Last year, Universal Studios debuted one of my favorite theme park experiences of 2025: Fan Fest Nights. It was like the park’s iconic Halloween Horror Nights, but with a focus on non-horror franchises. It had some absolutely incredible attractions, including a rebuilt Enterprise-D bridge for the Star Trek experience and an awesome Beholder animatronic from the Henson Creature Shop for the Dungeons & Dragons experience. However, by far the best part of Fan Fest Nights was the Back to the Future portion of the show.

The Hill Valley set, which is still part of the historic Universal Studios backlot tour, became accessible to guests, and we got to walk around and feel like we were truly in the middle of the movie. Today, Universal Studios Hollywood announced that tickets are officially on sale for Fan Fest Night 2026. Unfortunately, with the news came the detail that Back to the Future won’t be back, but its replacement could be better.

Scooby Doo X Universal Monsters Will Take Guests To The Back Lot

It had previously been announced that one of the major attractions at Fan Fest Nights this year would be Scooby Doo X Universal Monsters, a mashup that would bring the ghost-hunting Hanna-Barbera team together with Universal’s classic creatures. However, we didn’t have any details on exactly what the experience would be.

In a press release, Universal Studios Hollywood confirmed that Scooby Doo X Universal Monsters will take place on the backlot. Guests will take the Studio Tour tram down to the backlot, and then exit the tram and walk along the backlot alongside the Scooby Gang as they go up against the various monsters.

What makes this extra special is that we’re talking about the Universal Studios backlot, which is where many of those classic Universal Monster movies were originally filmed. The Little Europe set, which still stands today, is where movies like Frankenstein and The Wolf Man were shot back in the ‘30s and ‘40s. It’s a classic movie fan’s dream come true.

Fan Fest Nights Has A Lot More To Offer, And It’s Not Done Yet

While the Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley experience won’t be returning, one of last year’s attractions will. Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep will be back. If you haven’t seen that incredible beholder animatronic, you’ll have another chance.

One other franchise from last year will be back as well, but in a new way. Last year, One Piece appeared at Fan Fest Nights as little more than a photo op, but this year, Universal Studios Japan’s ONE PIECE: Grand Pirate Show, will debut at the Waterworld stunt show location.

Fan Fest Nights is also teasing new experiences at the Super Nintendo World and Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands. Last year, Yoshi debuted at Super Nintendo World as part of the event. This year, we’ll get multiple Yoshis, in multiple colors, all throughout the land. The Wizarding World experience will be a walk through attractions that will send guests into the Forbidden Forest with a Hogwarts professor on the search for a lost Hippogriff.

There’s still more to be announced for this year’s Fan Fest Nights, but what we already have sounds like year two of the event will be just as good, and maybe better than year one.

A very successful era is ending on Netflix before the end of the 2025 TV schedule, with only four episodes left of Stranger Things Season 5. The sky-high viewership numbers have been impressive but not entirely unexpected; recent reveals about other ways the show has affected brands are a bit more surprising. Ahead of the debut of Volume 2 of Season 5, we can safely say that Eleven’s obsession with Eggos has been lucrative for the parent company, and way more people are into Dungeons & Dragons now than they were before Season 1.

According to new statistics from Variety, El’s love of Eggos that started in Season 1 in 2016 has been great for Kellogg, the brand’s parent company. Kellogg experienced growth of 14% in the fourth quarter of 2017 and 9.4% growth in the first four months of 2018. The timing suggests that fans were all-in on Eggos before, during, and after Season 2, which released on October 27, 2017. (Sales reportedly dipped over the hiatus between Seasons 2 and 3.) Millie Bobby Brown may not love frozen waffles, but that’s definitely not the case for everybody!

The company leaned into the Stranger Things boost ahead of the fifth and final season as well, with Eggo's Stranger Things Strawberry Waffles available in the freezer aisles in grocery stores across the U.S., with the website describing them as “limited edition Eggo Stranger Things Strawberry Waffles are Hawkins’ favorite toaster waffle brought to life,” and “perfect for powering bike rides, late-night cravings, and even Demogorgon hunting.” El hasn’t used waffles to fuel up just yet in Season 5, but the military quarantine affecting Hawkins certainly doesn’t pose a problem for real-life consumers who can drop by their local supermarket.

Dungeons & Dragons also experienced a massive resurgence thanks at least in part to Stranger Things, with Netflix reporting a growth in interest in the tabletop game by a whopping 673% since Stranger Things premiered in 2016. Given that D&D has been part of the show going back to almost the very first scene of the series and the kids usually name the Upside Down monsters after creatures from the game, it’s no surprise that it has gained more of a mainstream fanbase over the past decade.

While there were likely outside factors such as the 2023 release of Chris Pine’s Dungeons & Dragons movie and expansions to the game, the box office disappointment of the film didn’t lead to the movie getting a sequel, whereas you may not be able to walk into your nearest Target without seeing a Hellfire Club-themed D&D set. (R.I.P. Eddie Munson, with Joe Quinn not expected in Stranger Things Season 5.)

The bad news for Kellogg and Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast is that the end of the series likely means demand will die down for both products. An animated Stranger Things spinoff is on the way, but it’s unlikely that will generate anywhere near the kind of buzz as the live-action series.

In the meantime, the next week with the release of Season 5, Volume 2 on Christmas Day and the series finale on New Year’s Eve could result in one last major boost in profits. I don’t know that the party will have much time for playing D&D in the middle of fighting Vecna, but maybe El’s battery will need an Eggo fix to be recharged before the end. Find out with a Netflix subscription, with the next three episodes on December 25 at 8 p.m. ET.

We've gotten used to a steady stream of upcoming video game adaptations, with multiple movies and TV shows every year. Board games, on the other hand, don’t get quite the same amount of love from Hollywood. That doesn’t mean that the more traditional types of games are ignored. Sometimes we get great ones, like the timelessly hilarious Clue, and other times, it’s a mixed bag, at best, like Battleship. While that may have scared some producers away from the genre, there are still some adaptations in various states of production, so let’s talk about those!

It’s really important to point out that some of these might not ever be completed, as they appear to be stuck in production hell. With that, let’s talk about what’s been rumored and what’s been announced.

Settlers Of Catan (Netflix)

The newest addition to this list is Settlers of Catan. It looks like Netflix has big plans for the wildly popular board game, now simply known as Catan. In October 2025, the streamer announced that it is planning “a slate of scripted and unscripted projects inspired by the hit board game.” That seems to include the possibilities of movies and TV shows, but we’ll have to wait for more information as the project grows.

Clue Reality Show (Netflix)

Netflix announced, via Tudum, that it would be developing a new competition/reality show based on the board game Clue. From the description in the press release, it sounds like it’ll be a murder mystery, like the game, played out for big money. According to Netflix:

Clue is one of the board games that has most successfully been adapted for other media, with the crown jewel in the franchise being the cult classic movie from 1985, which is a favorite around the CinemaBlend office, where we’ve even spent time ranking the characters.

Monopoly Reality Show (Netflix) And Monopoly Film

Hasbro and Netflix have also teamed up for a reality show based on one of the most popular board games of all time, Monopoly. According to a report in Deadline in April 2025, the companies are developing the show where “players will test their friendships, acquire riches, and try to own it all by any means necessary.” There hasn’t been much news on this since the announcement, but it sounds like it could end in a lot of arguments, just like the board game does.

In addition to the reality show, Hasbro is reportedly working with Margo Robbie’s LuckyChap production company and Lionsgate to develop a movie based on Monopoly. How that would work is anyone’s guess, but given Robbie’s success teaming with another toy company, Mattel, on 2023’s Barbie, it would be a mistake to dismiss the potential.

According to a Deadline article in March 2025, the writing duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who teamed up to co-write and co-direct Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves in 2023, is another reason to pay attention to the development of this one. They also co-directed Game Night together, so they really seem to love board games.

Warhammer 40,000

In late 2022, Amazon announced, via THR, that Henry Cavill would help develop and star in a TV series based on the popular British board game Warhammer 40,000. The star of The Witcher is slated to executive-produce the show. In December 2024, Amazon announced that the show was officially in development, but news has been quiet since. The status as of October 2025 is unknown.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Sequel

While D&D is not technically a board game, and speaking of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, there still seems to be a chance that it could get a sequel, though the development of one has stalled. The first movie didn’t exactly set the world on fire at the box office, though critics love it, and it’s developed a little bit of cult following, so who knows? According to Chris Pine, they need to find a way to make it financially work.

There were also rumors of a spinoff TV show back in 2023, though that seems to have stalled out, as well, after the disappointing box office results.

Magic: The Gathering (Netflix)

Though Magic: The Gathering isn’t a board game, it does feel like a fit on this list. In June 2025, Deadline reported that Hasbro would be working with producers Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald on a live-action movie based on the popular card game. At this point, not much else is known, but given the success of Pokémon across various media, including card games, it seems like a no-brainer.

Risk

The board game Risk was, at least at one point, looking like it might get a TV adaptation. In 2021, Deadline reported that House of Cards creator Beau Willimon had signed a deal to develop a show, but there hasn’t been any information since, so this one may be D.O.A., though nothing seems to be official.

UNO

Another game we’ve added to this list that is a card game, rather than strictly a board game, is UNO. In 2021, Variety dropped news that a movie based on the game was in development with Lil Yachty attached to play the lead in what was at the time described as a heist film. In 2023, Complex reported that the project may be “shelved” when the script wasn’t what Mattel wanted.

Magic 8 Ball

Is Magic 8 Ball a game? Well… sort of. It can be? Who’s to say? What we can say is the game…er toy…er… whatever, is being turned into a live-action TV show, according to an October 2025 article from Variety. Director M. Night Shyamalan and writer Brad Falchuk are developing the show. In an Instagram post, Shyamalan said he’d been working on it “for a couple of years,” and teased the script with a photo.

No other information about the potential show has been announced as of yet.

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots

Finally, one last entry on this list that may or may not be a board game. It’s also one where the status of the project seems very much up in the air. In 2021, Mattel announced in a press release that Vin Diesel would be co-producing a movie based on the popular ‘60s game Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. Diesel stated in the press release:

Unfortunately, there has been no news over the last four years, so like a few others on this list, while there are some big names attached, a lot of these projects seem to fall apart.

