Dungeons & Dragons Movie Delayed to 2023

Paramount and eOne has delayed the release of its upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie to spring 2023. The planned blockbuster movie starring Christopher Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page will now be released on March 3, 2023. This is the movie's second release delay - the movie originally was scheduled to be released on November 19, 2021 and was pushed back to May 27, 2022. The movie's delay continues an ongoing reshuffle of movie releases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty as to when movie theaters will be fully re-opened. Production of the Dungeons & Dragons movie was scheduled to begin this spring in Ireland - it's unclear whether the release delay will impact production plans at all.

The Dungeons & Dragons movie delay has potential consequences for the overall D&D entertainment franchise, as Hasbro previously announced that their eOne production company was working on multiple live-action D&D TV projects. The original plan was for at least one of these projects to be released shortly after the Dungeons & Dragons movie hit theaters to capitalize on its assumed success and draw fans further into the world.

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are set to direct the new Dungeons & Dragons film, which is based on the hit tabletop roleplaying game. Details about the film are scarce, although an earlier script indicated that the movie would involve a group of adventurers seeking out the dreaded Eye of Vecna, a famed artifact in D&D lore. In addition to Pine, Rodriguez, and Page, the movie will also star Hugh Grant as the main villain, as well as Detective Pikachu star Justice Smith and It star Sophia Lillis.

Dungeons & Dragons has existed for over 40 years and has had a resurgence in popularity thanks to its easy to understand Fifth Edition rules and numerous tie-ins with pop culture properties like Stranger Things. The game, which was one of the first big tabletop roleplaying games and helped to define that genre, experienced its strongest year in 2020. The game conveniently also has a deep well of untapped IP consisting of well-developed lore and characters from multiple worlds. These characters have starred in novels and other tie-in games, but exist as secondary characters in the world and stories of the games played in the table. Hasbro is working on multiple D&D projects, including a live-action TV show being developed by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad.