What the Fantasy Genre Needs.

[G.T.]

A live-action version of the 80s Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. If it had a Jumanji vibe, it would bring it up to date and might appeal to a wider audience I think.

 

[BAYLOR]

A live-action version of the 80s Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. If it had a Jumanji vibe, it would bring it up to date and might appeal to a wider audience I think.

Indeed.

Id love to see a live action Thunder the Barbarian.

 

[W Collier]

They're never going to make such a thing for the screen these days. Not as unapologetically (and somewhat amorally) manly as they were back in the day. There's whole thread about that next door. I'm afraid, to have stories like this today, they must be written. Maybe one will come from this very forum.

 

[BAYLOR]

They're never going to make such a thing for the screen these days. Not as unapologetically (and somewhat amorally) manly as they were back in the day. There's whole thread about that next door. I'm afraid, to have stories like this today, they must be written. Maybe one will come from this very forum.

I know , and I find that , disappointing

I would be to see one one do a Game the Mystic Swordsman film . I would love to se Bloodstone by Karl Edward Wager be come a film ot William Hope Hodgson's noel The House on the Borderland become a film . Neither those will ever get to the big screen.

 

[KGeo777]

There's a Masters of the Universe series. I am not hopeful but I am intrigued by Mark Hamill as Skeletor. I am curious but I don't like Kevin Smith so I am not interested in seeing what they do with it.
Thundarr had more potential since they rode those neat horses and travelled around on adventures. Kind of like Mad Max meets Conan.

 

[BAYLOR]

There's a Masters of the Universe series. I am not hopeful but I am intrigued by Mark Hamill as Skeletor. I am curious but I don't like Kevin Smith so I am not interested in seeing what they do with it.
Thundarr had more potential since they rode those neat horses and travelled around on adventures. Kind of like Mad Max meets Conan.

And Thunder had some great over the top villains like Gemini and Mindoc . There is book Thunder Man of Two World by John Bloodstone of which Thunder is loosely based on. Originally , I think they wanted to do Conan . Im not sure of this but I think they are same apple who dd the animated series Return to the Planet of the Apes which in terms of look and story was a bit closer in concept to Pierre Boulle's novel .

 

[KGeo777]

And Thunder had some great over the top villains like Gemini and Mindoc .

Yeah I remember the guy with the double face.
That was a neat character.

There was a plan to do a big budget sword and sorcery movie around 1976 which had characters riding lizards etc.
I can't remember what it was based on--the studio guy was one of the two producers of Batman '89. He was a clueless suit whoever he was.
There was also plans to make a Thongor movie from the company AMICUS.
The People That Time Forgot showed that influence---it has a definite Conan/sword and sorcery influence.
Also Conan 1982 was originally going to be much more of a fantasy--they wanted Rick Baker and a stop motion animator to contribute FX for it.

I remember those 80s Mad Max rip-offs like Metalstorm and Spacehunter...they didn't have the style or the energy they should have had.

 

[BAYLOR]

Yeah I remember the guy with the double face.
That was a neat character.

There was a plan to do a big budget sword and sorcery movie around 1976 which had characters riding lizards etc.
I can't remember what it was based on--the studio guy was one of the two producers of Batman '89. He was a clueless suit whoever he was.
There was also plans to make a Thongor movie from the company AMICUS.
The People That Time Forgot showed that influence---it has a definite Conan/sword and sorcery influence.
Also Conan 1982 was originally going to be much more of a fantasy--they wanted Rick Baker and a stop motion animator to contribute FX for it.

I remember those 80s Mad Max rip-offs like Metalstorm and Spacehunter...they didn't have the style or the energy they should have had.

Gemini was also the only reoccurring Villain in Thunder. I always thought He kind looked a bit like Darkseid

I would have preferred the Throngor film to crappy People that Time forgot film that we ended up with . Throngor was created by Lin Carter 1960's , and definitely very Conan . Ive read two stories , I liked both.

With Regard to the 1982 film. Im glad cooler hears prevailed, As much as like James Earl Jones as Thulsa Doom I would have preferred. Toth Amon as the main Villian and I would have had actor Amrish Puri ( Mola Ram)in that role . Actually, I wouldn't have minded if the film had both Toth Amon and Thusa Doom in the film working against each other with Conan caught in the middle.

Metalstorm was a godawful peace of film making . Space Hunter wasn't bad and wasn't; great , But I kind of liked it.

 

[BAYLOR]

What the fantasy genre needs is better cover art. I find the current Trend book cover to be very bland.

 

[BrightSparrow]

Yeah Leiber and Vance really inspired me to write the same kind of thing. Although my series is more character driven so there is development I make each story a closed event in itself.

I think I get my adventure kick from D&D nowadays. The thing I loved about reading a Fafhrd and Mouser story was knowing that I would be reading about some fanciful location or strange monster. I loved the flights of fantasy that were so unpredictable.

