Video game movies have a long and challenging history. Most examples failed to capture what fans enjoyed in the original medium. Modern takes on classic games are broadly more successful, but they still routinely fall short of low expectations. When a movie borrows elements from a game, it can be more effective than a direct adaptation. Edge of Tomorrow feels more like a PS4 title than a Warner Bros. blockbuster, but its example could help develop Ryan Reynolds’ prospective Dragon’s Lair movie.
The time loop concept is ages-old, but it always seems to be enjoying a boom period. Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day perfectly explores the trope from a comedy perspective, while The Endless nailed its horror interpretation. Games like Deathloop make dying repeatedly fun. While the most thoughtful examples live on the page, time loops still haven’t lost their appeal.
The history of Dragon’s Lair
Rick Dyer created a device he dubbed the Fantasy Machine. It began as a roll of calculator tape featuring drawings and text but later became a cross-breed between a video game console and videodisc player. He devised a “graphic adventure” called The Secrets of the Lost Woods. After seeing Don Bluth’s The Secret of Nimh, he discovered the missing element. Bluth and his team worked on a tiny budget, creating 22 minutes of animated footage for an unfinished piece of Dyer’s larger dream. That brief experience became Dragon’s Lair, an arcade classic powered by the LaserDisc player. Dragon’s Lair is an on-rails experience predating modern quick-time events. Players see a brief clip, react appropriately, and activate the next cutscene. The game’s glorious visuals drew countless fans. Dragon’s Lair came to several home consoles and modern re-releases. It spawned several sequels, semi-sequels, and spin-offs.
Ryan Reynolds is making a Dragon’s Lair movie
The star of Detective Pikachu and Free Guy is set to portray Dirk the Daring in an upcoming film adaptation of Dragon’s Lair for Netflix. The streamer signed the deal in 2020 with The Hageman Brothers of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Hotel Transylvania fame writing the script. This would be the third attempt to bring Dyer’s classic to the big screen. Prolific author Alan Dean Foster sought to craft the story for an adaptation in the 80s, but studios weren’t buying it. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman raised $731,172 to create their version of a Dragon’s Lair film in 2016, but that project has never developed. The latest attempt seems likelier to reach the screen. While Bluth unquestionably should tell this story, his opportunity may have left him. He’s credited as a producer on the Netflix iteration.
Dragon’s Lair’s Gameplay can make for a unique story
Dragon’s Lair is a game about reacting to split-second cues, memorizing every detail, and doing the same thing ad infinitum. A perfect run takes about 12 minutes, but few will ever experience that fun short film. It’s a game about practice, repetition, and developing prescience through trial and error. When Dirk dies, as he often does, the screen depicts his body becoming a skeleton before a wave of magic restores his vitality. He appears in a random level, typically unrelated to the one that killed him. In Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp, Dirk restarts at a checkpoint each time he dies. That game canonized the time loop mechanic the first title could have used.
Edge of Tomorrow as an inspiration
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Director |
Doug Liman |
|---|---|
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Writer |
Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth |
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Stars |
Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson |
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Release Date |
May 28, 2014 |
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Runtime |
113 Minutes |
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Streaming on |
Apple TV+, Hulu, Sling TV |
Edge of Tomorrow follows Tom Cruise’s William Cage as he suffers a battlefield injury that locks him into a 24-hour time loop during a war against aliens. He was a selfish PR professional before his first death, but he learned the ways of war and became a super soldier after thousands of attempts. Like Dragon’s Lair, Cage’s experience requires constant terrible, humiliating death and suffering. He gives several thousand lives to the cause, reacts to every warning, and wins the war the only way he can. It’s an excellent time loop action film. Dragon’s Lair would change the setting, genre, tone, and medium, but it could still take a ton from Edge of Tomorrow.
Dragon’s Lair could make a fun animated action movie. The franchise has always been celebrated for its animation over its gameplay. Of all the video game movies, it may suffer the least from the medium change. Edge of Tomorrow may look nothing like the tale of Dirk the Daring rescuing Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe, but it could provide the bones. Dirk the Daring should be the face of the phrase “Live, Die, Repeat.“
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