Taking a step back from the sensory overload that is Universal’s Fast and the Furious franchise, Vin Diesel can next be seen in Breck Eisner’s quiet family flick The Last Witch Hunter, where he plays the titular killing machine on the hunt of all things evil. Okay, let’s not be glib; later this month, the actor will be venturing headfirst into the supernatural for the stylized actioner. Although, had the stars aligned, Diesel would have been toplining an entirely different fantasy series. That is, Dungeons & Dragons.
As followers of Diesel’s work – and social media platforms – will know, the actor harbors a personal bond with the inimitable table-top RPG, even posting a video just last week via Facebook revealing as much.
Whilst promoting The Last Witch Hunter, however, Diesel unveiled a much more concrete connection with the long-running franchise in that he was once approached to lead a new live-action adaptation. Speaking to Cinema Blend, here’s what the fan-favorite had to share.
I have a friend named Flint Dille, who’s one of the writers for my company who, you know, will write something for Riddick, or he’ll write something for Hannibal. If you ever read that graphic novel “300” from Frank Miller, there’s a character that’s modeled after this guy Flint Dille, who’s named Flint Delius and he’s the orator, he’s the one telling you the whole 300 story.
In fact, when I was in one of my more intense pre-production phases of Hannibal, Frank Miller was at my house sketching out storyboards… But he said he was great friends with [D&D co-creator] Gary Gygax, and he said something that really, really shocked me, which was that Gary Gygax, before he passed away, said that he wanted me to tell his story. So, whatever it would be in the world of D&D, it would have to be very sacred. And that’s how you get me.
A full 15 years have lapsed since the largely forgettable version of Dungeons & Dragons graced cinema screens, and it’s nigh on time that the series turned over a new leaf. Having set up shop at Warner Bros., it’s understood that the studio is readying the project for a release at some time in 2019, signalling that the fantastical story is still a ways away yet.
At long last, Dungeons & Dragons is beginning to show early signs of life. Now that the legal dispute Hasbro has been settled, Warner Bros. is hoping to get the wheels in motion sooner rather than later. Is it possible that Diesel could be courted for the live-action feature? Time will tell.