The new Dungeons & Dragons movie trailer appears to feature a specific red dragon from D&D lore. This week, Paramount Pictures revealed a first look at Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The movie trailer features multiple clips set in the Underdark, with Rege-Jean Page’s Xenk the paladin fighting several tattooed combatants along with a red dragon. While red dragons are one of Dungeons & Dragons’ most fearsome monsters, the red dragon featured in the trailer looks to be a little….chonkier than usual. That’s because that red dragon is almost certainly a specific red dragon pulled straight out of D&D lore.
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The red dragon is likely Themberchaud, who appears in the Out of the Abyss adventure. Themberchaud is an overweight red dragon known as the wyrmsmith of Gracklstugh, a duergar city known for making exquisite weapons. The duergar of Gracklstugh kept Themberchaud fed and happy in exchange for Themberchaud keeping the forges of Gracklstugh lit. This arrangement has a hidden dark side – the duergar keep Themberchaud overfed and happy to make him easier to kill and replace when he grows too powerful to their liking. In the Out of the Abyss adventure, players actually have the opportunity to enter Themberchaud’s service and help him overthrow his duergar keepers.
One major clue to Themberchaud’s identity comes from the brief shot of the Underdark city in the trailer. Blue torches can be seen on top of several buildings, which matches with artwork of Gracklstugh from Out of the Abyss.
While Themberchaud’s appearance in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves likely won’t play a “major” role in the plot, it could explain why the characters are traveling to the Underdark. Perhaps the characters are either trying to retrieve a magic item from Themberchaud’s hoard, or maybe they’re trying to bargain with the duergar smiths of the city.
The official description for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 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.”
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant. The movie will be released on March 3, 2023.
