Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a comedy that won't insult the game. Based on the popular tabletop role-playing game, the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie features an all-star cast that includes Chris Pine as Edgin the Bard, Michelle Rodriguez as Holga the Barbarian, Regé-Jean Page as Xenk the Paladin, Justice Smith as Simon the Sorcerer, Sophia Lillis as Doric the tiefling Druid, and Hugh Grant as Forge Fitzwilliam the Rogue. The movie, which was written and directed by Game Night's Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, follows this party of unlikely adventures as they embark on a perilous quest to retrieve a long-lost artifact, albeit with a whimsical tone.

During a recent interview with Empire, Goldstein and Daley explained why the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie is a comedy and in turn, why it won't insult the original game or its passionate fans. The Honor Among Thieves writers-directors explains that the "spirit of the game [on which the film is based]... D&D is a group of people around the table, taking the piss out of each other at times, but not taking the piss out of the game itself,” which is why they approached their film adaptation with the same spirit. Read Goldstein's full explanation below:

It all starts with character. It doesn’t matter what genre it is. What makes the audience care is, ‘Who are we following and why should we invest in them?’ That’s always been our approach, regardless of the size and scale. I want to hang out with the characters we create. And I wouldn’t want to hang out with someone that takes things too seriously. To us that’s very funny. Like, who makes these rules? We can’t just shut off that part of our brain that questions things, so we question all the givens of the fantasy genre. That’s part of the fun of making a movie like this!
Why Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Is A Comedy


For those Dungeons & Dragons players concerned about the movie's tone, Goldstein and Daley's comments provide the perfect explanation for why Honor Among Thieves is a comedy. An important aspect of the fantasy tabletop game itself is the players not taking the campaign too seriously and at times, making fun of the other players, but never the game itself. Goldstein and Daley clearly understood and decided to approach their film adaptation with the same mindset.

The writers-directors' comments also provide reassurance that, while Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a comedy, it's not an outright parody à la Monty Python and the Holy Grail, nor will it mock the original game or alienate its fans. This pitch-perfect tone is evident at the end of the Dungeons & Dragons movie trailer as Sophia Lillis' Doric questions exactly what purpose Chris Pine's Edgin, who claims to be a planner, actually brings to the party. Michelle Rodriguez's Holga busts the Bard's chops by pointing out he also plays the lute.

Lastly, Goldstein and Daley's comments are also an indication that Honor Among Thieves won't succumb to the same pitfalls as the Dungeons & Dragons movie from 2000, which was a box office bomb and a critical failure. Among its many problems, the previous adaptation was criticized for taking itself far too seriously and severely lacking comedy. With Goldstein and Daley at the helm, that same mistake won't be made twice. Audiences will have to wait a little longer for the film than originally expected, as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was recently delayed to March 31, 2023.