Ryan Reynolds is in talks to star in and produce a live-action feature adaptation of the ’80s arcade game “Dragon’s Lair” for Netflix.
Roy Lee will produce through his Vertigo Entertainment with Trevor Engelson of Underground Films. Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and Jon Pomeroy are also producing. Reynolds will produce through his Maximum Effort production company.
Dan and Kevin Hageman, whose credits include “The Lego Movie” and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” are attached to write the script. “Dragon’s Lair” put players in the shoes of Dirk the Daring as he attempted to rescue Princess Daphne from the dragon Singe and the wizard Mordroc.
“Dragon’s Lair” was originally released for arcades in 1983 by Cinematronics. The game used laserdisc technology and offered superior graphics and feature film quality animation from Don Bluth Studios.
Reynolds, best known for starring in the two “Deadpool” movies, teamed with Netflix on the action movie “6 Underground” and has been shooting Netflix’s “Red Notice” with Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson. Reynolds is also starring in Liosngate’s upcoming “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” with Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek.
“Dragon’s Lair” would mark the third recent video game-related project for Reynolds following last year’s “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu” and this summer’s upcoming “Free Guy.”
Lee founded Vertigo in 2002. His credits include “The Ring,” “The Grudge,” the “It” movies, the “Lego” franchise and best picture winner “The Departed.”
Engelson was a producer on “Snowfall.” The Hagemans are currently the showrunners and exec producers of Nickelodeon’s “Star Trek” animated series.
Reynolds is repped by WME and Sloane Offer. Jon Cantor represents the Don Bluth Group.