It’s obviously difficult to adapt board games, which explains why so many of these projects get announced, and then seem to languish in development hell, sometimes for years. It doesn’t look like there will be any of these on the 2025 movie schedule or the 2025 TV schedule, but maybe someone will roll the dice in 2026.

This week sees February come to an end and March get underway. That means it’s once again time for the monthly content shakeup as what’s coming soon to Netflix or upcoming on Hulu is quite the extensive list. Many movies and series enter and leave those platforms as well as the rest of the best streaming services. Keeping track of it all is practically a full-time job.

Luckily, CinemaBlend is here, and keeping track of it all is our job. This week, we have a brand new comedy series on Netflix, and a continuing comedy series upcoming on Disney+. But this week is all about movies, with some high-profile additions of theatrical films you shouldn’t miss, as well as the biggest night of the year for the entire film industry.

Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy - February 25 (Peacock)

The death of Matthew Perry was a shock to both his friends and his fans alike. A new documentary takes a serious look at the circumstances surrounding the actor’s apparent accidental death.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - February 26 (Netflix)

I will never stop complaining about how underappreciated Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was. The film was an incredible action comedy that celebrated the best of D&D without requiring viewers to know anything about D&D. Perhaps with the movie becoming available with a Netflix subscription more people will see it and then we can get to work on that sequel the world deserves.

Running Point - February 27 (Netflix)

Kate Hudson takes her first leading role in a TV series in Running Point. The comedy sees Hudson as an underachieving daughter who finds herself taking over as President of her family's professional basketball team.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - February 28 (Disney+)

Wizards of Waverly Place was one of the more popular Disney Channel original series during the golden age of the channel’s original content. Old fans and new fans alike will get the next 12 episodes of the sequel series Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, executive-produced by Selena Gomez.

97th Oscars - March 2 (Hulu)

The Academy Awards are the biggest night of the year for Hollywood, but actually celebrating movies has been difficult for the last few years if you don’t have traditional TV options. For the first time, the Oscars will be streamed live, as long as you have a Hulu subscription.

Jurassic World: Dominion (Extended Version) - March 2 (Peacock)

Jurassic World: Rebirth is likely to be one of the biggest movies on the 2025 movie schedule, so now is as good a time as any to catch up on the franchise. Jurassic World: Dominion hasn’t been available on Universal’s own platform for a while but this week your Peacock subscription will give you access to both the theatrical and the extended edition of the film.

Next week will be one of the biggest weeks streaming has seen in a while, with the release of Daredevil: Born Again. If you don’t have a Disney+ subscription now, it might be worth getting it ready.

2023 was filled with spectacular films, with some being mega hits and others arguably not recieving the love they truly deserved at the box office. I’d passionately argue that one such film that belongs in the latter category is Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which I love. Despite offering a fun story, A+ cast, firm direction and big laughs, the fantastical adventure flick flopped at the box office. Nevertheless, some fans – including myself – have been holding out hope that a follow-up of sorts might still happen at some point. So you can imagine that I was pleasantly surprised when leading man Chris Pine was asked about a sequel and shared some upbeat thoughts.

The fan-favorite actor addressed the notion of another film in the franchise while appearing at Superhero Con in San Antonio this past weekend. When faced with the question of whether or not Honor Among Thieves could receive a sequel, he answered in the affirmative. Based on his comments, he seems to be under the impression that Paramount Pictures isn’t against telling more stories within the Forgotten Realms:

Of course, even though I’m a fan, I’m realistic about the chances of such a movie happening and would totally understand if it doesn’t. The latest flick in the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, which had a reported budget of $150 million only earned $37.2 million during its opening weekend back in March 2023. Honor Among Thieves wrapped its theatrical run with a global haul of a little more than $208 million. Needless to say, the flick wasn’t exactly profitable for the studio. Still, given how fun and creative the film is, it’s hard for me to not want a sequel after seeing it.

The critically lauded D&D: Honor Among Thieves centers around shady, but lovable, thief Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), who seeks to obtain a Tablet of Reawakening to resurrect his late wife. Joining him on his quest are barbarian Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), amateur sorcerer Simon Aumar (Justice Smith), druid Doric (Sophia Lillis) and heroic paladin Xenk Yendar (Regé-Jean Page). What results is a fantastical romp that takes the group to various locales. The film is also well directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who co-wrote the script with Michael Gilio. There are so many memorable moments and characters as well as a host of Dungeons & Dragons easter eggs. However, I hold a special place in my heart for the gag involving Absolution Council member Jarnathan, who wasn’t expected to even be in the movie.

Any push to get another movie made may seem like an uphill battle, but Chris Pine’s comments make me confident that there’s a sliver of hope. It would seem at the very least that he has interest in returning as Edgin as does Sophia Lillis, who discussed a sequel last year. Just keep making your voices heard (in a respectful manner), fellow fans. And, with any luck, we’ll be back in the Forgotten Realms before we know it.

In the meantime, you can stream Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves with a Paramount+ subscription, and it’s currently available to Prime Video subscribers as well. Those looking for action flicks that have been hitting theaters more recently can learn about them using the 2024 movie schedule.

Toy brands have had interesting relationships with the film and TV mediums over the last several decades. Many have served as the basis for some notable productions, each of which has found varying degrees of success. Some of those offerings are held in high regard by much of the public, like The Transformers, Clue and the critically acclaimed Barbie, which was even nominated for Best Picture. However, some of the projects that have been inspired by playthings are quite lackluster, even living in infamy in some circles, and we’re going to discuss a number of them.

Pound Puppies (1986-1987)

In the ‘80s, Tonka’s Pound Puppies toy line was popular enough to spawn an animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The show, which has two seasons, centers around the adventures of a group of talking dogs, who lived at a pound and befriended a human girl. All in all, the stories are relatively basic, and the characters aren’t as endearing as others birthed by H-B Productions.

Rainbow Brite And The Star Stealer (1985)

Inspired by Mattel’s Rainbow Brite brand, The Star Stealer is a motion picture that in no way justifies its existence. The less-than-stellar animation and the somewhat choppy storytelling are just two reasons why this film is far from a must-see today. It doesn’t even surpass its TV show counterpart in terms of quality, which honestly isn’t saying much, as that isn’t a high bar to clear.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009)

You really shouldn’t be surprised to see a ranking of the Transformers films and find Revenge of the Fallen at the bottom of it. The second installment in Michael Bay’s blockbuster franchise is a discombobulated piece of work that has an overstuffed story, underdeveloped characters, and countless clichés (even for a Bay production). The copious amount of Autobot and Decepticon fights can’t even redeem it.

Challenge Of The GoBots (1984-1985)

Challenge of the GoBots has a following, but it certainly hasn’t reached the pop culture heights that Tonka likely envisioned for it decades ago. It’s a mostly generic piece of work with by-the-book stories and stock characters and, back in the day, it was ultimately outdone by its direct competitor, The Transformers.

Battleship (2012)

Peter Berg’s box office bomb Battleship is an empty sort of blockbuster that doesn’t even provide a thrilling spectacle to make up for its lack of a compelling narrative. What’s unfortunate is that it doesn’t take a cerebral approach, which is what’s needed to play the Hasbro board game of the same name. This likely isn’t what fans were expecting for the toy property or Rihanna’s feature film debut.

Dungeons & Dragons (2000)

In the lead-up to Dungeons & Dragons’ release in 2000, fans had long hoped for a live-action film adaptation that captured the essence of the beloved role-playing game. That final product is a poorly written and cheap-looking film that’s mostly dull. You’re better off carving out some time and watching 2023’s critically beloved Honor Among Thieves.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

People may debate the merits of the G.I. Joe animated series inspired by Hasbro’s action figures, but it’s hard to argue against the notion that the first live-action film adaptation, The Rise of Cobra is weak. There are flashes of fun, but not even Channing Tatum can save it from being a nonsensical action flick.

C.O.P.S. (1988)

We’re not talking about the reality docuseries on Fox, but the ‘80s animated series C.O.P.S, which is based on Hasbro’s action figures of the same name. This program, set in the year 2020 and centered on law enforcement officials, simply lacks the fun, true thrills and endearing characters many of its peers possess. 

Masters of the Universe (1987)

He-Man, his cohorts and enemies feel like characters born to be on the big screen but, unfortunately, the live-action Masters of the Universe film doesn’t come close to doing them justice. This Dolph Lundgren-led action flick is hastily put together, poorly directed and fails to capture the energy and fun of the OG animated series.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

The moderate success of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009 is what led to the sequel, Retaliation, in 2013. Led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson this time around, the movie is somewhat more polished than its predecessor, but it’s even more ludicrously over the top.

The Glo Friends (1986-1987)

Few people probably remember The Glo Friends, an animated series born from segments on My Little Pony 'n Friends and adapted from Playskool’s IP of the same name. Centered on a group of small, glow-in-the-dark insects and their adventures, this short-lived, by-the-numbers show is a shining example of how not to adapt a toyline.

Playmobil: The Movie (2019)

One could certainly assume that Playmobil: The Movie was (at least partially) made to get in on the success of 2014’s The Lego Movie and other toy-based adaptations. Unfortunately, this flick isn’t nearly as well-written, beautifully animated or funny as Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s masterpiece.

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (2011)

While Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a step up from its 2009 predecessor, Revenge of the Fallen, the third installment in Michael Bay’s saga of massive robots still has its issues. Among them are a contrived screenplay, underdeveloped (new and returning) characters and a series of disorienting action sequences.

Bobbleheads: The Movie (2020)

You may find this hard to believe but, yes, Bobbleheads: The Movie does exist. And, yes, this poorly animated, generic film about a group of bobbleheads seeking to fend off human threats to their existence is just as bad as you’d imagine. After watching this flick, you’ll be left shaking your head just like the titular protagonists.

M.A.S.K. (1985-1986)

Syndicated ‘80s cartoon M.A.S.K. does have a solid following and has some appeal for younger viewers. However, getting older is realizing that beneath the Kenner toy-adapted show’s weapon-based action, there’s no true substance to the proceedings.

Ouija (2014)

The name Ouija is trademarked by Hasbro, and I’m not sure how they feel about the abysmal 2010s horror flick that bears that name. What can be said is that the production merely offers one-note characters, a tired story and a lack of strong scares. Those who would like a more entertaining offering from this franchise, though, can check out Mike Flanagan’s 2016 prequel, Origin of Evil.