 

[JohnM]

Thongor by Lin Carter. I had personally met Lin Carter. A fine gentleman. Writing fantasy requires a certain mindset. One that some feel reluctant to use. The formula for everything has not changed. Athletic, capable man and pretty girl somewhere in the story. She may be capable but he ends up saving her.

 

[KGeo777]

I read some Thongor comics by Marvel.
They had these interesting snake women monsters.
Conan in Marvel also had a snake woman character--Ishiti? She was a giant snake with a Medusa head and in one 1980s comic -Conan is fighting these lizard men and then she appears and she spits on him-and each blast turns him more and more into a lizard man until he finally throws himself down her throat and cuts his way out of her. That would make a cool movie scene.

As long as Disney is not involved.
Their version would be, poor misunderstood Ishiti and this evil man who assaults her.
There was a sorceress girl who helped him though.
But he wasn't rescuing her in that one.
He needed the help but he solved things with a sword.

 

[BAYLOR]

Yeah Leiber and Vance really inspired me to write the same kind of thing. Although my series is more character driven so there is development I make each story a closed event in itself.

I think I get my adventure kick from D&D nowadays. The thing I loved about reading a Fafhrd and Mouser story was knowing that I would be reading about some fanciful location or strange monster. I loved the flights of fantasy that were so unpredictable.

Leiber and and Vance both classics.

Have you ever read the Kane the mystic swordsman series by Karl Edward Wagner ? One the greatest dark fantasy sever written . The early editions of the books were done by Frank Frazetta . Kans is a truly memeble protagonist. Bloodstone is the first book in the series . He also did an excellent Conan the Barbarian Pastiche novel Conan the Road of Kings and did a Bran Mak Morn pastiche . Bran Mak Morn Legion From the Shadows

 

[BAYLOR]

Yeah Leiber and Vance really inspired me to write the same kind of thing. Although my series is more character driven so there is development I make each story a closed event in itself.

I think I get my adventure kick from D&D nowadays. The thing I loved about reading a Fafhrd and Mouser story was knowing that I would be reading about some fanciful location or strange monster. I loved the flights of fantasy that were so unpredictable.

Which begs the qusesrtion of what have we never gotten a Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser movie or tv series ? If they went tvseries route, I want the people that Hercules and Xena to do the series .

 

[KGeo777]

I think fantasy movies need SA factor.
Skeletorian awesomeness.
I love this scene.
The music and sound effects for the four mercenaries.
Saurod is such a nifty character.

 

[BAYLOR]

I think fantasy movies need SA factor.
Skeletorian awesomeness.
I love this scene.
The music and sound effects for the four mercenaries.
Saurod is such a nifty character.

Thats actually not a bad film at all. But, it didn't do well at the box office.

 

[KGeo777]

Thats actually not a bad film at all. But, it didn't do well at the box office.

There's an article at Den of Geek on the film and it rips it apart-they aren't even impressed by Langella.

Considering that they could not afford to make a movie set entirely on an alien planet--I think combining it with Back to the Future (they even have the "American Donald Pleasence" James Tolkan from the film) showed creative intelligence. It's not that bad given the limits they had.

I don't understand how anyone can think a modern superhero movie does it better when they fill it with jokes. The Skeletor stuff is done seriously.
The humor comes from situations like Evil Lyn saying to Karg, "Outnumbered? Outclassed is more like it."


The teen stuff is better than the similar kind of story in Transformers 2007 which is terribly written.
James Tolkan's character Lubic is better than John Tuturro's.

 

[BrightSparrow]

Leiber and and Vance both classics.

Have you ever read the Kane the mystic swordsman series by Karl Edward Wagner ? One the greatest dark fantasy sever written . The early editions of the books were done by Frank Frazetta . Kans is a truly memeble protagonist. Bloodstone is the first book in the series . He also did an excellent Conan the Barbarian Pastiche novel Conan the Road of Kings and did a Bran Mak Morn pastiche . Bran Mak Morn Legion From the Shadows

No I haven't actually. I am catching up on my Conan as I haven't actually read a lot of those. Kane sounds cool, I will check it out. Frazetta always does great covers.

 

[BAYLOR]

No I haven't actually. I am catching up on my Conan as I haven't actually read a lot of those. Kane sounds cool, I will check it out. Frazetta always does great covers.

The very last Kane story that Wagner wrote is titled A Gothic Touch. In this story Kane meets Elric of Melnibone , Moonglum and Stormbringer . Elric is one the aspect of Michael Moorcocks Eternal Champion series . The story can be found in the anthology Elric Tales of the White Wolf.

There also exists comic book in which Conan The Barbarian cross paths with Elric of Melnibone The comic was published in 1973.

 

[soulsinging]

A live-action version of the 80s Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. If it had a Jumanji vibe, it would bring it up to date and might appeal to a wider audience I think.

Give me a GoT type series for the Dragonlance Chronicles...