Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is making the same mistake previous Dungeons & Dragons film adaptations have made. One of 2022 San Diego Comic-Con’s reveals was a trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The trailer indicates the movie is going to focus on a party of five main characters adventuring through a live-action Dungeons & Dragons campaign. A number of classic Dungeons & Dragons monsters are also confirmed to make appearances in this film adaptation of the classic tabletop game, yet for all this potential, the movie also looks set to repeat past problems.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves trailer also shows off a hearty number of Easter eggs, and there are plenty of encouraging signs the movie will make a good faith effort to incorporate a lot of different elements from the game. However, the trailer has also proven to be somewhat controversial. Some of the controversy stems from a perceived lack of diversity in the five main characters from a Dungeons & Dragons playable character type perspective. Other areas of concern are a bit more technical in nature; one example being the controversial Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves‘ Owlbear.
Arguably the biggest mistake that is hanging over Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a mistake that has also plagued its film adaptation predecessors. There are no indications Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will feature a split storyline between the five main characters, or the actual players controlling those characters within the campaign. That is a huge mistake as it essentially ignores the base game’s key component. It also doesn’t help the fantasy-based lore in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is quite derivative of previous works. Even worse, history has shown in other media that featuring both aspects of the Dungeons & Dragons experience can absolutely succeed.
Why The Dungeons & Dragons Adaptation Is A Mistake
The relationship between the players and also the Dungeon Master is one of the most important elements in Dungeons & Dragons. Those interpersonal relationships make a big difference for campaign stories, and not exploring them is yet another character problem Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is getting burdened with. This movie should be the perfect opportunity to finally showcase the many real-world relationship dynamics at play during a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Instead, it looks like Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is going to be just another action fantasy movie. In a post-Game of Thrones world, that genre has lost a lot of its mystique.
What’s even more perplexing is that other media have done an admiral job showing how the totality of the Dungeons & Dragons experience is makes the game so popular and so endearing. The most emotional moment of British sitcom The IT Crowd is built around overcoming tremendous heartache vicariously through Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying. More recently, Netflix’s Stranger Things has done even more to integrate Dungeons & Dragons into each season. Now the tables have turned; it’s for the best if the Dungeons & Dragons movie learns from Stranger Things.
It’s still possible Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves may include the actual players somehow. Perhaps the end of The LEGO Movie and its surprise real-world ending could serve as unexpected inspiration. If it doesn’t happen, however, it won’t matter how good or how entertaining Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves ends up being. Without a nod to its origins, this film adaptation will have forgotten to include what makes Dungeons & Dragons so special to begin with.
Key Release Dates
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Release Date:2023-03-31
