Debuting at the 2022 Comic-Con, the first full trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves showcases elements directly rooted in the most famous tabletop roleplaying game in the world.
Thanks to the growing popularity of Dungeons & Dragons in the mainstream public, fans are finally getting a new big screen adaptation. The first Dungeons & Dragons movie in 2000 was a critical and financial disappointment, though spawning two sequels that went direct-to-video. But new life was injected to the franchise, in no small part through depictions in The Big Bang Theory and Netflix’s Stranger Things, among others.
The brand new trailer gives a glimpse as to the new treatment, which is more accurate to the source material. Check out the details gathered so far for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Player characters
The Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves trailer and released information from Paramount Pictures and Hasbro's eOne have revealed the names and classes of the main cast:
- Chris Pine will be playing Edgin, a Bard. As stated in the trailer, he does the planning, obviously placing him as the leader of the party. However, eagle-eyed fans will notice that Edgin sports a Harper pin. This gives rise to speculation that Edgin may not be all that he initially seems.
- Michelle Rodriguez takes on the role of Holga, a Barbarian. Barbarians in Dungeons & Dragons are often the muscle of the group. Although the trailer shows Holga carrying a flaming edged axe, she seems to be quite capable in unarmed combat as well.
- Regé-Jean Page portrays Xenk, the Paladin. Traditionally, paladins are zealots, often with a holy mission and unwavering dedication to their noble cause. It is an odd inclusion in a group of thieves. However, D&D 5th Edition (5E) introduced other Oaths that a Paladin can choose, such as Vengeance, Conquest, and even the Oathbreaker, which take a different approach that the holy warrior trope.
- Justice Smith plays Simon, a Sorcerer. Sorcerer is one of the main arcane spellcasters in Dungeons & Dragons. But unlike the scholarly Wizard or the pact-based Warlock, the Sorcerer’s ability to cast spells is based on their heritage by birth. Smith also seems to be sporting pointy ears as Simon, suggesting he may be a Half-Elf.
- Sophia Lillis is Doric the druid. Druids are divine spellcasters who are attuned to nature. Their signature ability is Wild Shape, which allows them to take the form of animals, beasts, plants, and even Elementals. It also appears that Doric is a Tiefling, having horns and a tail. The Tiefling is a race in D&D that has origins that link them to the infernal realms, although they are not inherently evil creatures.
- Hugh Grant will play a Rogue. The name of the character is rumored to be Forge Fletcher, although this is not officially confirmed. Grant will be the main antagonist in the film.
Character classes and races are one of the first things players and dungeon masters learn about in D&D. These archetypes will usually determine the backgrounds of the player and non-player characters, setting their role in the course of gameplay.
With the reveal of the classes that the cast will be playing, fans of D&D can already form logical assumptions on how these will translate on the film.
Monstrous compendium
The Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves trailer received the most reactions from the various creatures revealed in action. While the presence of black and red dragons is shown, attention is given to the other monstrosities unique to D&D.
Certainly, the one that garnered the most cheers is the Owlbear. Although it may seem like a docile and cuddly creature, the owlbear is just as dangerous as a real life bear… it just has an owl-shaped head. With its large size and multiple attacks with its claws and beak, it can easily tear through the unwary. However, a point that D&D aficionados are arguing is that a druid ordinarily cannot use Wild Shape to take the form of a magical monstrosity (as shown that Sophia Lillis’s character is able to do).
Other creatures shown in the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves trailer that come from the game’s long history include the deadly Displacer Beast, the shape-shifting Mimic, a Watchspider, and the infamous Gelatinous Cube.
Set in the Forgotten Realms
We also have the updated synopsis of the big-budget D&D movie:
An ex-Harper turned thief escapes from prison with his partner, a female barbarian, and reunites with a no-talent wizard and a druid new to their team in an effort to rob the cheating conman who stole all their loot from the heist that landed them behind bars, and used it to install himself as the Lord of Neverwinter. Only the traitor is allied with a powerful Red Wizard who has something far more sinister in store.
The details of the synopsis confirm that the film will be set in the legendary Forgotten Realms. The Harpers are a clandestine but heroic organization, while the Red Wizards of Thay are one of the most sinister antagonists in the continent of Faerûn.
The Forgotten Realms is arguably the most popular of the fantasy settings in D&D (which include Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Eberron, Mystara, Ravenloft, and many others). It is set in the world of Abeir-Toril which introduced the archmage Elminster, the Drow Ranger Drizzt Do’Urden, and locations such as Waterdeep, Neverwinter, and Icewind Dale.
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Plus, The Forgotten Realms has gone beyond the tabletop RPG and has been explored in many video games such as Baldur’s Gate, Dark Alliance, Neverwinter Nights, Dungeons & Dragons Online, and Magic: The Gathering.
Paramount Pictures’ official description of the film reads:
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.
Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant, Jason Wong, Daisy Head, and Chloe Coleman.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will gather its party into theaters on March 3, 2023.
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