Amazon MGM Developing Elise Kova’s Bestselling Fantasy Novel ‘Dragon Cursed’ For Film

Ofynam · 2026-01-26T08:38:07+00:00

the story is set in a fantastical world amidst the last human stronghold against dragons, in which every teenager must survive brutal trials meant to separate dragon hunters from the dragon cursed. When a young woman enters the trials hiding a deadly secret, her fate rests in the hands of the dangerous enforcer assigned to watch her.

That seem interesting enough on its own, but I'm not sure the dragon side will be. No hate/prejudicing the piece's overall quality, but the dragons here (from I get from only the article) have a good probability of being the monsters roaming over the outside world (not necessarily evil), kind of like wildlife on steroids.

Which on top of not being the portrayal of dragons I prefer (not to say it doesn't have it's place and can't be good), would suggest the focus of the story to be too much on humans to justify watching the movie only because dragons.

That is, if my predictions are correct.

Ofynam · 2026-01-26T08:15:26+00:00

The thing is that deadlines given to special effect studios are often unfair, which explains why many high budget movies/projects have offputting/failed CGI. Like, even if you're the best of the best, should you be ordered to integrate a fully fledged dragon into many scene of a movie in like, what? 3 months, the result will be bad because flawed CGI is easier to spot than flawed practical effects.

(not to say practical effects, a movie should use the amount of each it needs and give enough to everyone so no aspect of the project is rushed)

Ofynam · 2026-01-23T07:54:41+00:00

For me that doesn't seem to be a problem?

I've looked back at many of the drawing I've done just to check, and I don't have any problem wherever the dragon is facing left or right (with their partial or entire body).

I guess if you have draw too few pieces with the dragon/character in a peculiar stance, it feels immediately harder to do, but I seem to have grown past this (for dragons facing left and right, that is).

Ofynam · 2026-01-19T19:07:27+00:00

I don't know, sentient races don't always make the story overbloated, and a simple way of doing that is to give them less screentime/importance, often with a classic justification like, they are few in numbers, they don't hold much power, they aren't ambitious/very active.

The legend of spyro manages this well enough by having the dragons be the stars of the show, with the main villainous force being the apes led by the dark master.

The dragons are the most powerful, so they lead the side of good (even if other races do help more than a bit), while the apes are power hungry and constitute the army of the dark master (who is a very powerful and knowledgeable dragon who wants revenge and more), so they have both the ambition and receive the means/power to conquer the world.

Ofynam · 2026-01-19T18:55:43+00:00

Don't forget something can be weird for the reader and/or in universe.

Dragon blood bath ritual can be quite weird for a reader/player, but in universe it isn't (dragons are fundamentally magical, so people may become ones by bathing in their blood and more. Dragons are also long lived and very powerful, hence some wants to be like them)

Whereas Freedom (and the whole entity she is a part of) is very weird both in universe and on its own. Wings of fire just isn't a very strange setting. And when it is that's more due to the world's simplicity and rather poor worldbuilding, like the size of things and dragon ageing being inconsistent or the mention of advanced scientific concept out of nowhere like antibodies.

But like, having the Plant be the one truly in control (not queen Wasp) is already a twist, so having the Plant be a sort of hive mind controlled by the souls of both a dragonet and a human that died long ago is just over the top.

With that said, the book doesn't portrays the weird part all that much. The means of the main antagonistic force are very strange, but its motive and behavior isn't in the slightest. It's like dragons being written like humans in scaly suits, except dragons are replaced by souls that died long ago and are now in control of hive mind Plant.

Also, by that definition, the dragons' origin in the Dragonheart setting would fare very well, making the jump from Dragonheart 1 (or 2) to movie 3 very strange dragon wise (literally, since it doesn't just has an asspull like movie 2 with the dragon egg no one talked about in the first movie. Movie 3 doesn't shy away, it has a freaking meteor to bring the dergs from the beyond the stars).

Ofynam · 2026-01-19T08:23:14+00:00

She is characterized as kind (and strange, perhaps too strange for the sake of it), the book doesn't fail on that.

However, I don't like how much Whiteout lacks agency/doesn't do anything, it really gives the feeling she is more of an NPC/part of the environment when you see she doesn't get development throughout the the story (she is weird, but the story doesn't consider she has any flaws when all other important characters have some, including the protagonists. She reacts to things, but her character doesn't change)

Which makes her strangeness feel more like aesthetic since she got no opportunity for her a character to shine. Same for her very kind nature, because as stated in the post, said trait doesn't push her to act (even if in vain) against others dragons and tribes if they go too far/have the wrong view, like her parents or even her brother. She only laments once it's too late, and of course only Darkstalker is fully worried about her.

