I would agree, that Drow skin is a black not found in natural skin colours and also D&D elves are much more slender then the human norm. There is a lot to be said for going the CGI route.
I really do wonder if a black skinned matriarchal evil race is marketable?
To pull off a Drow themed movie and not overturn the lore you would have to highlight the alienness of the Drow. I don't any male human (or at least adult male) actor can pull of the gracilieness of Drow, too wide at the shoulders. May be female actors or teenage boys. Go for the black body paint. Red eyes with out iris or pupil, sclera red also. Would also have to continually show the alien nature of social interaction also. Constant dominance and submissive threat behaviour.
Well the easier (if not cheaper) route would be to mo-cap it much as they did for Avatar. Then you can get exactly the forms you want with the actors you want. Just make sure the eyes aren't dead. Cameron spent a lot time on eye motion capture and it paid dividends.
As for pulling off the moves: use dancers. Alicia Vikander is supernaturally graceful in Ex Machina giving her an effortlessness that evokes her robotic strength. She trained as a ballerina for many years.
Perhaps? How about the only reason they're considered evil is because they are a matriarchy? I.e. the patriarchs of the elves declared the Drow were going against nature by venerating female leadership and banished them. Then told lots of stories about them to amp up the "evil".
Of course this would make lore-keepers heads explode
But it would certainly reboot the narrative and make the Drow much more sympathetic (and complicated)
You need someone who can act better than a block of wood, so not Ben Affleck.
As for pulling off the moves: use dancers. Alicia Vikander is supernaturally graceful in Ex Machina giving her an effortlessness that evokes her robotic strength. She trained as a ballerina for many years.
Perhaps? How about the only reason they're considered evil is because they are a matriarchy? I.e. the patriarchs of the elves declared the Drow were going against nature by venerating female leadership and banished them. Then told lots of stories about them to amp up the "evil".
Of course this would make lore-keepers heads explode
But it would certainly reboot the narrative and make the Drow much more sympathetic (and complicated)
I would agree, that Drow skin is a black not found in natural skin colours...