Screenwriter Derek Kolstad revealed how Star Wars serves as the inspiration behind the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons television series, which is in the early stages of development for Hasbro's Entertainment One film division.
"In the first Star Wars, you heard about Jabba the Hutt and you don't see him until the third one because you earn at that point, and whatever the budget was for the third one compared to the first one, who cares, right? And I think in Dungeons and Dragons, who has this massive, dedicated community of acolytes, I don't want to suddenly throw everything on screen and say, 'Here's the buffet.' You'd much rather keep the story intimate," Kolstad told Collider. "When you think of our favorite movies, I'd rather do the First Blood version. It's a guy in the woods being hunted. And it's very small, but you allude to the other things through conversation. You have your USS Indianapolis [in Jaws], you see something in the background. You hear a name that 3% of the audience is like, 'Ho ho, I think we're going to see him soon.' I think the thing is just to take a deep breath, to go into it slowly, and to just respect the world, and as you adapt, certain things need to change. But you better not touch the heart and soul of why people love this thing."
Known for his contributions to the John Wick franchise, Kolstad plans to take a smaller approach to this high fantasy world, while still having respect for the huge hits within the genre like Lord of the Rings, sci-fi stalwart Dune and even D&D off-shoots like Dragonlance. Kolstad is also sensitive to the reverence fans have for the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop game and wants to do it justice, while building his own world within the IP. Instead of going big, he plans to start things off with a character-driven narrative.
Kolstad appears to enjoy the flexibility that many of the streaming shows take advantage of. For example, he is also a writer and has a co-executive producer credit for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and sees the Dungeons & Dragon series going anywhere from six to 10 episodes. There isn't much information yet on what sort of characters will be used, where the setting will be within the many worlds that have been created for Dungeons & Dragons over the years, or even what title will be used. "I just call it D&D," Kolstad said. He favors the idea that the established canon is largely in place so he can focus on the smaller picture, much like in The Mandalorian.
Of course, this isn't the only new property based on the successful gaming platform slated to come out soon. There is a Dungeons & Dragons movie in the works, also from Entertainment One, slated for a 2022 release with big names like Chris Pine, Hugh Grant and Michelle Rodriguez attached. In these early stages of creating his own world and story, Kolstad is drawing inspiration from some of the most successful and beloved series around.
Source: Collider