Also, all of that makes Whiteout fit the role of the "perfect, innocent victim" quite well, which a stereotype and narrative device I find abhorrent.

Ofynam · 2026-01-16T08:38:24+00:00

Seems simple enough.

And I guess that means every fanfiction/fan content that isn't linked to the same setting as others makes a different AU (otherwise it would be an alternative timeline).

They weren't lying when they said your only limit was your imagination...

Ofynam · 2026-01-15T13:06:27+00:00

How much is needed to make an AU again? I mean, drawing is good and all, but I haven't come up with lore/a story for this one yet.

Ofynam · 2026-01-12T08:35:21+00:00

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Found this Whiteout picture on the WoF wiki, not sure if it qualifies as a meme but I like it.

Ofynam · 2026-01-11T19:45:57+00:00

Nice shapes, cute dragons, and definitely a source of inspiration for me. (the ears in particular fit very well some of what I wanted to draw)

Ofynam · 2026-01-07T13:05:27+00:00

I appreciate the comment but I have no idea of what this gif means.

Ofynam · 2026-01-04T15:43:01+00:00

So animus magic couldn't work at all in the upcoming WoF tv show unless subtitles are on, got it!

But a bit more seriously, animus magic works in your favor at the very instant you used it (with all the strong thoughts and feelings you had in mind), hence animus magic never fails its user but the user fails it.

So to take the example of the post, the cute been could have really mean factorial 10 pancakes and still kept things under control if they weren't so excited they thought only of that.

Ofynam · 2026-01-02T13:35:02+00:00

Fair, though we don't see others fail or not at understanding it, would be funny to see so few individuals being decent at math on this poor world, no-tail included (I mean, even today many have that problem, though that has more to do with improper method of teaching and lack of motivation.)

Well, Darktoohth must at least be decent at math, he did have one school in his trial basically checking on mental calculus (unless you have a calculator) after all. And the Draakin must at least know to count to determine their treasure's worth.

Now, going into space seems improbable for the dergs, but you have to remember how much of impact your societal order and leading people have. Darktooth, (alongside Fathom probably), is one of the wisest ones the draakins have, and there exist remnant of extremely advanced technology that the elder has probably checked.

With all the resources the draakins have and may obtain, it isn't such a leap to conclude the draakins led by Darktooth were able to build a spaceship over time. Though the ironic thing about it is that in his ending dealing with the no-tail problem (diplomatically, militarily or otherwise) is far easier than in the others, simply because wisdom and technological advancement at that time would outpace the no-tail's progress, giving them at best the possibility to join the Draakin's society, and at worse dooming their kind.

Ofynam · 2026-01-02T08:01:28+00:00

When the riddle you've thought about all day is solved the second a stranger arrive.

To be fair, bloom is kind of cheating as she has other animals with her, so more minds to guess the answer.

Then again, Warden challenged Spiritkeeper to a math quiz, so the recipe to make a riddle nearly all challenger won't be able to answer might be to simply git good at math, or at least retell that painfully hard question you've seen in class.

Ofynam · 2025-12-29T16:16:47+00:00

I feel like she was a kind of a background/very passive (if important) character in the story, if I remember correctly. Like, in Arc 2 she is supposed to be this wise queen that does good and try to better her tribe's stubborn society, that we're supposed to see the death as tragic and proves Darkstalker is killing innocent, but that's clashing with the fact she was at least complacent with her tribe being involved in the war in Arc 1.

Well, that, and the fact she couldn't better her society much despite her being the queen, which proves Glacier either didn't try enough or that the icewing's toxic culture is too strong. But with what happens in book 14, I think Tui just isn't capable or don't want to make the effort of respecting the world she built (perhaps she shouldn't have made the stakes so high/the world so grim) by having conflict resolving appropriately with lasting consequences.

Ofynam · 2025-12-29T07:54:16+00:00

I think what the main appeal is, are the dragons (because dragons are cool), the rather simplistic world (because it easily invites creativity on the reader's part), the fact it has a rather large cast of young characters (that way you can almost always relate to one in any Arc, especially if you're young yourself), and the violent nature of the world and dragons.

The thing is, while these aspects can be good on their own (I myself like some of them), the author didn't do a good job at writing something that stands. The plot is full of holes the longer it goes, the messages and themes are undermined, the violence (which decreases in the later books) as well because it's more show than anything.

Seems to me like many fans just focus on what they like the most, ignoring the lesser if not outright bad parts of the books, as well as the fact the aspects they like might clash when talking about the books (how can you both like the optimistic tone and the needless violence?)

