Even with a surprise resurgence in the popularity of the immersive, exhausting role-playing fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons (2017 saw more players of the game than any other year in its entire existence), betting a reported $150m on a new franchise-starting film is a risky, borderline reckless, move, like betting on a regular goblin against a hobgoblin in a magic sorcery battle (note: I have never played Dungeons & Dragons before). As acceptably engaging as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves might be, it’s hard to fully understand the thinking behind such a wild gambit, especially given that a splashy Paramount+ TV series is also in the works, the success of one film immediately dictating the existence of an entire extended universe.
While other more mainstreamed franchises have touched upon loosely similar fantasy territory, from Game of Thrones to Lord of the Rings, there’s more of a niche, loaded quality to D&D that could prevent a similar trajectory, an association with hardcore geek culture that might be hard to shake for the average multiplex-frequenter. It’s not as if those behind the film aren’t also acutely aware of this as well, hiring the duo behind Game Night, Horrible Bosses and Spider-man: Homecoming to bring some pop and levity, aiming to give the film a Guardians of the Galaxy-esque irreverence, something the cool kids could enjoy just as much. It’s a passable attempt at such and one which is made all the more passable by context, comparing it with recent Marvel and DC films making it seem that much better but is that enough to warrant such lofty universe-starting investment?
