Netflix Is Making A ‘Dragon’s Lair’ Movie Starring Ryan Reynolds

Dragon’s Lair is coming to Netflix as a live-action movie starring Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds is also a producer on the project which doesn’t have a release date at this time.

The movie will be based off of the 80s’ video game from Don Bluth and Cinematronics. Bluth will also produce.

This is all according to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter. Netflix has apparently been trying to get the rights to the game for over a year now.

Turns out that scene from Stranger Things 3 was a teaser of sorts.

Dragon’s Lair was one of those games you play as a kid and never forget. It’s not really a very good game since it’s mostly just a series of Quick-Time Events as you trial-and-error your way through each scene. But it looked like you were playing an actual cartoon. No other game looked as good. It really looks like you’re playing a game version of Disney’s The Sword In The Stone.

In the game you play as Dirk the Daring, a brave knight on a quest to rescue Princess Daphne, the damsel in distress. I can definitely see Reynolds in that role as Dirk, while daring, is a rather goofy hero.

Dragon’s Lair can be completed in just 12 minutes if you don’t make any mistakes. It was released originally on laser disc arcade cabinets.

Previously, the game was adapted into an animated TV series. Fantasy writer Alan Dean Foster attempted to make a film back in the 80s’ but the project fizzled out. (Foster was the ghostwriter for the original novelization of Star Wars though the novel was credited to George Lucas).

Bluth, who has produced and directed countless animated films over the years including The Secret of NIMH, All Dogs Go To Heaven and An American Tail, partnered with long-time collaborator Gary Goldman on a Kickstarter for an animated Dragon’s Lair film back in 2015. The goal was to raise $250,000 to produce a teaser for the movie, but the Kickstarter didn’t raise the necessary funds. They moved the project to Indiegogo where it eventually earned twice that amount.

Now Netflix, after a year of negotiations, will produce and release the movie as live-action rather than animated. That’s exciting, of course, but I have to admit I’m a little sad we won’t get an animated version instead. Then again, I was initially worried about a live-action Witcher and it turned out better than I could have possibly imagined. Fingers crossed.