Ryan Reynolds may be making waves at the box office this weekend with his latest movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, but another one of his upcoming projects just got a major update. While speaking to Collider‘s Steve Weintraub at SDCC‘s Producers on Producing panel, Roy Lee talked about the upcoming Dragon’s Lair project which has been in development limbo at Netflix for years. Reynolds is the only one confirmed to star in the project, with Don Bluth and Gary Goldman being tapped to direct. When asked if he could provide any kind of status update on the project, Lee had this to say:
“The status has changed a lot. Originally, it was gonna be one of the movies that was gonna be like a choose your own adventure. Like that Black Mirror episode where you could decide the fate of the characters, and that’s the way we had originally developed it. We had a 400-page script because you could go different directions and go different ways, and Ryan Reynolds was gonna play Dirk the Daring, but they pulled the plug on that format. Now we’re reconfiguring it as a straight, linear movie.”
While a “straight, linear” movie perhaps isn’t as exciting or glamorous as a project that allows the viewers to choose the ending, it’s certainly easier on the writers, directors, and everyone else involved with the project. Weintraub then asked, due to these changes, if there was someone writing the script, to which Lee replied, “Yes. It’s the same writer. They just had to take the 400-page script and pare it down.” For those who are unaware, the typical Hollywood movie script is around 100 pages, give or take 25. A longer movie like Oppenheimer which features mostly dialogue can reach up to 180, but generally right around 100 is the sweet spot. Writers on the project include Dan and Kevin Hageman and Goldman penning the script with characters from Don Bluth and Rick Dyer. The writing team certainly has their work cut out for them cutting out roughly 300 pages of the script, but Lee‘s optimism sounds like they’re more than up to the task.
Ryan Reynolds’ Latest Movie Is Slashing Through the Box Office
In addition to starring in Dragon’s Lair, Reynolds currently has a small independent movie that just premiered in theaters that you may or may not have heard about. After years of anticipation, Deadpool & Wolverine is finally here and sees Reynolds‘ Deadpool team up with Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine, who is back in the saddle reprising his role after seven years have passed since Logan. Deadpool & Wolverine reportedly earned between $35 and $40 million just for opening Thursday night previews, and is currently tracking to gross roughly $350 million at the worldwide box office on opening weekend. It will be a few more days before the official numbers are in, but expect Deadpool & Wolverine to smash every box office record for an R-rated movie.
Dragon’s Lair does not have an official release date, as the project is currently undergoing script changes.
via Collider