The video arcade had its heyday in the 1980s, with icons such as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Galaga all debuting in the decade. One of the most unique and memorable games of the era was definitely Dragon’s Lair, the 1983 fantasy game that featured LaserDisc-powered graphics and movie-quality animation from animated film legend Don Bluth. The game has experienced a bit of a resurgence in recent years thanks in part to its prominent cameo in the premiere episode of Stranger Things‘ second season. Now, that resurgence has reached its ultimate conclusion: A Dragon’s Lair movie adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds.
The film will be live-action, a somewhat disappointing choice since the game’s classic 2D animation was a big part of its appeal, but an unsurprising one given that traditional hand-drawn animation is effectively dead in American cinema. The movie’s script will be penned by screenwriting brothers Dan and Kevin Hageman, who have already shown a knack for turning beloved franchises from other media into pretty good movies (they wrote the scripts for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Lego Movie). Netflix is handling the film’s production and will eventually distribute it, though it’s unclear when any work will begin due to the ongoing worldwide coronavirus pandemic that has ground the movie industry to a halt.
No plot details from the film have been revealed, but the game follows a Medieval knight named Dirk the Daring (we’re guessing that’s who Reynolds will play) as he attempts to rescue Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe. It’s pretty standard fantasy fare plotwise, but the game injected a lot of humor into the formula, potentially making Reynolds a great fit if the movie goes for a similar tone. Reynolds is also set to produce the film, as is Bluth.
We have no idea when we’ll actually be able to watch this Dragon’s Lair movie, but hopefully the wait isn’t too excruciatingly long.
