THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE and Chris McKay may not have gotten that sweet, sweet Oscar nomination, but the movie sure is doing wonders for the director's résumé. After securing the director’s chair for the live-action NIGHTWING movie, McKay is also in talks to take on the new DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS movie from Paramount.
Variety got the scoop that the director is in negotiations to direct from a script by Michael Gillio, with Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis producing. This will be one of the first films from AllSpark Pictures, which intends to create a Hasbro-centric cinematic universe aimed to challenge Marvel’s own franchise of films. Yes, a Transformer will probably punch a medieval dragon in the face.
A popular game among fans of fantasy and sci-fi, D&D is a tabletop role-playing game that allows players to build their own adventures and characters in a makeshift fantasy environment. News of this movie’s further development is not the first recent update on the Hasbro/Paramount front. It was recently revealed that Paramount may be looking to reboot the TRANSFORMERS live-action universe after THE LAST KNIGHT failed to make an impact at the box office. The D&D movie is set for July 23, 2021, which is set to follow new G.I. JOE and MICRONAUTS movies in 2020.
This scheduling works out for McKay, as he seems fully invested in the upcoming Nightwing movie, which he revealed is still in the midst of casting while the script is finished up. He would likely finish with NIGHTWING and then move into D&D right after. He is also attached for as an executive producer on the upcoming THE LEGO SEQUEL. He’s a very busy man.
McKay did a great job with LEGO BATMAN, turning the Lego Gotham into a unique wonderland of colorful characters. That movie builds off an entire world of mythology, which makes him a perfect candidate for something like D&D. These types of fantasy movies have a hard time connecting with audiences, so what the movie needs is a fresh voice to make it feel modern and accessible.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is set for July 23, 2021.