Hollywood has been heavily investing in nerdy pastimes for quite a while now, bringing the experiences of comic book reading and video game playing to the big screen, and now it’s Dungeons & Dragons turn to get the modern movie treatment. In 2023, the grandfather of all role playing games is being turned into a cinematic experience directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein – and this year’s San Diego Comic-Con is very much getting us ready for the adventure.
In addition to setting up a special event space during the convention, allowing attendees to walk into the world of the movie, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves held a massive Hall H panel this afternoon, and during the presentation showed off two full scenes from the upcoming blockbuster. The footage was fun and full of notable references to the source material, and for those of you who couldn’t attend the event, I’ve recapped what was shown below.
Asking Questions Of Some Corpses
In the opening of the first clip, the members of the main party (Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, and Sophia Lillis) explore a graveyard at night. As Rodriguez remarks to Pine that it would be an honor to be buried in such a special place, Pine asks who among the group has a shovel that they can use to dig up some corpses.
From context we learn that the party is searching for a mystical helmet that has been lost for a long time following a famous battle, and the plan is to use Justice Smith’s sorcerer spells to resurrect one of the soldiers so that they can learn where it was last seen. The limitation of the spell, however, is that one can only ask a corpse five questions before they return to death forever. This is very much an issue that Chris Pine underestimates as he interrogates the first revivified body. He’s able to determine that the man fought in the battle they are interested in, but the number of questions quickly dwindles away as Pine asks questions to his party that the temporary zombie answers, and he wastes opportunities by saying things like, “Only answer when I talk to you, ok.” Before any meaningful answers are acquired, the dead man returns to deadness, and the group has to move on to the next grave.
The second attempt after digging up another coffin goes much better, but still not perfectly. As Chris Pine asks the questions, we get a flashback to the battle in question as the dead soldier talks about last seeing the helmet. There is chaos, explosions, and a giant dragon flying overhead, and one soldier hands a gold helmet to another and tells him to look after it – but then the guy who handed off the helmet gets chopped in half. Back in the present, Pine removes the bottom half of the dead man’s coffin, and discovers that his legs are missing. He is ready to move on to the next deceased soldier who may know something, but Justice Smith complains that they can’t just leave the corpse alive with three questions left to ask. Righting the wrong, Pine asks what the guy’s favorite food is, if he likes cats, and for the answer to the equation “two plus two.” The zombie says he likes oats, doesn’t like cats, and is bad at math, and he returns to being still.
The party digs up a third coffin – specifically the soldier to whom the second corpse said he handed the helmet. In another flashback, the zombie recalls being in a hot bath at the time of the battle, and when he gets out of the tub he slips and smashes his head against the porcelain. Chris Pine asks him what happened next, and the dead guy explains that he died. As Pine complains that the second corpse told them that he was given the helmet, the guy explains that was actually his brother – and frustration mounts.
That was the end of the first clip, but the second clip from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves followed shortly after, and it delivered some awesome action.
A Deadly Race Through A Maze
Opening in a giant arena with a magic floor that shifts and changes, Hugh Grant’s character stands on a giant pillar and promises an exciting show for a massive, cheering audience – promising that there will be gifts for everyone at the end. As Grant’s pillar is lowered following his speech, multiple parties are brought into the arena on risers from below the ground, including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, and Sophia Lillis. At the other end of the arena, the floor begins to shift and rise, and the heroes realize that they are meant to try and get through a maze. Unfortunately, what they don’t seem to expect is that they are going to be chased through the maze, as a group of vicious displacer beasts – black panthers with tentacles on their backs – come up from behind them.
Chaos erupts as all of the contestants in the challenge sprint away from the monsters into the labyrinth. A dwarf is killed when he is distracted by a displacer beast using an illusion and Sophia Lillis finds a chest that contains a sword that she can use to defend herself. Michelle Rodriguez tries to pull off a similar move with another box, but it turns out to be a Mimic in disguise. Rodriguez is able to avoid getting her hand bitten off by the creature’s teeth, but it pursues her and wraps its long tongue around her ankle. Thankfully, this is something that Lillis sees and she uses her newly acquired sword to free her friend – and shortly thereafter Rodriguez saves Lills before she can get trapped inside of a giant gelatinous cube.
Chris Pine, meanwhile, is all by himself, and he winds up getting backed into a corner by two displacer beasts… but the clip cut to black before providing a conclusion regarding the character’s fate.
These clips were an excellent bonus to go along with the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves trailer that premiered online after the Hall H panel – and if you have not seen it yet, you can watch it below:
Clearly there is still a lot about Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (including the names of the various characters), but our anticipation for the film has most definitely increased, as it looks like a great deal of fun. The dialogue and timing was sharp in the footage, and paints the movie as being a comedic adventure in a fantasy world.
Fortunately, cinephiles and D&D players everywhere don’t have to wait too long for the film’s arrival. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, one of our most anticipated upcoming Chris Pine movies, is now just a few months away – set to arrive in theaters domestically on March 3, 2023.
To learn about all of the films that are presently set to come out next year, be sure to check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar, and be sure to stay tuned for more of CinemaBlend’s coverage of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
