creative differences, and now IT director Andy Muschietti has been tapped to oversee the Scarlet Speedster’s standalone story.
While a new Dungeons and Dragons movie has been in development since 2015, originally it started out at Warner Bros, but has since shifted to Paramount Pictures, which makes sense given the studio’s relationship with the company that owns the role-playing game, Hasbro.
Dungeons and Dragons will be one of the first projects that’s part of Hasbro’s AllSpark Pictures, through which the toy company hopes to start churning out Marvel Cinematic Universe-level competition. Other upcoming projects under the label include the G.I. Joe spinoff Snake Eyes and Micronauts.
Dungeons and Dragons has also gone through a lot of script writers over the years. Michael Gilio is penning the latest draft, taking over from Aquaman co-writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick. Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis from Hasbro are executive producing.
As far as on-screen talent goes, no actors have been announced for Dungeons and Dragons yet. At one point, Baby Driver’s Ansel Elgort was in talks to play one of the leads, but that was over two years ago, so who knows if he’s still even a candidate. Paramount should consider looping Joe Manganiello in considering what a huge Dungeons and Dragons fan he is (after all, he tried to get his own version of the movie made).
Dungeons and Dragons is scheduled to hit theaters on November 19, 2021, sandwiching it between Fantastic Beasts 3 the week prior and a yet-to-be-revealed animated Disney film the week after. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage in this major motion picture.
In the meantime, look through our 2019 release schedule to find out what silver screen offerings catch your eye for the rest of the year.
