The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Movie Is a Mix of GAME OF THRONES, THE PRINCESS BRIDE, HOLY GRAIL, and GOONIES
I’ve been extremely curious about the Dungeons & Dragons movie that is being made by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. There are just so many different directions that the film could have gone, but from what the star of the movie, Chris Pine, is saying, the movie is going to be a big epic comedy adventure film.
If you’ve ever played D&D, then you know that there’s plenty of room for comedy. In fact, I expected it, especially with Goldstein and Daley at the helm. After all, these are the guys who brought films such as Game Night, Vacation, and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
In a recent interview with Collider, Pine was asked about the plot of the film. But in his response, he revealed more about the tone and compared it to several different classics. He said:
"Oh man. Well, what I will say is we had a hell of a fun time making it. There was a lot of laughs. The way that I've been describing it, it's like 'Game of Thrones' mixed with a little 'Princess Bride,' just a smidge of 'Holy Grail;' it's somewhere in that ballpark. It's a lot of fun. It's got a lot of thrills. It's poppy, it's eighties heartfelt, there's a bit of 'Goonies' in there. My character, he's the ultimate party planner. I think it's going to be really good. I mean, who fucking knows, but I think we got a good shot and John and John are killer guys. They know comedy and they know heart and we had a great cast and we had a good time making it. And that's all you can ask for."
Well, that sounds good to me! Again, I’m not really surprised by the comedic aspect of the project, but I loved the films that Pine compares the vibe to. That gets me even more excited about what’s coming.
When previously talking about the tone of the film, Goldstein explained, “We want it to be fun. It's not an out-and-out comedy, but it is an action-fantasy movie with a lot of comedic elements and characters we hope people will really get into and enjoy watching their adventures.”
Daley also talked about finding a format for the film and how they never went into the project wanting to spoof D&D. “D&D is such a unique look at the fantasy genre where it is contemporary in terms of the people playing it and the way they speak to each other. So we never wanted to spoof the genre of fantasy or take the piss out of it. But we did want to find another way into it that we hadn't necessarily seen before. Just the format of Dungeons & Dragons is so interesting and fun and all about critical thinking and thinking on your feet and figuring out ways to make things work after they fall flat. There's a lot of the spirit of that that we're trying to inject into the movie itself.”
Here’s a previously released lot synopsis for the movie:
An ex-Harper turned thief escapes from prison with his partner, a female barbarian, and reunites with a no-talent wizard and a druid new to their team in an effort to rob the cheating conman who stole all their loot from the heist that landed them behind bars, and used it to install himself as the Lord of Neverwinter. Only the traitor is allied with a powerful Red Wizard who has something far more sinister in store.
I’ve been playing a game of D&D for over two years. Same game, same players, and it’s a miracle I’m not dead because I’m always doing stupid shit.
Anyway, the movie also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Hugh Grant, and Sophia Lillis. Dungeons & Dragons is set to premiere in theaters on March 3rd, 2023.