After 3 years of lying dormant, Hall H was finally ready towelcome the Comic-Con faithful backinside its walls and kick off the show with a fitting presentation.Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thievesis a property tailor-made for San Diego Comic-Con, and one that, if it has a successful showing, could help generate a ton of buzz going into next year.
Obviously,Dungeons and Dragonsis a property that strongly resonates with geek culture and occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of so many people. However, it’s also a property that hasn’t fared too well when it comes to live-action adaptations, and therefore the fans are wary of anything that purports to succeed where others have failed.
The filmmakers and cast behindDungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thievestook to Hall H well-prepared. They knew that it is a tall task to win over the 6,000 rabid fans packed into the room, but luckily what they had to show struck the perfect balance between excitement and humor.
TheDungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thievespresentation included three exclusive clips: one behind the scenes featurette and two clips from the movie. It also concluded with the debut of thefirstDungeons and Dragonstrailer, which is online now. The trailer does a good job of establishing the tone ofDungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, so those who might already be sold on that promo needn’t read further. However, those who are still on the fence and not afraid of a couple of spoilers can read our rundown of the two exclusive clips from the movie.
The firstDungeons and Dragonsclip sees the four main characters, played byChris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, and Sophia Lillis resurrecting corpses to gain intel on the whereabouts of a special helmet. We know from the trailer and the behind-the-scenes featurette that this helmet is important to the story of Honor Among Thieves, but the scene is mostly played for laughs.
Without giving too much away, the idea is that the corpses that Justice Smith’s mage resurrects can only answer 5 questions. And so, in a sort ofMonty Python-esque sequence, a series of interrogations take place, which also flash back to a massive battle with a dragon flying overhead and terrorizing the warriors below.
Writer/directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Game Night) have a good handle on comedy and the pacing of the scene was impeccable. But the ability to mix in D&D lore and concepts like necromancy and a giant dragon are what suggests thatHonor Among Thieveswill be something special. Pine and Smith have a great comedic chemistry as well.
The other clip fromDungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieveswas more action-oriented in nature. It sees the same group from the prior scene trying to navigate a massive maze while being chased by a displacer beast, a massive panther-like creature from D&D lore that can cast an illusion of itself to confuse a victim.
Essentially, the scene was like a mini-D&D session, where the group is trying to reach an end-goal while avoiding an enemy. There are chests peppered throughout the maze that contain loot (read: weapons) and some traps as well, like the classic gelatinous cube and a mimic posing as a chest.
For incorporating D&D concepts and lore, the scene worked well enough to ratchet the tension and offer some fun surprises. Visually, it likely has a way to go with the effects, but that is to be expected with a 2023 release. Also, Hugh Grant’s villainous character makes an appearance at the beginning of the scene and he seems to be having a lot of fun in this role.
It was only fitting that Hall H’s return featured a film that likely benefited immensely from a live presentation. The two scenes shown conveyed a tone that is playful but still creative and a reverence for the property. Goldstein and Francis Daley also said that they worked very closely withWizards of the Coastto ensure that they got all the smaller details right, like monster and weapon choices. They even packed in a lot of Easter eggs for the more dedicated fans.
It was the type of showing that can help boost a film’s potential and reassure fans that their beloved property is in good hands.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thievesreleases in theaters in 2023.
