Messing with canon and lore in a movie franchise is a risky business, but when you start dabbling in the lore of iconic table-top role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, that is whole other world of pain. This is what directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley discovered when allowing a druid to wildshape into an owlbear in the first trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Addressing the backlash that this change to lore brought with it, Goldstein told IGN:

“We’re aware that there was a certain amount of controversy that emerged in the DnD fan community after the first trailer showed our druid wildshaping into an owlbear, and it was something we discussed a great deal when we were writing it. We know that technically it’s not permissible, but we subscribe to the rule of cool, and we felt that we, as the dungeon masters of this movie, would let our players do this, then why should we deprive the audience of something as cool and as exciting as this.”

The sprawling world of Dungeons & Dragons is a mystery to many people, other than the references picked up in pop culture and TV shows such as Stranger Things, which has helped bring a new wave of people to the tabletop gaming world of dragons, druids, heroes and villains. For that reason, sticking exactly to the lore of the game is a hotly debated subject, as the film attempts to welcome those unfamiliar with the franchise while not alienating those who live and breathe the near-50-year game.

Related: How the New Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Trailer Introduces Fans to Monsters and Magic

Can Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Capture The Spirit of the Game?

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves poster
Paramount Pictures

The D&D franchise is one that has been attempted before in many different formats. There is the 80s cartoon series, which became so iconic that there is an entire section of the world that just wants to see that world turned into a live-action movie. In addition, there was the 2000 movie starring Jeremy Irons among others, but the film ended up being a box office flop, and although it somehow spawned two straight-to-video sequels, it is generally ignored by many.

Now, we have another contender to the throne. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves certainly has star power behind it, with Chris Pine, Hugh Grant and Michelle Rodriguez heading up the cast, and it does seem to be at least trying to respect the rules of the game but only to a certain extent. Whether the semi-Marvelesque approach to the material will work or not is something that we don’t have too long to wait to find out as the film arrives in cinemas on March 31.

However, this will not be the only attempt D&D has to make its mark, as a new live action Paramount+ series has already been green-lit and will be heading into production soon. While that all seems like good news for fans of the franchise, the final verdict will only come when the die is cast and the projects make their debut for all to see.