Dungeons and Dragons fans were treated to a panel and the official trailer for the upcoming feature film, Dungeons, and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which was presented by Paramount Pictures at Comic-Con.
Chris Pine Plays a Wisecracking Bard in the Trailer for D&D: Honor Among Thieves!
This movie is a continuation of the Dungeons & Dragons film trilogy, which was first released in 2005. (2000). That movie was a financial failure, grossing slightly more than $33 million worldwide against its $45 million production budget.
In addition, it was panned by reviewers on account of its low quality (particularly the shoddy special effects), below-average performances, and incompetent direction.
This film did, however, give rise to the standalone made-for-television sequel D&D: Wrath of the Dragon God (2005), as well as the direct-to-DVD feature D&D 3: The Book of Vile Darkness (2012).
Both of these films were produced as a result of the film’s success. The current relaunch was initially proposed by Warner Bros. in 2013, but the news of the project rapidly garnered the ire of Hasbro.
This was due to the fact that Hasbro was creating its own Dungeons & Dragons film with Universal Pictures. Warner Bros. was given permission to move on when the lawsuit brought by Hasbro was subsequently settled.
After some time, Hasbro relocated the production to Paramount, set the release date for July 2021, and recruited John Francis Daley and Jonathon Goldstein to write and direct the film, respectively.
The date of March 3, 2023, has been set as the new release date for Honor Among Thieves after it had been postponed not once but twice.
It’s possible that readers of a certain age will recognize the name Francis Daley: As an actor, he appeared as Sam Weir in the sadly overlooked television sitcom Freaks and Geeks, which ran from 1999 to 2000.
(On the show Bones, he also portrayed the FBI profiler Lance Sweets.) During his time on the show, he became familiar with Dungeons & Dragons, so it goes without saying that the opportunity to direct a Dungeons & Dragons movie is a dream come true for him. As he explained to the people gathered in Hall H of Comic-Con:
The incredibly well-known Forgotten Realms campaign serves as the backdrop for the novel Honor Among Thieves.
The official synopsis for the movie describes the plot as follows: “A charming thief and a band of unusual adventurers conduct an epic heist to reclaim a lost relic, but things go horribly awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.” This synopsis is concise and sweet.
Elgin, a bard, who is portrayed by Chris Pine, is said to be a charming thief. In the teaser, Pine’s character admits that as a thief, one is bound to have a few enemies and that sometimes those foes decide to take revenge on the thief.
In a voiceover, he explains, “If we’re being completely honest, we assisted the wrong person in stealing the wrong thing.” “We did not intend to let loose the most terrible force that the history of the planet has ever seen. However, we are going to repair it.”
It’s not going to be a simple problem to solve. In order to win, he will require the power of Holga, a barbarian played by Michelle Rodriguez, the bravery of Xenk, a paladin played by Regé-Jean Page, and the magic wrought by Simon, a sorcerer (Justice Smith).
Then there’s Doric, a tiefling druid played by Sophie Lillis. Doric has the ability to shapeshift into a vicious owlbear, which comes in helpful during battle.
Doric asks Elgin what he does for a living, and Elgin replies, “I’m a planner.” “I make plans. In the event that the current plan is unsuccessful, I will devise a new one.” In addition, he is skilled in the lute.
The Comic-Con panel included an unfinished segment from the film portraying the group on a search for the Helmet of Destruction, which requires digging up corpses in order to interview them.
The official trailer, which features music by Led Zeppelin, makes heavy use of humor and camp, both of which have the potential to be successful in the context of a fantasy adventure.
Hugh Grant compared the humor to that of Monty Python, although it also contains elements of the cheesy irreverence found in, for example, A Knight’s Tale. I’d rather have that approach than one that is too gloomy and full of its own importance.
According to Lee Hutchinson, Senior Technology Editor for Ars, who made this observation, “This appears to be so stupid that it wraps around and becomes possibly fantastic.”
The release date for Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is set for March 3, 2023, according to current projections.
A television spinoff series is currently in production, and it will serve as the foundation for a number of various ventures that are designed to complement the film.