Rubik, The Amazing Cube (1983)

A Rubik’s Cube is meant to serve as a way for young people to stimulate their minds in a creative way. On the other hand, ABC’s Rubik, the Amazing Cube – which is about kids who befriend the titular Rubik and help him fend off an evil magician – is mostly mind-numbing. The sole bright spot is that it was one of the first major animated series to feature Hispanic or Latino characters in mostly prominent roles.

My Little Pony: The Movie (1986)

My Little Pony: The Movie doesn’t hit the right notes like some of the other adaptations of Hasbro’s famous toyline. And even more disappointing than its less-than-spectacular animation and limited appeal is the fact that it’s so blatantly designed to sell products.

Sky Commanders (1987)

Running for only 13 episodes, Sky Commanders – which is inspired by Kenner’s toys of the same name – is a military action series that doesn’t quite stack up to some of its contemporaries. The main characters may be soldiers fighting an evil general but, given how basic it is, they might as well be civilians. 

Max Steel (2016)

The Max Steel franchise from Mattel was incredibly successful in the 2000s, thanks to the awesome toys and fun show on Kids’ WB. But the 2016 feature film adaptation, which melted at the box office, is a truly uninspired superhero tale that lacks the fun, excitement and adventurous spirit that's historically associated with the titular hero.

Robosapien: Rebooted (2013)

One certainly can’t forget that WowWee has also contributed its fair share of memorable toys, with one of those being the robot Robosapien. The live-action/CGI film, Rebooted, was released less than a decade after the toyline launched, and one can’t help but think that this idea needed more time to percolate. It’s a slow drama film that won’t delight young kids or intrigue adults in any way.

The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987)

Films based on card-based games can be very hit or miss, and The Garbage Pail Kids Movie very much falls into the latter category. It’s crude and unfunny in all the worst ways, and the puppetry utilized to create the eponymous bunch may give some kids nightmares.

Potato Head Kids (1986)

TV critics lament the existence of shows like The Flintstone Kids and Tom & Jerry Kids, but those shows and others don’t hold a candle to the misfire that is Potato Head Kids. It sees Mr. Potato Head serve as an adult-type mentor to a bunch of impressionable spuds. Narrative and animation-wise, there’s nothing truly spectacular about this production. You’re better off just watching Mr. and Mrs. P in the Toy Story films (which we’ve ranked).

Bratz (2007)

The live-action Bratz movie released in the 2000s ultimately underperformed, which may be surprising given how popular the brand was at the time. Those who’ve seen the film – and how it underserves its cast with a clichéd story with weak characters – you may understand why.  

Pound Puppies And The Legend Of Big Paw (1988)

Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw isn’t much of an improvement on the TV show on which it’s based, as it has many of the same flaws. Another attempt to capitalize on Tonka toys, this TriStar-distributed motion picture bombed.

G.I. Joe Extreme (1995-1997)

Of all the various entries in Hasbro’s military-based media franchise, G.I. Joe Extreme is probably one of the most easily forgotten, and that’s understandable. While it places the main heroes in the future and pits them against a new enemy, the S.K.A.R. organization, it doesn’t really add anything truly interesting to the lore.

The New Adventures Of He-Man (1990)

Mattel’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is arguably one of the greatest animated series ever to hit the small screen, and its impact on pop culture is immense. That’s why it’s so disappointing that its spiritual successor, The New Adventures of He-Man, only (and barely) improves upon it when it comes to animation style.

The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)

The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie are strong feature film efforts, which blazed a solid trail for The Lego Ninjago Movie. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t feel nearly as inspired as its predecessors and can’t hold a candle to the action-packed and humorous energy of the Ninjago animated series.

Jem And The Holograms (2015)

The critically derided Jem and the Holograms strips away most of what made the Jem show of the ‘80s so endearing. Director John M. Chu trades out high-energy storytelling for a bland drama while also mostly ignoring the technological elements that made the series so inventive. And, above all else, the songs – unlike the ones on the show – are mostly forgettable.

Visionaries: Knights Of The Magical Light (1987)

A very short-lived TV program, Visionaries: Knights Of The Magical Light focuses on the Spectral Knights in their quest to fend off the evil Darkling Lords on a distant planet. This feels like an odd mixture of Dungeons & Dragons and Transformers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t possess the action and sense of wonder that those franchises offer.

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

The critically panned Transformers: The Last Knight, Michael Bay’s fifth directorial effort in the franchise, sees the polarizing filmmaker give into all of his worst tendencies. There are one or two interesting ideas, such as Optimus Prime coming face to face with the extraterrestrial beings that actually brought the Autobots to life. However, the long-winded plot, which relies heavily on exposition, and repetitive action sequences leave much to be desired. 

Dino-Riders (1988)

Dino-Riders toys from Tyco may have seemed cool, but the cartoon created to promote them isn’t all that interesting. It offers a somewhat contrived concept about time-misplaced humanoid beings, who end up in the prehistoric era and forge telepathic bonds with dinosaurs to fight off enemies. It’s mostly generic – and not nearly as exciting as how the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would command dino-inspired vehicles just five years later.

It should be said that these productions don’t truly represent the totality of toy adaptations movie and TV viewers have received over the years. As previously mentioned, there are plenty of excellent ones to check out. You can, however, still seek these out and watch in case you want to try to give them a chance.

Stranger Things’ Season 4 conclusion left several main characters and the town of Hawkins in pure turmoil — to say nothing of the rest of the world at large — and it’s already been a long wait to see how the upcoming Season 5 will close things out for audiences with Netflix subscriptions. All forms of speculation abound, from logical assumptions to baffling guesses, but now co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer have spoken out about one of the most polarizing fan theories: nothing is real, and it’s all part of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. 

As it goes with seemingly every serious drama with a hint of mystery to it, Stranger Things has sparked theories that presume everything we’ve seen in the first four seasons is all just the mental machinations of one or more characters. Which is slightly different from the “the main character was dead the whole time” trope, but not too far off.

Speaking with Metro at the premiere of the critically acclaimed Stranger Things: The First Shadow stage show, the horror-friendly brothers were asked about the bonkers D&D hypothesis, and reportedly giggled quite a bit. Matt Duffer even stoked the fire a bit more with some initial sarcasm, saying:

Thankfully, Ross Duffer followed his sibling up with some quick clarification, lest anyone take the joking confirmation at face value, and essentially soothed the paranoia of anyone dreading the possibility of a dream-based conclusion. In his words:

While The First Shadow stage play is digging back into some of the fan-favorite characters’ pasts to reveal important historical context for Henry/Vecna, Hopper, Joyce and more, Stranger Things’ Season 5 finale will presumably be used as a springboard to launch at least one spinoff. And I can’t imagine that fans would want to see any of these people again if the flagship series ended on a reveal of the O.G. foursome of Dustin, Will, Mike and Lucas sitting around and patting themselves on the back for crafting such imaginative story arcs. Presumably with all of the actors de-aged digitally. 

Speaking of the play, I have to wonder how that whole flashback storyline would make sense to anyone who genuinely buys into the Dungeons & Dragons ending theory. The game wouldn’t have existed in the real world at that point in the timeline. But I’m sure someone has a way to explain it, even if it’s wrong.

The Duffers have revealed which characters’ stories are definitively ending with the fifth batch of episodes, but left the door open for others to enter the conversation. So in that respect, I fully expect the Season 5 finale will leave a few narrative threads left dangling for a follow-up series to pick up.

Stay tuned to learn when those dangling threads will be premiering on Netflix, with Stranger Things Season 5 expected to arrive in late 2025.

From a movie about a doll having an existential crisis (Barbie) to a comedic slasher that also involves time travel (Totally Killer) to a movie about a bear who is high on cocaine (Cocaine Bear), the 2023 movie schedule was full of wildly creative and hilarious comedies. So while reflecting on this magnificent year of film, we couldn’t help but reminisce about all the funny flicks and come to a conclusion about which rose to the top as the best. With all that being said, here are the 20 best comedies of 2023, ranked. 

20. We Have A Ghost 

We Have A Ghost will warm your spirit and charm the whole family with its silly story about a boy who befriends a silent ghost living in his attic. Leading Netflix’s We Have A Ghost cast is David Harbour as Ernest the ghost, as well as his human friend Kevin, played by Jahi Di'Allo Winston. This film is such a goofy good time as the duo figures out how to deal with the ghost’s newfound viral fame, and it shines brightest when the Stranger Things star gets to show off his physical comedy chops. 

19. 80 For Brady 

While our review of 80 For Brady wasn’t exactly glowing, fans loved this football comedy starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno, and so did I! The film follows four older ladies as they make their way to the Super Bowl to see Tom Brady play. It’s a silly goofy good time, and these four women seemed to be having the times of their lives being funny together.  

18. Murder Mystery 2 

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston are back as your favorite inexperienced detectives! While watching Netflix’s Murder Mystery 2, I was thinking a lot about how fantastic these two are together, and just how great they are at playing two folks who are really bad at solving high-profile crimes. Overall, this globetrotting mystery was a grand 'ol time that allowed these two legends to shine.

17. The Blackening 

Like Scream, The Blackening uses comedy to poke fun at horror movies while also being an excellent horror film. As our review of The Blackening noted, this movie is a fantastic satire that provides a thought-provoking commentary on racial inequality (specifically in movies). It’ll have you both reflecting on the history of the genre while also laughing and screaming over this great slasher comedy.  

16. Dicks: The Musical 

Bonkers, unhinged, chaotic and hilarious are all words that have been used to describe Dicks: The Musical. Our own Corey Chichizola called it “the most unhinged movie” he’s ever seen, and critics of Dicks adored how wholly original it was. Overall, this A24 musical deeply inspired by The Parent Trap pokes fun at musical theater and fully embraces the wild and wacky.  

15. Cocaine Bear 

Listen, when you make a movie called Cocaine Bear, you have to lean into the ridiculousness. The film, which is based on a real story, follows a bear who has just done cocaine – as the title implies – and various people who are wandering around the same park. It’s a violent and hilarious horror comedy, and as our review of Cocaine Bear states, it’s “severely and ridiculously fun – just as nature intended.” 

