Swedish filmmaker David Sandberg, the creative force behind the viral action-comedy sensation Kung Fury, is set to direct a new feature film titled Dragonlord, as reported by Variety. The upcoming movie is billed as a “fantasy punk” project that aims to fuse action, comedy, and science fiction elements into a unique cinematic experience. Sandberg has characterized the world of Dragonlord as an ambitious amalgamation, envisioning it as a blend of influences like Star Wars, Mad Max, Lord of the Rings, and He-Man, where dinosaurs from the past coexist with robots from the future and everything in between. This new venture signals another wildly imaginative ride for Sandberg, known for its over-the-top homages and genre-bending narratives.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“It’s a really fun, really rich world with a lot of funny characters,” Sandberg said about Dragonlord. “It’s tonally similar to Kung Fury. It’s such a crazy mishmash of stuff. There’s no movie that I can think of that’s exactly like it. It’s like He-Man mixed with Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and Mad Max and also Ninja Turtles… but it’s definitely gonna feel super different, I think, from anything.”
[RELATED: David Hasselhoff Performs Lead Track For Kung Fury Movie]
The story of Dragonlord centers on its titular character, a treasure-obsessed hunter to be played by Sandberg, whose unconventional best friend is a Tyrannosaurus Rex named Blaze Falcon. The plot thickens when Blaze is kidnapped by the nefarious Dreadmancer, a villain Sandberg likens to He-Man’s arch-nemesis Skeletor, compelling Dragonlord to assemble an “Avengers-like team of bonkers heroes” to rescue his dinosaur companion. The ensemble of characters populating this world includes the Dread Riders, described as “like the Stormtroopers of our world,” a tech specialist named Quantum Cobra, and Sword Lord, who previously worked for Dreadmancer but switched allegiances after falling in love with his unicorn. Other notable figures are Titanus, whose name is frequently mispronounced as “Tight Anus,” and Budgie, a “bird man who shits acid.”
The script for Dragonlord is currently undergoing polish, with casting expected to commence soon and filming slated for spring 2026. A significant shift from Kung Fury‘s predominantly green-screen production, Dragonlord will utilize virtual production technologies, which Sandberg believes offer more powerful world-building tools and could help manage the budget despite the project’s epic scope. The film is being financed by Finnish entrepreneur Mikko Kodisoja, co-founder of the successful mobile gaming company Supercell, known for Clash of Clans. Sandberg and Kodisoja reportedly bonded over the idea of “creating new, exciting high-concept IPs for movies,” with Dragonlord marking the first of several planned projects.
Dragonlord Sounds Great, But What About Kung Fury 2?
While development for Dragonlord moves forward, the fate of Kung Fury 2 continues to frustrate both fans and those involved. Work on Kung Fury 2 began in 2016, with Seth Grahame-Smith contributing to the script. The sequel went into production in 2019, boasting a cast that included Arnold Schwarzenegger as the President of the United States and Michael Fassbender as Kung Fury’s partner, Colt Magnum. Initially slated for a 2022 release, it was then pushed to 2023, and has since remained in an unfortunate state of limbo. Despite filming for Kung Fury 2 wrapping in late 2019, post-production ground to a halt in 2020 due to legal disputes with the film’s Chinese financier, Creasun Entertainment USA. These legal issues persist, and the movie’s future remains uncertain, although a recently leaked 10-minute Kung Fury 2 sizzle reel created considerable buzz online.
Jorma Taccone, who played Adolf Hitler in the Kung Fury movies, has emphatically expressed his desire for the sequel to see the light of day, deeming its unreleased status a “crime.” “I truly hope that it comes to fruition and it gets out of legal jeopardy, or whatever has happened in the legal mumbo jumbo, because honestly, the 10-minute promo piece that I saw, I was like, ‘At the very least, this is an instantaneous cult classic,’” Taccone told us previously. “‘This is so special. It is so funny and off the rails.’ I mean, Fassbender’s hilarious in it. I get to fight Arnold Schwarzenegger. That it doesn’t exist, it is so heartbreaking to me. It’s really like a crime. It’s a total crime that it hasn’t been released yet.”
What are your thoughts on David Sandberg’s new movie Dragonlord, and are you still holding out hope for the release of Kung Fury 2? Let us know in the comments!
