‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Series Adaptation in the Works From ‘John Wick’ Writer

Derek Kolstad, writer for the “John Wick” franchise, will write and develop a series pitch based around the popular game “Dungeons & Dragons,” Variety has confirmed.

The game, which features dice, a dungeon master and an active use of the imagination, has encouraged fans across the world to host game nights and weave inventive stories of adventure. During the pandemic, it has built a new audience as creators’ livestreams picked up steam.

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Kolstad, who is also writing for Marvel’s “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Disney Plus, is expected to craft a story that will capture crucial aspects of the franchise through a live-action lens. But Hasboro film studio eOne is also in talks to build upon the “Dungeons & Dragons” world through other currently unannounced projects, as well.

Three “Dungeons & Dragons” films were made from 2000 to 2012, and another game-based film starring Chris Pine was announced in December and is currently expected to release in 2022. The movie has spent years in early creative stages, with news in 2016 considering Ansel Elgort for the lead. It eventually got pushed and danced through the hands of a few directors, but is now to be directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley.

Even with another movie in the works, Habro’s eOne is also pushing for the series that would build upon the stories and fantasy world of the multiplayer game. Details on where Kolstad plans to take the storyline or how he intends to expand the franchise have not yet been revealed.

The role-playing game was first published in 1974 by game designers Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson, but it rose to prominence throughout the 1980s. Tens of millions of Americans have played the game, which is arguably one of the largest role-playing franchises in the world.

The Hollywood Reporter first broke the development news.

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