14. Shotgun Wedding 

What could go wrong in a Jennifer Lopez-led wedding rom-com? Well, in Amazon Prime Video’s Shotgun Wedding, the answer is everything, and it's hilarious. As we wrote in our review of Shotgun Wedding, the film is an over-the-top action-comedy led by JLo and Josh Duhamel, who play a couple that's about to get married when their wedding is hijacked. Its action and the two stars’ physical comedy skills during it are what got this film onto this list. 

13. Renfield 

Nicolas Cage plays Dracula and Nicholas Hoult plays his familiar Renfield, who wants to break up with his vampire boss. Need I say more? As our review of Renfield explains, Cage is clearly living his best afterlife, and Hoult makes for a great screen partner as he tries to quit his job, making for a silly, goofy, bloody and all-around good time.  

12. They Cloned Tyrone 

While Netflix’s They Cloned Tyrone is a sci-fi thriller before it’s a comedy, there’s no denying how funny it is. In our review of They Cloned Tyrone, Nick Venable wrote that Jamie Foxx turns in a career-best performance as he plays Slick Charles, who shows off all the charm and humor the actor thrives on. 

11. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 

While our review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 notes that you need to bring the tissues to this Marvel movie because of Rocket’s tragic story, like all GOTG movies, it’s also hysterical. After three solo movies and a few team-ups together, the GOTG Vol. 3 cast was firing on all cylinders, and they really brought the funny as they traversed the galaxy to save Rocket. 

10. Polite Society 

Polite Society is a blast of a martial arts comedy that follows Ria (Priya Kansara), a young girl who dreams of being a stunt double as she tries to save her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya) from an arranged marriage. Filled with incredible action and hysterical moments, at its heart, this movie is a story about sisters and the bond they share. The added bonus is their comedic chemistry.   

9. Totally Killer 

Take the slasher plot from Scream and the time travel of Back to the Future, then mix the two films’ senses of humor, and you get Amazon Prime’s Totally Killer. The film follows Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) as she goes back in time to find a serial killer and stop them from killing her mom. It’s honestly such a fun and fresh take on the slasher film, and it mixes in Gen Z humor and ‘80s nostalgia in a really fun way. 

8. You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah 

Not only is You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah one of the best coming-of-age movies in recent years, it’s also a fabulous comedy from Netflix. The Sandler family comedy got 3.5 out of 5 stars from us, and it was deserving of every one. Led by Adam Sandler’s young daughter Sunny Sandler, the film follows her and her bestie in the lead-up to their Bat Mitzvahs, and all the drama and hilarity that comes with being a teen. 

7. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 

Not only did reviews of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves praise it for how it honors the tabletop game, but another major high point of the film is just how hilarious it is. The D&D cast, which is led brilliantly by Chris Pine’s bard character Edgin Darvis, and their chaotic energy makes you feel like you're watching a campaign. Then mix in silly characters and jokes, like Jarnathan the bird, and you have a nuanced, unique and incredibly fun action-comedy from Paramount Pictures.  

6. Rye Lane 

Rye Lane is easily one of the best rom-coms of the year, David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah star as two young folks who have both gone through breakups as they spend one memorable day together. Drenched in dry humor, this Hulu film is a new and unique take on both romance and comedy, making for an excellent addition to this list. 

5. No Hard Feelings 

Jennifer Lawrence let her comedic skills loose in No Hard Feelings, and it was the best. This comedy leaned hard into its raunchiness and showed it all (and no, JLaw didn’t use a body double for that beach scene). The hard R-ness of the film makes it funny, but ultimately the reason this story about an older woman fake-dating a young guy works is because of the heartfelt and funny relationship formed between Lawrence’s Maddie and Andrew Barth Feldman’s Percy. 

4. Bottoms 

Through Bottoms, we got to know a cast of new comedic voices who are poised to make a real impact on the genre. The film follows two high schoolers played by Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri as they start a fight club to get with the girls at their school. The film has an energy similar to some of the best movies of the 2000s, namely Superbad, with an ensemble that has a unique and hilarious take on the raunchy high school movie.  

3. Joy Ride 

A no-holds-barred road trip comedy led by Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu? Sign me up! As I wrote in my review of Joy Ride, this film is successful because it fully commits to the raunchiness, and it leans into its outrageous premise that leads to hilarious moments (the K-pop dance number). However, what ultimately makes this one of the best is how it balances being a road trip comedy with having a refreshing take on female friendship.

2. Theater Camp 

With standout performances from Noah Galvin, Ben Platt, Molly Gordon and Ayo Edebiri, Theater Camp is easily one of the best comedies because of its outstanding ensemble. Along with veteran actors, the kids who attend the camp are just as funny and immensely talented. From hilarious moments of physical comedy, like Gordon and Platt’s introduction of the summer’s musicals, to incredible musical numbers, like the finale of the camp’s musical “Joan, Still,” this film is unique and oh so much fun. 

1. Barbie 

I feel confident saying that the more you watch Barbie and notice the details, the funnier it gets. Many of the reviews for Barbie specifically cite Ryan Gosling’s Ken as the comedic highlight of the film, which is true, as the Ken-ergy is irresistible. However, everyone in this movie has their hilarious time to shine, and the comedy mixed with its inspiring message is what makes it one of the best films of 2023. 

Overall, 2023 was a fantastic year of comedy, and it’s refreshing to see so many different kinds of funny movies being made. So make sure you go back and watch some of these incredible comedies and take in all the silly goofy fun this year had to offer.   

October is almost halfway over, which means it's the perfect time to get serious about those Halloween costumes. There are so many great characters to choose from among 2023's movie releases — almost too many if I’m being honest. However, we're here to help you, and from Barbie to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, there's a little something for everyone.  

If you’re a Halloween fanatic, there are definitely enough costume ideas here to change it up. Where one to work, one to a party, and then another to trick-or-treat. Even if you don’t have any Halloween plans, there’s no reason why you can’t spend October 31st dressed up. Whether you want to spend hours hand-selecting and making your own costume or purchase a pre-made one, there’s no shortage of 2023 movies to pick from, and we're going to start off with a movie that continues to break records: Barbie.

Everyone’s Going To Be Margot Robbie’s Barbie, But Weird Barbie Deserves Love Too

Move over orange; I think it’s safe to say pink is going to be the new color of Halloween this year. Margot Robbie had over 30 outfit changes in the Barbie movie, so there’s definitely no shortage Barbiecore of looks to choose from. Add that with the commercial appeal of Ken and his tie-dye “I am Kenough” hoodie, and well, you definitely have the most popular couples costume of the year. 

But if you’re looking to celebrate your love of the Barbie movie and its details while still being unique, I suggest opting to dress as Weird Barbie. After all, anyone who played with Barbies knows that Weird Barbie is more authentic than the perfect, fresh-out-of-the-box version Robbie plays. Sure, it may take a little more hands-on creativity, but there’s no way to bring Weird Barbie to life wrong. Let your imagination take control! 

Embrace Your Evil Side With Bowser From The Super Mario Bros. Movie 

Sticking with the theme of the biggest movies of the year, I suggest looking at one of the biggest 2023 video game movies, The Super Mario Bros., for inspiration. While Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach have been popular costumes for years now, thanks to the video game franchise, this might be one of the first years that Bowser gets to shine. 

What better way to celebrate Bowser and the greatness that is the “Peaches” viral song than to go as the overlooked villain? What’s even better is that there are plenty of costume options available! If you’re planning a Halloween night in but still want to dress up, consider the Boswer onesie. Or, if your child is the one breathing fire to be Bowser, then check out the child versions of the costume below. And if you're feeling sad about not having a Princess Peach to celebrate with, consider walking around with a can of peaches to add some whimsy to your costume! 

Show Off Your Love For A Fan-Favorite Guardians Of The Galaxy Character Rocket Raccoon 

There’s no denying that Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 was Rocket’s movie. His origin story brought so many of us to tears (and educated even more on the horrors of animal testing), and it just reaffirmed why he's such a beloved character. So, this Halloween is the perfect time to honor the "secret protagonist" of the franchise by dressing up as him. 

While there have been handfuls of Rocket Raccoon costumes over the years since the release of the first two movies, now is the first time one can dress up as Captain Rocket. It’s a pretty easy costume to put together, too. A Guardians Captain hoodie is the first piece of the puzzle. Add a raccoon tail, some ears, and some black face paint to your eyes, and you’ve got yourself a Rocket costume. 

Step Into The Role Of A Bard And Become Edgin From Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 

The critically acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves was one of the first big movie releases of 2023. However, it’s still fresh in so many people’s minds, especially to those fans who were playing the tabletop game long before the movie propelled it into mainstream popularity. While D&D experts might have their own original characters to dress up as, those of us with less of an imagination who still want to join the fun can channel Edgin from the movie. 

For the perfect costume, you’ll need a pair of khaki pants, which shouldn’t be too hard to find, but just in case, we’ve got you covered. While any flowy shirt will do, I suggest pairing the pants with a navy Pirate-style shirt and a Steampunk-inspired tailcoat. Of course, no bard goes anywhere without a lute, so make sure you get your hands on one of those to really complete the look! A real one will definitely break the bank, but there are a few cheaper options available. 

Celebrate Your Love Of Pixar By Being Ember From Elemental

While Pixar’s Elemental had a bit of a slow start, the movie ended up doing great at the box office and later even broke a Disney+ record. The heartwarming romantic comedy is not only worth watching if you have an active Disney+ subscription, but it’s the perfect movie to channel for Halloween. 

Hot-tempered Ember is such a fun character who has an even more fun style that would make a perfect Halloween costume. Since Ember is made of fire, I suggest purchasing a red or orange morph suit as your first layer -- make sure you ditch the hood, though. It’ll definitely save you a lot of time and energy later when you won’t have to worry about staining your shower with red body paint. Next, add a black and silver dress like the one Ember wears in the movie. Finish off the look with a flame wig, and you’re the perfect Ember! Now, all you need to do is find someone to be Wade. 

Make A Splash As Ariel In the Little Mermaid

Disney Halloween costumes are always all the rage, and with the live-action Disney movies on the rise, now there are more options to bring your favorite characters to life. While the animated Ariel is a classic, why not change things up this year and channel Halle Bailey's Ariel from loved live-action Little Mermaid instead? 

