Forgotten Realms Goes TV

Wizards of the Coast has issued a press release announcing that Fireworks Television will be developing a television series based upon the Forgotten Realms setting of their best-selling role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons. Here’s a rip from the site:

Fireworks to Develop Series Based on Popular Wizards of the Coast Property

Los Angeles, September 18th, 2001 — Fireworks Television, a division of CanWest Entertainment, has entered into a licensing agreement with Hasbro, Inc. [NYSE:HAS] for Hasbro’s Forgotten Realms property, which is based on the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game by the company’s Wizards of the Coast subsidiary.

Under terms of the agreement, Fireworks will develop a live action television series based on the game setting and novels of Forgotten Realms. Wizards of the Coast and the Hasbro Properties Group, the Company’s intellectual property development arm, will work with Fireworks to develop story lines for the television series.

“To work with Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro on the development of this unique property with such a large and loyal following is a real opportunity for both our companies. Our production and distribution expertise to develop the TV series coupled with their intense knowledge of the story lines leaves no doubt that Forgotten Realms will be a special series,” said Daniel Tibbets, Vice President of Fireworks Television. “Forgotten Realms is a property that’s rich with characters and dynamic settings,” said Jane Ritson-Parsons, President of the Hasbro Properties Group. “Fireworks Studios has the expertise to develop a series that will capture the fantasy of Forgotten Realms and take the traditional roleplaying game to the next level.”

Already a worldwide success with over 150 novels, many of which are featured on the New York Times bestseller’s list, and 100 game books available, Forgotten Realms is a magical, medieval world in which wizards, sorcerers, druids and heroes wield their various magic skills on adventures that take them from deserts, forests, mountains, bustling cities and new continents.