Warner Bros. reboot of Dungeons & Dragons delayed due to Hasbro lawsuit

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Despite already producing a god awful big screen DUNGEONS & DRAGONS movie back in 2000, Warner Bros. has set up a new movie based on the role-playing game. But, there is now a lawsuit out there from Hasbro saying that the movie studio no longer owns the rights to make a sequel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit claims that producer Sweatpea Entertainment has lapsed on their right to make a sequel despite releasing two follow-ups: 2005’s WRATH OF THE DRAGON GOD and 2012’s THE BOOK OF VILE DARKNESS.

The key to Hasbro’s claim is that the 2005 movie was only released on television as a SyFy movie and the 2012 film has never seen US distribution. In fact, if you have seen any of the three movies, you will want to do everything you can to prevent SweetPea from making another DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Hasbro’s subsidiary Wizards of the Coast owns the rights to the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game and has been developing a big screen project of their own at Universal under the assumption that they had the rights to the property.

Both Warner Bros. and Hasbro seem confident they will win the lawsuit. WB announced their plans to make DUNGEONS & DRAGONS as a big budget summer movie, likely to capitalize on the success of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and GAME OF THRONES. While I have never played the RPG, the title would definitely benefit from a more serious treatment than it was given by the Marlon Wayans version. Hopefully, whoever prevails, gives us a quality epic worthy of the name DUNGEONS & DRAGONS.