Walking around a party or the neighborhood with a tail isn't going to be easy, so I suggest opting for Ariel's human look instead. It's relatively simple to put together, too! All you need is a blue ruffled dress and a pink headband. For some extra fun, consider wearing a pair of fork -- I mean dinglehopper -- earrings! 

Since all these costumes are inspired by the biggest movies of 2023, there’s a chance you won’t be the only one representing these characters. But don’t let that stop you from having fun. If anything, you can create your own giant group of Barbies, Ariels, or even Bowsers! After all, Halloween is all about having fun, so go have fun and be safe!

The fantasy-comedy film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves initially appeared promising, ranking 10th in this year's box office rankings. However, despite high expectations due to D&D's star-studded cast, and doing well on its opening weekend, the film's box office performance fell short. The prospect of a second film often hinges on the first movie's success in the cinema, and it seemed like this notion had cost fans a sequel to the fantasy flick starring Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez. Well, not so fast, because one Paramount Pictures head honcho has commented on the possibilities of a Dungeons and Dragons 2, which could happen after all. 

In a conversation with Variety, Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins hinted at the possibility of a sequel to Dungeons & Dragons. He recognized the need to trim down the budget from the $150 million spent on Honor Among Thieves, stating:

It would seem those in charge are still considering a continuation of the party's story if the sequel's budget can be trimmed down a bit from the original. 

While Dungeons & Dragons earned praise from critics, including a positive 4 out of 5-star review from Cinemablend writer Dirk Libby, Honor Among Thieves failed to meet box office projections. According to Boxoffice Mojo, the film's global earnings surpassed just $200 million. Notably, though, it boasted an impressive 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 93% based on over 2,500 fan ratings.

It's puzzling why Honor Among Thieves didn't attract a larger audience when it landed on the 2023 movie schedule on March 31. Despite extensive marketing, including trailers, a prominent Super Bowl spot, and favorable reviews, some viewers may have been deterred by the title. The connection to the role-playing game might have given the impression that the film catered exclusively to D&D enthusiasts.

However, although the movie contains Easter eggs for D&D enthusiasts, you don't have to be a Dungeons & Dragons expert or a casual fan to enjoy this latest addition to the fantasy series. If you're a fan of fantasy, heists, and good-natured humor, you'll likely find this film enjoyable. It's designed to be inclusive and accommodating to viewers of all backgrounds, irrespective of their D&D knowledge. So, you can put aside any worries about its D&D ties and simply savor the exciting elements of fantasy adventure it offers.

A Dungeons & Dragons sequel may not be hitting theaters anytime soon, but it's reassuring to hear that those in charge haven't ruled it out entirely. Furthermore, the absence of a sequel doesn't mark the end of the Forgotten Realms' presence on the screen. Paramount+ has given the green light to a spin-off series comprising eight episodes. Rawson Marshall Thurber, who made Red Notice, will play multiple critical roles as this thrilling project's creator, writer, executive producer, and showrunner. This new series is positioned to complement the narrative introduced in the original film. With this upcoming series and Honor Among being able to stream with a Paramount+ subscription, we can likely anticipate a boost in the popularity of this fantasy-heist film.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any updates concerning a sequel, and in the meantime, explore our lineup of upcoming movies and the 2024 movie schedule to prepare for your next theater outing.

The fantasy-comedy film Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has grossed has been the 10th highest-grossing film of the year, which seems great at first glance. As soon as you heard back in 2016 that this role-playing game adaptation would be making its way to movie theaters, you probably assumed that fans and anyone who favored the D&D cast which featured Hugh Grant, Chris Pine, Regé-Jean Page, and Michelle Rodriguez would be lining up to see this movie. However, it's wrapping-up its run in movie theaters and the numbers aren't so hot.

The chances of a movie receiving the sequel treatment all have to do with how well it performs at the box office. According to Box Office Mojo’s domestic box office numbers, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves did well during its opening weekend, bringing in $38.5 million. However, as the movie continued to play on the big screen it didn't make as much, only ending its run with $93,054,502 domestically and $207 million+ when factoring in global intake on an alleged $150 million budget. 

Well wait, $150 million budget is less than $207 million right? Perhaps this seems like good news at first glance, but this box office number might cost fans a sequel because of its underperformance. The reason is that theaters split intake with the movie studios. Different countries have rules about what percentage goes to the theater, and that percentage sometime changes depending on how long a movie has been out in theaters. 

There's also P&L, which is the money Paramount would have spent marketing the movie. It's unclear how much the studio pushed the D&D-based flick, but with all of this in mind, it is clear they didn't recoup the movie's actual budget, much less the money spent on advertising.

It’s hard to know why the masses aren’t racing to see Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Despite its massive marketing through the movie’s trailers and its big Super Bowl spot and solid reviews, audiences might have turned away from the movie due to the title. Its connections to the tabletop role-playing game it's based on could have had audiences believing this movie was tailored only toward D&D fans. 

The truth is, though, you don’t have to be a Dungeons and Dragons fan to enjoy Honor Among Thieves. If you love fantasy, heists, and good-hearted humor, you'd likely love this movie. Plus, the movie meets all fans where they're at, and doesn't expect you to be a D&D expert. So, you can ignore the D&D connection and just watch the movie for the fantasy-adventure aspects of it.

Even though the new Dungeons and Dragons movie may have suffered a disheartening box office, the critics had very positive things to say about Honor Among Thieves -- especially when it came to the stellar ensemble and the amazing practical effects. While there may have been Easter eggs for D&D fans, the comprehensible plot for those who’ve never played D&D was also a notable quality. One critic also noted that they loved the movie’s blend of light and dark where it’s like you’re watching something out of a Tolkien adaptation and then heading straight to The Princess Bride's lightness. Honor Among Thieves also has a critical score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 93% audience score. It appears those who saw the movie had an incredible experience watching it.

A Dungeons and Dragons sequel may not be in the cards anytime soon, but it doesn’t mean we’ll never see the Forgotten Realms again on screen. A spin-off series was ordered for Paramount+ that will consist of eight episodes with Red Notice’s Rawson Marshall Thurber acting as creator, writer, executive producer, and showrunner. This new series is said to “complement” the Honor Among Thieves side of the story. With this upcoming series and Honor Among Thieves being available to those with a Paramount+ subscription, this should increase this fantasy-heist film’s popularity.

What Honor Among Thieves co-producer Jeremy Latcham learned from his time producing Iron Man was not to count your chickens before they hatch -- aka to just focus on this particular movie before thinking about a sequel. Unfortunately, the box office numbers don’t match the rave reviews the new Dungeons and Dragons received. 

Considering the film industry today is made up of sequels and spin-offs, I personally don’t believe the Dungeons and Dragons realm will be completely kaput. We'll have to wait and see, however.

Updated with video.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a movie that anyone can watch, whether you’ve played D&D or not, although, for those who have rolled the dice, they will be able to really appreciate the nuance and detail within the move. However, some of those savvy fans also picked up on something that wouldn’t necessarily be allowed in gameplay, as Doric (Sophia Lillis), a druid, magically transformed into an owlbear. And for co-director Jonathan Goldstein, he actually loved all the discourse surrounding if they should have made that change, and explained to CinemaBlend why he appreciated the debate. 

The controversy surrounding this transformation stems from the rules for a druid’s Wild Shape, according to Comicbook.com, which include a druid only being allowed to shape-shift into Beast-type creatures. Per the article, the owlbear is a Monstrosity, which means it’s an unnatural creature created through experiments and bad curses. So, since Doric transforms into a Monstrosity, when technically, as fans thought, she shouldn’t, it sparked quite the debate before the Dungeons & Dragons movie came out on the 2023 movie schedule. While this debate may offend some creatives, for Jonathan Goldstein, who co-directed and co-wrote the movie with John Francis Daley, that was actually a fascinating discussion to have with fans, as he told CinemaBlend (which you can watch in the clip above): 

I love that despite the small controversy that surrounded this creative choice, Goldstein still managed to find the silver lining and see the debate as a positive. As fans pointed out this minor inconsistency in the movie, it really showed how much they care for D&D and how much they want to love this movie. 

Goldstein also spoke about the owlbear debate with Comicbook.com explaining why they felt OK making the shape-shifting rule change. The co-director said that they chose to follow the “Rule of Cool,” which meant that he and Daley were like the dungeon masters of their movie, and they wanted their players (or cast) to be able to do anything they thought was cool and fun. Part of the fun of D&D is the freedom to make changes to the world and flex the rules, and that’s exactly what they did here, and it looked oh-so-cool on screen. 

Overall, the debate eventually died down, and many people adored Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves as it received rave reviews and lots of audience love. From its creative creatures like the owlbear and the beloved bird Jarnathan to the incredible D&D cast and creatives, this movie is such a fun fantasy adventure. Plus, being able to see all the debate and discourse surrounding it goes to show how much people love and care for this universe. 

To see the owlbear for yourself, you can stream Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves with a Paramount+ subscription. 

Updated with video.

Sometimes things happen in real life that are so random and exciting that it makes you feel like you’ve rolled the dice during a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and let the game (and your wild friends) decide what crazy things happens next. Well, this seemed to be the case for the creative team behind Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves as they were putting the pieces together to create the fantasy movie too. This is because the movie’s producer Jeremy Latcham revealed that a grocery store’s produce section and a run-in with the co-director Jonathan Goldstein played quite a role in getting this well-reviewed D&D movie made. 

Latcham started this fun story by telling CinemaBlend that before he even met John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein when they were getting ready for Spider-Man: Homecoming he had read their script called Bus Drivers, and loved their work. He explained that they “nailed” the tone of Peter Parker’s story and the foundation of the Marvel movie was laid through their screenplay. Then when the producer left Marvel, he got a call from the two writers/directors, and they said they would like him to produce D&D. He was super interested in the project, and then, by happenstance, he got a call from Hasbro and eOne as well as Paramount to talk about the same movie. 

After getting calls from “all three angles,” as Latcham put it, and getting excited about the prospect of the D&D movie, the producer then ran into Jonathan Goldstein at a grocery store of all places. And while standing in Vons they spoke about getting the ball rolling with this movie that ultimately ended up on the 2023 movie schedule. The producer recalled the story (which you can watch in the interview clip above), saying:

He continued his funny, yet fateful, story about this run-in at the grocery store, explaining the conversation he had with Goldstein about the D&D script: 

Well, they did more than talk about it, they made a whole dang movie. Latham went on to talk about how happy he was that the trio got to work together again on this fantasy film, explaining: 

Just by watching the movie you can sense that passion and fun Latcham talked about. From details like Jarnathan the bird to the incredible ensemble they brought together for this movie, they really pulled off something great, and fans have been loving it. 

