The iconic tabletop role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons, is finally getting a big-budget film adaptation nearly fifty years after its initial publication. Chris Pine portrays the leader of a band of misfits in Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, as a bard whose specialization lies in music, storytelling, and charm. He spoke with Collider about the upcoming film, having praise for the directors and screenwriters, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley:
"I mean, first of all, they're really funny guys. And they have a history of making really great comedy. They have good hearts. And their idea for how they wanted to tell the story, at least for me, was exactly what I like about big-budget filmmaking, which is not too cool for school. There's an earnest, real heart to it with a really sweet message. The comedy's really on point. The visual practical element was really neat. I think, especially nowadays with all the green screen, to do stuff practically with real monsters made by super craftsmen, and effects on set that you can feel, and touch, and interact with."
Both Goldstein and Daley wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming and Game Night, and a variety of other comedies, so they'll be no stranger to the odd brand of humor that the Dungeons and Dragons world often brings to the tabletop.
Chris Pine Loves Comic-Cons, While Hugh Grant was Haunted by a Man in a Hot Dog Costume
Chris Pine also talked about his experience of going to Comic-Cons to promote the movie, and when asked if he was contractually obligated to do so, Pine said his ego required him to:
"Yeah, for my ego, basically. Just adoring people clapping when you walk out on the stage is always a good feeling... It's about the closest thing you can get to feeling like you're, I don't know, AC/DC or something. It's really fun to walk out on the stage and people are excited to listen to you talk about a film you've made, [it’s] pretty cool."
It's an iconic characteristic of a Dungeons and Dragons bard to love the roar of the crowd, so Chris Pine understands the role completely. It's something that made fellow actor Hugh Grant a little jealous, who said he was worried he'd go unnoticed since he's a little older:
"Well, I was terrified because they bring the actors out one by one, and I'm so old now. I'm passé, and I thought, "They'll bring out Chris Pine, they'll go mad. They'll bring out the others, they'll go mad. And then they'll say- "Hugh Grant," and there'll be dead silence... There was only one person at that convention who really loved me, and he was dressed for the whole three days as a hot dog. And he followed me wherever I went. I couldn't shake him. Do you remember the hot dog? I was terrified. I still have nightmares about him."
Hugh Grant plays an antagonist in the film, a rogue who is known for stealth and deceptive tricks. However, it's unlikely his character will be haunted by a hot dog in the movie.
The Dungeons and Dragons IP has been adapted for the screen before, albeit as a low-budget and poorly received trilogy released in 2000, 2005, and 2012. The upcoming film has a much bigger budget to fully realize fantastic creatures and monsters on-screen, along with a much more well-known cast.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will premiere in theaters on March 31st, 2023, distributed by Paramount Pictures. It's directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who also wrote the film with Michael Gilio and Chris McKay. It stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant.