There’s No Dungeons & Dragons in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Don’t expect to see any d20s to get rolled in the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie. Next month, Paramount Pictures and Entertainment One will release Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, a movie set in the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting of the Forgotten Realms. However, while the movie is ostensibly based on the game, we shouldn’t expect to see any actual D&D gameplay in the movie itself. Speaking to IGN over the weekend, co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein spoke about the lack of Dungeons & Dragons (the game) in their movie. “This is not Jumanji,” said Daley. There’s so much fun to be had just in the world of D&D that we didn’t have to bring it into our world and show kids playing.”  

Goldstein also noted that it would “limit the absolute scope of this world if we were to sort of put it through the lens of a game being played.” 

However, while fans shouldn’t expect to see a Dungeon Master rolling dice behind a DM’s screen, the directors assured fans that the movie would still be an authentic D&D experience. “All the spells and monsters and creatures that they come across are authentic to the lore, but we definitely took some liberties to give you the most action-packed fun that we could,” Goldstein noted. 

While some fans were hoping for more of a game-y element (given that Daley and Goldstein also directed Game Night), the call to focus on the D&D lore is probably a smart move. While the contrast between a meek player and a brash character can be fun, Dungeons & Dragons isn’t quite as ubiquitous as other franchises and the directors likely want to ease newcomers to the world of the game. 

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will be released on March 31st.