The producer ended by saying he really loved working with the directors, and he explained that it had been a “great three years working with them.” Well, it's also been great for us, because this movie is such a fun time, and it’s pretty wild that we have a Vons produce section and some apples to partially thank for it. 

Updated with video.

When Iron Man blasted onto the scene in 2008, introducing the world to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was not only exciting but groundbreaking. The movie starring Robert Downey Jr. kicked off what is now one of the biggest franchises of all time, and as you can imagine being able to learn on that set has helped its crew go on to create even more amazing work, both inside and outside the MCU. For Jeremy Latcham, his time producing the flagship Marvel movie helped him immensely as he worked on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and he told CinemaBlend all about the lessons he learned from Iron Man that helped him on the fantasy film. 

Taking Risks On Iron Man 

The first major way Jeremy Latcham's Iron Man experience impacted his time on the fantasy film Dungeons & Dragons has to do with taking risks. He explained (in the interview that you can watch above) that taking leaps of faith, especially when it came to hiring, has paid off in dividends for both movies, explaining: 

A specific example Latcham gave me was about the cinematographer hired to shoot Iron Man. Up to that point, Matthew Libatique hadn’t shot a blockbuster, but the producer was a big fan of his work on Pi and Requiem for a Dream with Darren Aronofsky, and knew the DP was capable of killing the Marvel movie. Since then, he’s gone on to shoot other major motion pictures and is known for the phenomenal work he did on the MCU’s first movie. 

On Dungeons & Dragons, the producer had a similar experience when he hired Ray Chan as the production designer. While he had worked as an art director on multiple Marvel movies, and did the production design for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the producer said he had never been the production designer on a major movie. With the opportunity, Chan absolutely killed it, and now he’s moved on to being the production designer on Deadpool 3. 

Overall, being able to lobby for and give opportunities to artists and crewmembers is something Latchman loves. He said being willing to take the leap of faith, and hire someone who might not have the most experience but has shown they have the potential is one of his guiding lights. 

Why Jeremy Latcham Never Wants To Talk About A Sequel  

The second lesson from Iron Man, Latchman explained, was to never talk about Iron Man 2. There was no talk about a sequel or the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they just wanted to make a good movie, and that proved to pay off big time. So, as the producer worked on his fantasy film on the 2023 movie schedule he kept that takeaway in mind, saying:

He explained that to do their best job, they couldn’t be thinking about the future of the MCU. And while the Samuel L. Jackson cameo at the very end alludes to the idea that they were planning the expansion of Marvel movies, that didn’t come into play until they were done with everything else. The same was true for D&D, while the movie has the potential to turn into a franchise, and hopefully, it does, there needs to be a strong foundation to build off first, and Honor Among Thieves did that. 

Dungeons & Dragons was met with great reviews, and fans have been loving the complex and creative world. Hopefully, it is able to grow into a franchise, kind of like the MCU has. Clearly, on both the 2008 superhero movie and this year’s fantasy film those takeaways helped create great movies. 

To stream Iron Man as well as all the Marvel movies in order, all you need is a Disney+ subscription. And to see Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, you can buy/rent it digitally, or check it out in theaters. 

Updated with video.

Jarnathan-related spoilers for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves are ahead. If you haven’t seen the fantasy film, or want to relive the fantastical adventure, you can purchase the movie digitally. 

One of the reasons Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is such a fun film for both D&D fans and newcomers alike is the plethora of incredibly unique creatures that live within the world of the Forgotten Realms. Of these fun creatures, Jarnathan the aarakocra, a massive bird, has become one of the beloved characters in the D&D universe. Now, one of the movie’s, co-directors, John Francis Daley is opening up about his feelings about the giant bird who sits on the prison council, explaining that he “didn’t expect” the lovable character to make it into the movie. 

When the fantasy film Dungeons and Dragons made its debut on the 2023 movie schedule, many fans immediately fell in love with Jarnathan, the bird who only appears in the first and last scenes of the movie. Videos about him went viral on TikTok, and the directors posted many behind-the-scenes clips showing how they created the fan-favorite character practically. Since the bird was such a massive project for the movie, it cost a lot of money to make, and was a very silly idea, Daley told CinemaBlend that he was actually quite surprised the studio allowed them to keep Jarnathan. He said:

I think it’s safe to say that for just about anyone who has seen this movie, they’d agree that Jarnathan is a real highlight, and we’re all also thrilled the studio approved of the bird. Even though he's only in the movie for a few minutes, those moments are outrageous and intensely creative, and so many fell in love with him and the silly nature of the prison escape he unwillingly took part in. Even though it’s a small scene it's pivotal, and many fans fell in love with Jarnathan and his kind demeanor, like TTRPGuy who posted this viral TikTok:

The comments underneath this video reiterate the immense love for this big bird, as fans noted Jarnathan feels like “a throwaway side character that the players become overly attached to” during a campaign. There was also a lot of love for the silly name Jarnathan, and how the energy we get from this character captures the vibe of a real D&D game. 

Overall, Dungeons and Dragons has received great reviews, and audiences have had a blast entering this fantastical world. While the D&D cast is magnificent and the action is incredible, what really makes this such a fun movie is all the unique creatures, characters, and D&D Easter eggs that help immerse you into this unique realm that includes an amazing giant bird named Jarnathan. 

SPOILERS ahead for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, now playing in theaters. 

I don’t know about you, but the last thing I expected from the Dungeons & Dragons movie was seeing Bradley Cooper as a three-foot-tall halfling and the ex-husband to Michelle Rodriguez’s barbarian character. While Cooper’s appearance certainly isn’t the only celebrity cameo in the fantasy adventure, it’s a curious one, and it actually has a sweet story behind it about two former co-stars reuniting!

Co-writer/director of Dungeons & Dragons, John Francis Daley, is also an actor who has played memorable characters on TV shows like Freaks and Geeks and Bones. When speaking to Variety alongside co-writer/director John Goldstein, about getting Bradley Cooper in Dungeons & Dragons, the filmmaker shared their connection to the actor with these words: 

Early in Cooper’s career, the actor starred in a short-lived sitcom on Fox based on Anthony Bourdain’s bestselling book of the same name. Cooper played a character inspired by Bourdain while Daley was a commis chef. The series was not a big hit for either of them, especially since it only lasted one season, but it did mark the beginning of their relationship, and it's what led to them reuniting on Daley’s massive fantasy movie. As Daley continued: 

Cooper signed on to the film after the movie itself had wrapped production in Belfast, Northern Ireland already. As Daley shared during the interview, it would have been a whole ordeal for Cooper to come on the actual set for a day of shooting with COVID-19 policies in place. Therefore here’s how it went down: 

Cooper plays a character named Marlamin, who has a hilarious scene with Michelle Rodriguez’s Holga that involves his character’s feet dangling off a chair as her contrastingly muscled-up frame speaks to him about their dissolved relationship. It sounds like the chair Cooper sat in was huge and blue screens were placed behind him as Daley stood in for Rodriguez for the first scene he shared with Cooper in nearly 20 years. What a sweet cameo story! 

While you certainly don’t need to be a fan of the popular tabletop role-playing game to enjoy Dungeons & Dragons, with this cameo in mind, it does help to know that halflings are a fictional race that one has the option to be in the game. They are often likened to hobbits in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe. 

Now that you’ve seen Dungeons & Dragons, you can check out CinemaBlend’s exclusive interviews with the cast including Chris Pine, Regé-Jean Page and Michelle Rodriguez, also check out our breakdown of how the ending could be setting up a Dungeons & Dragons sequel. 

We’ll continue to keep you updated on details about 2023 new movie releases throughout the year. 

Michelle Rodriguez has become best known for the badass women she plays in iconic action movies, including Letty in the Fast and Furious franchise, Rain in Resident Evil and Trudy in Avatar. Another common factor among all these characters is they all died in one of their respective franchise’s movies. While Rodriguez’s characters came back to life in the Fast and Furious movies and Resident Evil, she revealed that she’s drawing the line with Avatar, saying she won’t return to the franchise. 

She makes a fair point, there are only so many times a gal can die and come back before it becomes too much. Rodriguez made this clear while talking to Vanity Fair, saying James Cameron was thinking about bringing her character Trudy back to Pandora. She responded by saying she thinks her character should just stay dead this time, recalling various moments throughout her career: 

In the case of Avatar, Rodriguez’s character dies in a fiery plane crash as she tries to help the Navi’i fight the humans. Unlike Sigourney Weaver, the actress behind Trudy did not return as a new character, and she wasn’t part of the Avatar: The Way of Water cast. I totally get where Rodriguez is coming from, to have so many of her characters die and come back to life is both random, and probably a bit frustrating. If Cameron wanted the actress to stay in the franchise, maybe the team should have listened to Turdy’s hope in the movie when she said: 

Being a martyr in a movie is cool and all, but for the moment to maintain its meaning, the character needs to stay dead. I know when I watched Avatar for the first time I was bummed Trudy died, but I also recognized the heroic sacrifice she made. 

However, I also love Michelle Rodriguez and would like her to be in every installment of every franchise she’s been a part of. For example, it was epic to see her return to iconic roles like Letty, when she surprisingly came back to life in Fast and Furious: 6. I know when I watched the sixth Fast and Furious movie for the first time I thought the actress gave her best performance of the saga, and seeing her character return as a stronger more prominent person in the saga was so exciting. Although, there are only so many times you can believably bring a character back from the dead, and I think this being the reason for the actress not wanting to return to Avatar is understandable. 

Along with not wanting to have another character of hers unexpectedly come back to life, Rodriguez is also an extremely busy actress, who is working on other franchise films outside of Avatar. On the 2023 movie schedule alone she’s set to star in Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which hits theaters March 31, and she’ll return as Letty as part of the Fast X cast on May 19. So, while we may not see Michelle Rodriguez fly around Pandora again, there’s a lot to look forward to from the action star, and you can always go back and watch her as Trudy in Avatar with a Disney+ subscription.  