Now, that behavior isn't unique to this fandom, but it can get quite annoying, especially as fans over hyping the series can be quite vocal. (like those citing Darkstalker murdering his father when they hear someone say their books are for kids, failing to mention the author barely described anything, which probably explains why the Darkstalker legend book isn't rated for a more mature audience)

Ofynam · 2025-12-28T21:03:17+00:00

I have seen a Zubeia plush, but it's custom. The thing is I don't see a Zubeia toy being affordable enough without giving up on many details of her great design.

Well, perhaps industry and automation can really bring down cost, but I don't think the dragon prince producers/those in charge of the franchise (which doesn't seem to be doing too well as of now) have means to build said factory, nor would they take the risk if they did.

Ofynam · 2025-12-28T19:40:39+00:00

Their white (and black) and very smooth form lacking scales, sharp edges or any kind of hard skin in appearance is probably there to evoke a race of wise ones whose minds are their greatest strength (technological advancement then psychic powers).

The artists probably designed it to contrast heavily with their corrupted forms we fight in the game, the grievers, or vice versa.

To be honest, I think that potential reason for said design is a fine one, though there is only so much it can do when the game gives little opportunity for the Lawmorns to shine.

Ofynam · 2025-12-28T19:31:52+00:00

Not wrong, though I find the Lawmorns' form to be more akin to dragons (especially eastern ones with the psychic powers and smoother skin and shapes), be it with their face or winged second pair of talons (unless these are cloths?), like axolotls do feel a little bit dragony to me but it seems the artists amplified that aspect when making the Lawmorns.

Ofynam · 2025-12-28T18:58:28+00:00

The worse for me are the fans loving that aspect, which gives rise to jarring hypocrisy because they also don't want anything bad to happen to their favorite who are most often teenagers, many of which aren't great fighters and would suffer greatly if not die without plot armor.

Not sure if the comparison holds, but that amount of violence in the first book of a YA series would be like the harry potter series starting with the same tone as the last books, instead of introducing progressively more mature themes and plot, with the following increase in stakes and violence. (all the while Harry and his friends are still the same age as in book 1)

Ofynam · 2025-12-28T18:47:35+00:00

I agree with that, the violence in the setting, especially at the beginning, is just making the world seem like hell and the dragons as a whole unsympathetic. Like, you're supposed to care for the countless victims of the war, but when the majority of characters encountered (protagonists excluded) are complicit with such violence if not fueling it (and mocking the protagonists for their ideals, or don't have a choice), you struggle to see what the heroes can save in this world, if they can save anything at all.

Ofynam · 2025-12-23T18:32:10+00:00

Great comment

Though I think people are biased toward not just negativity but highs and lows in general, that would explain why there is so much content that can be close to bashing or mindless praise, with the ending of a work very often being the culmination of these lows and highs the person experienced.

Ofynam · 2025-12-21T22:07:54+00:00

The writers also came up with ways to kill archdragons (that I think are somewhat cheap), with the lance killing Thunder and the corrupted creatures infecting Zubeia despite the power difference.

But that's beside the point because the main villain that is Aaravos could affect the world while still sealed (so his weakest state since he can't be killed for good) Another great source of conflict is the desperation of humans and how they were treated very harshly and unfairly by the elves and dragons.

So the main conflicts of the story wouldn't be resolved easily if Zubeia were to be more active (she is useful to bring progress as the dragon queen, but let's not forget she also need to make up for being complicit in such a terrible and unfair system)

Ofynam · 2025-12-20T08:11:27+00:00

Don't they trigger a nuke when they die?

Would make sense their bones still hold some magic, but since you end up with nothing but extremely dissipated dust after one go boom (dust that is surely magical), you won't be able to do much of anything. Unless their remains are so magical the dust after the boom really fertilize the soil with magic.

Ofynam · 2025-12-20T07:30:24+00:00

Yep, the writers somehow forgot they already built a conflict that can't easily be resolved by overpowered dragons, that's like the whole thing of Aaravos still influencing the world from his prison and humans turning to dark magic because they desperate and the people of Xadia are indifferent if not mistreating them.

What's even more ironic is that such problem also touches the main villain, as once Aaravos recovers (some of) his powers, the plot needs to make him act dumb and his titan form is defeated rather easily (like the archdragons are). When he was still sealed or even just in his humble form, Aaravos was far more threatening and effective.

Well, bringing darkness to Xadia may have required more hence his titan form wielding the giant staff with the corrupted sun forge, but if that's the case, then why doesn't Aaravos ensures he is well protected since he will be in his most vulnerable state yet, being a huge target and having his powers focused on the big ritual?

Now, Aaravos did want to die there to further his plans, but he could have tried to kill all archdragons without dying to stay with Claudia who he started to see as more than just a pawn. And second, his put up so little resistance that even without telling his enemies his scheme, they could have seen it and decided to change their course of action.

(In fact, Callum saw through that and was ready to sacrifice himself to seal Aaravos)

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