Remember “Dragon’s Lair”? If you didn’t grow up during the golden age of arcade video games, then you are probably only familiar with this legendary game from its brief appearance in the second season of “Stranger Things,” but luckily, you may become familiar with it very soon as Netflix is set to develop a live-action film adaptation of the video game with Ryan Reynolds starring and producing.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has acquired the rights to the popular video game, with Ryan Reynolds set to star and produce, while Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment and Trevor Engelson of Underground Entertaining also producing. The script will be written by Dan and Kevin Hageman of “The LEGO Movie,” and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.”
Released in 1983, “Dragon’s Lair” quickly became the most popular video game in the country, largely due to its revolutionizing use of extended animated sequences made by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth, who also made “An American Tail” and “The Land Before Time.” The 83-year-old animator will also serve as a producer on the film adaptation of “Dragon’s Lair,” together with original producer Gary Goldman. Reynolds is set to play the main character, Dirk the Daring, a knight on a quest to rescue Princess Daphne from the clutches of an evil dragon known as Singe and the Wizard Mordroc. Being that Dirk is more of a scaredy-cat than an inspiring hero, it seems like a good fit for Reynolds’ signature style of wisecracking humor.
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This is far from the first time Hollywood has tried to adapt “Dragon’s Lair.” According to IndieWire, both Don Bluth and Gary Goldman created a crowdfunding campaign years ago to fund a “Dragon’s Lair” movie, which still updates backers regularly.