The cast and filmmakers behind the “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” movie, including Chris Pine (Edgin), Regé-Jean Page (Xenk), Michelle Rodriguez (Holga), Justice Smith (Simon), Sophia Lillis (Doric), John Francis Daley (Writer/Director/Executive Producer), and Jonathan Goldstein (Writer/Director/Executive Producer) join CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell to nerd out about the fantasy adventure. Watch as they discuss, delivering a DnD movie fans can be proud of, learning all of the game’s jargon, and… a “Fast and Furious” crossover?!

Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro
00:14 - The ‘DnD’ Filmmakers Discuss Celebrity Cameos And Staying True To The Game
01:23 - Regé-Jean Page and Justice Smith On The Fun Of Delivering The Most ‘Jargon’ In The Film
03:29 - Chris Pine Compares ‘DnD: Honor Among Thieves’ To ‘Indiana Jones’ And Harrison Ford
04:46 - Would Michelle Rodriguez Do A ‘DnD’/'Fast and Furious' Crossover?
05:31 - ‘DnD’s' Filmmakers Break Down The Incredible VFX We’ll Get To See
06:53 - Regé-Jean Page Talks How Playing DnD Translates To His Acting Career
08:05 - Outro

Arguably the biggest and most influential role-playing property of all time, Dungeons & Dragons has inspired all manner of spinoffs, adaptations, homages, parodies and then some. Paramount is hoping to roll its way into box office success with the impending action-adventure Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, with fan-favorite stars like Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Regé-Jean Page as leads. But before the new flick could even hit theaters, co-writer and co-director John Francis Daley brilliantly cemented it as one of 2023’s most important releases, at least for fans of the canceled-way-too-soon cult classic TV dramedy Freaks and Geeks.

Daley starred as one of the titular geeks, Sam Weir, in the highly beloved high school comedy, which aired 12 of its 18 episodes before NBC canceled it and unwittingly kicked off huge careers for the majority of its young cast. For much of the past 23 years, creator Paul Feig, executive producer Judd Apatow, and the bulk of the cast have been asked about reunions and revivals, without much to show for those talks outside of the stellar 2004 DVD box set and PaleyFest panel in 2011. But now, with an unexpected heap of gratitude going towards Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, we now have an actual scripted “reunion” scene from Daley and former co-stars Samm Levine and Martin Starr. Check out the Twitter-shared video below and savor the bejesus out of it!

From the first second, the video above pays homage to the original series and its own use of Dungeons & Dragons, from the music (which presumably didn't involve years of haggling over rights to use) to the dining room set to the immediate reference to "Carlos the Dwarf." As astute viewers will remember, Carlos is what James Franco's cool kid Daniel Desario named his character in the show's finale (fittingly named "Discos and Dragons") when joining the more studious characters for a campaign sesh. As much as fans definitely wanted Daniel to hang out with the nerdy peeps more often in a potential second season, it probably makes sense that he wasn't part of this mini-reunion. The holy trinity of Sam, Neil and Bill should never be broken or molded anew.

Technically speaking, the reunion scene doesn't actually feel like it came out of a Freaks and Geeks episode directly, since it's overtly self-aware and referential in that respect. But that doesn't feel like a mark against in my eyes, since I'll watch these characters do anything, whether it's logical or not. Is my year that much better after seeing Samm Levine and Martin Starr acting confused about where their beards came from? Obviously. And yours should be, too.

Let's give these guys credit for pulling off what could have been a completely cornball and unamusing gag, by way of pointing out how ridiculous an idea it is for Dungeons & Dragons to ever get adapted into a movie. It helps that it really is a ridiculous idea, considering how deep and unwieldy the RPG universe's lore can be, while also being a medium that visually exists largely in players' imaginations and via rulebook covers.

But not only does the feature exist, but the Geeks vet is majorly responsible for its existence in its current form. Daley and filmmaking partner Jonathan Goldstein joined the project in 2019 as directors after vacating their post on The Flash, and it wasn't long before they'd completed their own draft of the screenplay to work from, with prior scribes Chris McKay and Michael Gilio getting story credits. Much like their other projects, from Horrible Bosses to Spider-Man: Homecoming to Vacation Friends, Honor Among Thieves will bring a hefty smattering of comedy to any and all hectic situations and action sequences, which is likely what Sam, Neil and Bill would have wanted from a D&D movie.

Be sure to check out Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves in theaters on Friday, March 31, to see if any Freaks and Geeks stars will be popping in for cameos. And let's all continue to clamor for even more reunion spots like this from the TV show's cast members. I'd love to see Ken and Nick walking into a dispensary for the first time...

It’s a well-known fact that Regé-Jean Page is one suave and stylish fellow. The man really knows how to rock a suit, and he finds a way to make it unique every time. This week the star of the upcoming Dungeons and Dragons movie proved this fact once again as he took the red carpet for the premiere of the D&D movie in a perfectly tailored suit, without a shirt. 

If you take one look at Regé-Jean Page’s Instagram you’ll see that he always is wearing suave looks that are both classic and completely unique. He typically wears a classic suit, tailored to perfection, but will throw in a fun element, like a bold color, texture, or even jewelry to make the look his own. However, this time, instead of adding an element to make Page’s look stand out he and his stylist Holly Macnaghten eliminated a piece of a classic suit ensemble, the shirt, and he looked amazing.  

Anyone who watched Page in Season 1 of Bridgerton knows that the guy is in immaculate shape, and he knows how to rock a suit. So, taking away the shirt, and rocking a classic black suit, chain broach and a simple chain was such a great choice. The look was both sophisticated and sexy at the same time, which is completely fitting considering he plays a knight out to save the world in the positively reviewed Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. 

This look also leans into the fun and cheeky nature of the movie. The entire cast of Dungeons and Dragons rocked fun outfits as Page did at the premiere. Justice Smith wore a baby blue suit and a mesh tank top while Chris Pine wore a statement bright orange tie. Meanwhile, the women of the cast also rocked some amazing looks with Sophia Lillis wearing a textured black suit and Michelle Rodriguez wearing a gorgeous black gown. Overall, everyone looked amazing on the carpet, however, Page’s shirtless look was extra swoon-worthy. 

Sadly we likely won’t see Page return to Bridgerton as the extra fashionable and suave duke, but as he continues to star in fun projects like Dungeons and Dragons I’m sure there will be no shortage of excellent looks from the charismatic actor. Also, hypothetically, if Page somehow ends up as the next James Bond, then we really know we’d be in for some more epic looks from the actor. And who knows, maybe more of them will feature a tasteful semi-shirtless moment. 

As the year goes on, I’m positive we’ll get more classy and unique looks from Regé-Jean Page, like this amazing shirtless, blazer moment. While we wait for more excellent suits from the actor, you can check him out in Dungeons and Dragons, where he’ll be sporting a suit armor instead of a classic suit. 

You’ll be able to catch Dungeons and Dragons in theaters on March 31, and be sure to check out our 2023 movie schedule to see what other films are hitting theaters soon. 

By now, we know that Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has emerged as one of the biggest titles on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases. So far, the trailers have teased a smooth-talking Chris Pine and a likable cast of characters – as well as humongous monsters and hilarious jokes. Still, some longtime aficionados of the iconic tabletop game may be itching to hear what critics have to say about it before deciding whether to head out to the theater to see it. Well, the film screened at SXSW, and movie pundits have dropped their reviews to Pine’s fantasy flick. 

Considering just how much love there is for D&D, Honor Among Thieves directors/writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daly had a high bar to clear. And according to many of the early reviews, the pair (who’ve also helmed Game Night and Vacation) managed to mostly hit the mark. Lovia Gyarkye, who reviewed the film for THR, praised the filmmakers for creating a movie that draws from the franchise’s roots and exudes plenty of fun in the process. Though she had a particularly high amount of praise to shower on Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and the rest of the cast:

This film, which is not connected to the 2000 theatrical film or the made-for-TV and direct-to-DVD entries, focuses on a band of thieves who seek redemption after unwittingly helping the nefarious Red Wizard raise an army of the undead. With so much pre-established mythology surrounding this universe, one would think it’d be easy for those unfamiliar with it to get lost in the weeds. However, as Variety’s Owen Gleiberman points out, the film is very accessible to general audiences, much to its benefit: 

Of course, very few big-screen productions are perfect. Den of Geek’s David Crow – who gave a positive review – noted that some of the characters feel underserved by the narrative and noted that “some of the dramatic beats fall flat.” Nevertheless, Crow enjoyed the movie’s energy and gave some glowing thoughts on the director’s approach to practicality: 

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daly admitted to being inspired by Jurassic Park when it came to mixing visual and practical effects. This specificity also seeped into the way they filmed stunts, as they looked to classic Jackie Chan films for inspiration. Deadline’s Valerie Complex would still argue that this Dungeons & Dragons installment still offers much of what other modern-day blockbuster films. However, in her positive review, she stated that it greatly improves upon the adaptation from 2000, especially when it comes to the way it handles its characters:

The filmmaking duo behind this production have spoken about their approach to the characters, including the fact that they like their “male heroes to be challenged.” That’s apparently not the only way that they try to freshen things up here though. Kate Stables, of our sister site Total Film, explained how the game adaptation doesn’t seek to channel Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones: 

It sounds like critics are incredibly high on this latest big-screen take on D&D and, as of this writing, the film holds a 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes (out of eight reviews). There’s still plenty of time for things to change, but it’s definitely sounding like Paramount Pictures has a winner on its hands. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see if this high praise translates to box office success for Chris Pine and his cohorts. 

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves opens in theaters on March 31.

A lot of ingredients have gone into finally bringing the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves to the big screen. Playing with all of the trappings and archetypes you’d expect from that legendary RPG, directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are particularly excited to challenge the role of the typical male hero you’d find in such high fantasies. Unfortunately, that excitement wasn’t shared by several A-listers courted for roles in this 2023 new movie release.

This was apparently not the first time that the team behind movies like Game Night and Spider-Man: Homecoming have run into this issue. Sharing their account of such a development with Variety, Daley and Goldstein told a tale that sounds all too familiar in the modern movie landscape: 

“DALEY: What’s funny is that in our casting process on multiple films, we’ve met movie stars that you would think are comfortable enough in their own skin that they would be able to portray themselves in a vulnerable light. But a lot of them really don’t feel comfortable doing that. Obviously, we won’t name a name here, but there is a notable movie star —  

GOLDSTEIN: I can think of two.

