Bluth himself, who’s long been trying to fund a movie version of the iconic franchise he co-created with Dan Molina (the voice of Dirk in the original game), will reportedly co-produce the movie alongside Gary Goldman, Jon Pomeroy, and Reynolds through his Maximum Effort label.
Netflix says Reynolds is in talks to star in the live-action feature as Dirk the Daring, working off a script by Lego Movie and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark collaborators Dan and Kevin Hageman. With animation provided by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth (who also directed or co-directed non-Disney hits like An American Tail, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and Anastasia), Dragon’s Lair had people lining up to wait their turn for a run through Dirk’s brief but action-packed quest to rescue Princess Daphne from the vile clutches of the dragon Singe and Mordroc, the evil wizard.
The original Dragon’s Lair felt like a technical marvel when it first hit arcades back in 1983, leaving the graphics of its 8-bit competitors in the dust by using pre-rendered animations instead of real-time pixel art.