true77
In bringing Dungeons & Dragons to the big screen, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley faced the challenge of paying tribute to a beloved, extremely expansive game. With nearly 50 years’ worth of lore, spells, classes, and monsters at their fingertips, how would they know what to include?
“It’s a daunting menu to choose from. It’s like one of those deli menus where they have everything on it,” Goldstein told Mashable in a Zoom interview. “We actually asked Wizards of the Coast, who are the brand holders. We said, ‘Give us your top 20 or so fan favorite things, so we know what people will love.'”
That conversation led to the inclusion of fan-favorite monsters like Owlbears, one of Daley’s favorite creatures in the final film.
“The Owlbear, I thought, was depicted really well,” Daley said. “The geniuses at Industrial Light & Magic went through this painstaking process of figuring out how it would look in a 3D space, because it’s never really been depicted before. It was our idea to make it a snowy owl, just so that it pops in this beautiful but also terrifying way.”
Goldstein also praised another classic monster: the Mimic, which disguises itself as a treasure chest before lashing out at unsuspecting treasure seekers.
“The Mimic was a perfect blend of practical and CG effects,” said Goldstein. According to him, the trunk and parts of the Mimic’s long tongue were achieved practically, while the rest was computer-generated.
“The concept of the Mimic is so funny, and specifically D&D,” he continued.
“The deeper cuts continued with Easter eggs for eagle-eyed Dungeons & Dragons fans. One of the film’s climactic action sequences involves characters from the 1980s animated Dungeons & Dragons series. Elsewhere, statues and carvings depict important moments from the city of Neverwinter’s history.
Plus, there’s no written English in the film: Everything is written in Thorass, one of the languages of Faerûn.
“People have already translated it,” Goldstein noted.
But Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves isn’t just a non-stop barrage of references. Instead, Goldstein and Daley had fun messing with audience expectations in much the same way Dungeons & Dragons can mess with player expectations. After all, how many times does a session go exactly as planned?
“We love the setup and payoff of that moment,” said Daley. “Being able to play the audience like that throughout the film was something that we got a kick out of and made sure to do as much as possible.”
Goldstein pointed to the bridge scene in the Underdark as another example of this. In that scene, paladin Xenk describes a very elaborate puzzle that will allow the adventuring party to cross a bridge safely, only for sorcerer Simon to step on the wrong brick and destroy the bridge immediately.
“The bridge collapse sequence is a classic kind of D&D situation where you’re told a whole bunch of rules and then you have to follow those rules. It’s kind of an homage to Indiana Jones, too,” said Goldstein. “And the fact that Simon just puts his foot on the thing and all that description was for no reason — that’s the kind of thing that makes us laugh.”
Unexpected Twists and Turns
One of the most relatable moments in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves comes towards the end, as our heroes face a major setback in their heist plan. After meticulously setting up a portal in a portrait to access a heavily guarded vault, their hopes come crashing down when the portrait falls, leaving them stranded with no way in.
The Essence of the Game
While the movie features familiar monsters and spells, it’s these unexpected obstacles that truly capture the essence of Dungeons & Dragons. Players and Dungeon Masters alike know the feeling of seeing elaborate plans unravel due to a single stroke of bad luck.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a must-watch for fans of the game, offering a thrilling heist story with plenty of nods to the classic tabletop experience.
