John Wick writer set to pitch a new Dungeon & Dragons live-action adaptation

Derek Kolstad – writer for the John Wick franchise as well as Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – is reportedly developing a new series pitch based upon Dungeons & Dragons.

According to Variety, it’s just one of several D&D projects currently underway – apparently Hasboro film studio eOne is also in talks about a Dungeon & Dragons project – although Kolstad’s treatment “is expected to craft a story that will capture crucial aspects of the franchise through a live-action lens”.

As you might well expect, not much else is yet known about the project – Variety says “details on where Kolstad plans to take the storyline or how he intends to expand the franchise have not yet been revealed” – but it’s thought it hopes to capitalise on the boost in new D&D fans that started playing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As for other games getting a TV adaptation? Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov will reportedly be directing the upcoming HBO adaptation of The Last of Us. Although it was initially speculated that the production would reunite Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin with director Johan Renck, it’s now thought Renck had to drop out because of a scheduling conflict.

HBO greenlit the new television adaptation of The Last of Us at the end of last year. The project is progressing under the watch of Mazin and the game’s writer Neil Druckmann, alongside PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and, of course, Naughty Dog.
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