Fun appears to be on the menu when Paramount unleashes Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and the latest trailer demonstrates the humorous tone struck by the cast and filmmakers that will also balance off against some impressive creature design and visual effects. This shouldn’t be too surprising. Co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein come from a comedic background (which they talked about in our exclusive interview), and injected the right amount of humor into their script for Spider-Man: Homecoming, one of the top films on our ranking of every Spider-Man movie ever released. But it’s exciting to see them branching off into new IP, and this feels like the exact right way to approach a Dungeons & Dragons story in 2023.
Enjoy the new trailer above.
The first trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves also set its action to Led Zeppelin’s classic “Whole Lotta Love” off the band’s debut album, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That driving tune with its heavy backbeat cuts perfectly with the action in the new Dungeons & Dragons trailer – action that Chris Pine claims is inspired by the movement of Jackie Chan. Chan is not who I think of when I pair Chris Pine in a D&D movie, but my mind is open to the possibilities.
What impresses me the most about this new and fuller Dungeons & Dragons trailer is how the effects and creature designs have stepped up (no doubt because the effects house has had more time to refine them). And it’s not just your standard dragon, or furry beast. At one point, there’s a trunk that opens and bears razor-sharp teeth and a long tongue that chases Michelle Rodriguez. The main villain, pictured above, appears to command an army of the undead, and wields the power of sorcery that conjures some mythical-looking beasts. The whole thing just looks far more imaginative than I anticipated. And that’s a great thing.
But we have always known that Paramount has great faith in the work that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are doing. They brought Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves to San Diego Comic-Con for a panel and an extensive interactive tavern exhibit, which allowed fans to step into the world of the game. Also, it was recently confirmed that the movie would play the SXSW Film Festival in Austin in March, shining an even brighter light on what Paramount likely hopes will be the launch of a fantasy franchise.
Still, Dungeons & Dragons will be heading into a crowded marketplace, as so many blockbusters are opening in 2023 looking to make a splash after the uncertainty of the past few years. By the time D&D opens on March 31, theaters already will be luring crowds with John Wick: Chapter 4, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, 65, and Scream VI. There are plenty of option this year, so keep checking our guide to 2023 Upcoming Movies to stay up to date.
