Dungeons & Dragons Movie’s Villain Confirmed

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will use an iconic Forgotten Realms character as one of its main villains. The new trailer released earlier today confirmed that Szass Tam, the head of the Red Wizards of Thay, will be one of the primary antagonists of the film. A breakdown of the trailer published by IGN confirmed Tam’s identity, with co-director Jonathan Goldstein describing him as “very creepy” and “very powerful.” The movie will portray Tam as a cult leader of sorts, with co-director John Francis Daley saying “While we only get glimpses of him here, what we learn about him is that he’s incredibly charming and charismatic, and has a way with being able to persuade his underlings to do his bidding in a way that is unique to the character.” ComicBook.com previously noted that Tam was likely the villain of the film last year.

In Dungeons & Dragons lore, Szass Tam is the leader of the Red Wizards of Thay, a powerful group of magic users who control the country of Thay. As a lich, Tam is both undead and somewhat immortal – he can only be truly killed by destroying his phylactery, an object that houses his soul. Tam has been a prominent antagonist in various Dungeons & Dragons adventures and novels, although his profile is not quite as prominent as the liches Vecna and Acererak, who have appeared in more iconic Dungeons & Dragons adventures. 

Based on the movie trailer released earlier today, Tam is creating an army of the undead using a powerful horn artifact of some kind. One potential identity for this artifact is the Horn of Orcus, a horn torn off by the demon lord Orcus. This horn was actually featured in an early arc of Critical Role. More likely, the new horn was created for the movie. 

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, Justice Smith, Rege-Jean Page, Hugh Grant, and Sophia Lillis.

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