If WotC really had the power to go after anyone who published a Not-D&D game with D&D-ish contents, TSR would have chased down Palladium, Chaosium, Games Workshop (Warhammer) and most importantly, Origins (Ultima), Wizardry and Blizzard (Warcraft) back in the 80s and 90s.
The first went after WotC, and the second TSR, for incorporating elements from
their D&Dish games. And WotC went after someone for making Rust Monster plushies. So if you don't think they'll go after folks using things like Gelatinous Cubes and other IP which originated with D&D you're out of luck, as I'm all out of bridges to sell.
In the 2022 domestic box office, MCU movies were still #2 and #3 of the top five. Here they are:
#1. Top Gun: Maverick -> $718M
#2. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever -> $436M
#3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness -> $411M
#4. Avatar: The Way of Water -> $401M
#5. Jurassic World: Dominion -> $376M
Note that Avatar: The Way of Water is only #4 because it came out just before the new year. It has gone on to make $578M domestically and is currently still the top movie in the U.S.
I think there's clearly still a big market for CGI sci-fi/fantasy action movies.
And it's going to have to make those numbers in order to be worth it in the eyes of Hasbro.
Also keep in mind they're trying to establish a lifestyle brand, so the movie must have enough identifiable and emulatable D&Dism to do that. And we're not just talking action figures here. So are any of the characters iconic enough to cosplay? Are there elements of the world which can be smoothly transitioned into our daily lives? Because so far it doesn't seem so.
Unfortunately, I don't think any of that matters any more:
https://twitter.com/KoboldPress/status/1617915504710111232
A Kobold is on the rise!
Reintroducing Chelsea Steverson, who's now our Marketing Director!
Read about her now!
💖: https://koboldpress.com/welcome-new-marketing-director-chelsea-dot-steverson/
📸:
@masonwarddng
| #RaiseTheFlag
Meet the senior game designer for the project:
https://twitter.com/cconowitch
If you had ANY doubts it was gonna be woke as fuck.
Black Flag? More like RED Flag. Amirite?
Seriously though I hate that this is a reasonable conclusion to make.
Black Flag is not going to save the D&D community.
From the newest Kobold Press newsletter, see image below.
And speaking of red,
@little_red_dot was one of the multiple women assaulted by Kobold Press freelancer and GenCon staffer Daisy Grant, who roomed with her during the Con. At least
Kobold Press made a statement, which is more than I can say of GenCon. So despite all the safety tools and safe space advocacy these folks seem completely oblivious to the bad actors within their midst. And had Daisy not been trans I'm certain this would have been addressed far sooner. Because it's not that trans people are more likely to do this sort of thing, but that these folks are less likely to hold them accountable when they do, and until that changes these spaces will remain unsafe.