DALEY: — who is so handsome and awesome and will not make himself look weak. That’s so shocking, because to me, that feels like the most fun that you could have as an actor."

Reading that story above brings back memories of some interesting revelations over the past couple years of cinematic history. Namely, the report that claimed Hobbs & Shaw stars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham weren’t allowed to lose on camera. Looking back on the joint filmography of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, it’s interesting to try and pick out the roles that would have this unnamed talent saying they didn’t want to participate.

Though this does make me wonder if several of Game Night’s cameos and supporting roles were offered to this unspecified actor, and they didn’t like possibly being shot, kidnapped or flat out sucked into a jet engine. Winding it all back into Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Goldstein and Daley approached the subject of actors that don’t want to “look weak” because they encountered the complete opposite experience on this film. 

As you may have guessed, it involved the man who’s potentially the “Best Chris” in Hollywood, Chris Pine. John Francis Daley got to share that piece of the puzzle, as he described a situation that falls in line with what we know about Dungeons & Dragons’ latest film. More specifically, it's Pine’s very Bard-like approach to his role in Paramount’s would-be blockbuster, which was described as follows: 

That sounds about right for a man like Chris Pine, who isn't afraid to admit to a good roasting of his own image. Fans will get to have those discussions and more pretty soon, with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ debuting in theaters on March 31st. Though it’ll be interesting if this discourse isn’t overtaken by how faithful this movie depicts each of the creatures and classes presented. So choose your battles carefully, players.

Soon, there will be dragons. And dungeons. And Chris Pine. (Oh my!) Indeed, in 2023, 23 years after the ill-fated 2000 feature adaptation, Dungeons & Dragons, the ever-popular fantasy tabletop role-playing game, will get a second roll of the dice at the blockbuster treatment, courtesy of writers-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. 

Is it more fitting or ironic that this adaptation will come from the Game Night filmmakers? No matter. We're still learning more about this upcoming movie, but we know a few key details, which we'll share with you now. Here's what we know about 2023's Dungeons & Dragons, which also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Hugh Grant, and more! 

What Is The Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Release Date?

For all who are wondering when Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is going to release, it is set to come out on March 31st, 2023, according to Deadline.

It is still set to come out as part of the 2023 movie release schedule, however, it was pushed back from March 3rd to the 30th by Paramount Pictures. It’s taken some time for this film to come to fruition, but after a long time of waiting, we’re not that far away from release at the time of this update, in March 2023. 

The movie was previously scheduled for May 27th, 2022 before it got pushed back with the rest of the studio's line-up. But thankfully, we’re going to be able to revisit the world of D&D soon enough. 

The Fantasy Blockbuster Will Star Chris Pine And Michelle Rodriguez

Outside of the dragons (who, let's be real, are the real A-listers of this upcoming movie), Dungeons & Dragons will also feature the star power of Chris Pine (Wonder Woman) and Michelle Rodriguez (F9) in the lead roles. 

According to the announcement at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, (via Comicbook) Pine is set to play Edgin Davis, the bard and leader of the team that we are going to be following throughout the film. The same convention revealed that Rodriguez is going to portray Holga, a barbarian and one of the people joining Edgin on this quest.  

Pine is reflexively funny, dependable in the action department, able to sell far-out concepts with ease, and dashingly handsome to boot. Likewise, Rodriguez can certainly be a badass, and it'll be cool as hell to see her wield a sword and give hell to fire-breathers. Hopefully, their talents are well-utilized.

Justice Smith, Regé-Jean Page, Hugh Grant, Sophia Lillis, And More Will Star

Along with Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez leading the proceedings, the Dungeons & Dragons cast includes Justice Smith (Detective Pikachu), Bridgerton and The Grey Man star, Regé-Jean Page, Hugh Grant (Paddington 2), and Sophia Lillis (IT). Additionally, Chloe Coleman (Big Little Lies), Jason Wong (Strangers), and Daisy Head (Shadow and Bone) are expected to round out the ensemble in supporting turns. 

During San Diego Comic-Con 2022, via the Comicbook article above, several character names were announced. Page is set to play Xenk, a paladin. Smith will play Simon, a sorcerer. Lillis will be portraying Doric, a druid, and Grant will play Forge, a rogue. 

Other actors who have been announced include Chloe Coleman, according to Deadline, as well as Jason Wong, who’s said to portray Drallas. Additionally, Daisy Head is also a part of the cast. Such a great time to be a Dungeons and Dragons fan. 

Watch The Trailer For Dungeons & Dragons

If you’re wondering where you can see the latest trailer for the highly anticipated fantasy film, be sure to check it out down below and see this batch of hooligans go on an epic magical adventure. The trailer features plenty of action from the whole cast – as well as Michelle Rodriguez being a total badass. 

Dungeons & Dragons Will Be An Action-Fantasy Adventure With Comedic Elements

Certainly, it came as a bit of a surprise to know that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were attached to write and direct 2023's Dungeons & Dragons. The comedy filmmakers have primarily focused their efforts on making dark larks or zany farces. Even the blockbusters that they've been attached to, like Spider-Man: Homecoming, are lighthearted in their approach. A lot of folks take D&D seriously, though. Would these two storytellers treat the material with respect, or is it gonna be one big goof to them?

Thankfully, Dungeons & Dragons fans should take comfort in knowing that Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley will pay a great deal of respect to the material. That said, they're also aiming to bring the fun of the franchise to life to strike a nice balance.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein talked about their approach to this beloved property, claiming that they won't simply "take the piss" out of it. Rather, the writers-directors found "another way into it that" they hadn't "seen before."

Here's what Jonathan Goldstein said:

In the film, according to the trailer reveal at 2022’s San Diego Comic-Con (via Comicbook), a thief and his companions travel across a vast land in order to search for valuable treasures in a heist they plan, but as they do, end up coming across the wrong people that turn their lives upside down. 

It’s Written And Directed By John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein

Perhaps it was destiny that John Francis Daley would become the gamemaster behind Dungeons & Dragons. In July 2000, only a few short months before the previous (and disastrous) Dungeons & Dragons movie premiered in theaters, Daley starred in "Discos and Dragons," the eighteenth episode of Fox's cult classic show, Freaks & Geeks. 

With that memorable series finale, Daley found a permanent connection to this endearing fantasy role-playing game, and he has taken it in stride. As a fan outside of this show, Daley has a vested interest in honoring the game's legacy, and he'll do what he can to finally make a respectable film based on the property. 

Now, alongside his writing and directing partner Jonathan Goldstein, Daley will bring D&D back to the mainstream with 2023's blockbuster, which will arrive a whopping 23 years (!!!) after this fateful episode.

Some Scenes Were Filmed In Iceland

In mid-April 2021, Iceland Monitor reported that Dungeons & Dragons had officially set up shop in scenic Iceland "with the participation of between 60 and 70 people" — which, admittedly, sounds like a small number for such a big production. In any case, more specifically, most of the movie was filmed at Titanic Studios in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Certainly, with such a diverse setting, one can only wonder how this movie is going to look on the big screen.

Dungeons & Dragons Wrapped Filming In August, 2021

Like many productions in recent years during the pandemic, it hasn't been an easy road for 2023's Dungeons & Dragons. Despite the challenges it faced, however, the movie made it through to the other side and  wrapped in August 2021, as John Francis Daley announced on Twitter. 

Certainly, with a blockbuster as big as this one, you need to take as many precautions as possible during this dangerous time. But thankfully, it's in the can and in the midst of a surely extensive post-production process.

With so much going for it and plenty of magic and fun awaiting us, I can barely contain my excitement for this adaptation to hit movie screens. Dungeons & Dragons will fly right into theaters on March 31, 2023. Are you ready for this magical journey? 

Hollywood has been heavily investing in nerdy pastimes for quite a while now, bringing the experiences of comic book reading and video game playing to the big screen, and now it’s Dungeons & Dragons turn to get the modern movie treatment. In 2023, the grandfather of all role playing games is being turned into a cinematic experience directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein – and this year’s San Diego Comic-Con is very much getting us ready for the adventure.

In addition to setting up a special event space during the convention, allowing attendees to walk into the world of the movie, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves held a massive Hall H panel this afternoon, and during the presentation showed off two full scenes from the upcoming blockbuster. The footage was fun and full of notable references to the source material, and for those of you who couldn’t attend the event, I’ve recapped what was shown below.

 Asking Questions Of Some Corpses 

In the opening of the first clip, the members of the main party (Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, and Sophia Lillis) explore a graveyard at night. As Rodriguez remarks to Pine that it would be an honor to be buried in such a special place, Pine asks who among the group has a shovel that they can use to dig up some corpses.

From context we learn that the party is searching for a mystical helmet that has been lost for a long time following a famous battle, and the plan is to use Justice Smith’s sorcerer spells to resurrect one of the soldiers so that they can learn where it was last seen. The limitation of the spell, however, is that one can only ask a corpse five questions before they return to death forever. This is very much an issue that Chris Pine underestimates as he interrogates the first revivified body. He’s able to determine that the man fought in the battle they are interested in, but the number of questions quickly dwindles away as Pine asks questions to his party that the temporary zombie answers, and he wastes opportunities by saying things like, “Only answer when I talk to you, ok.” Before any meaningful answers are acquired, the dead man returns to deadness, and the group has to move on to the next grave.

The second attempt after digging up another coffin goes much better, but still not perfectly. As Chris Pine asks the questions, we get a flashback to the battle in question as the dead soldier talks about last seeing the helmet. There is chaos, explosions, and a giant dragon flying overhead, and one soldier hands a gold helmet to another and tells him to look after it – but then the guy who handed off the helmet gets chopped in half. Back in the present, Pine removes the bottom half of the dead man’s coffin, and discovers that his legs are missing. He is ready to move on to the next deceased soldier who may know something, but Justice Smith complains that they can’t just leave the corpse alive with three questions left to ask. Righting the wrong, Pine asks what the guy’s favorite food is, if he likes cats, and for the answer to the equation “two plus two.” The zombie says he likes oats, doesn’t like cats, and is bad at math, and he returns to being still.

The party digs up a third coffin – specifically the soldier to whom the second corpse said he handed the helmet. In another flashback, the zombie recalls being in a hot bath at the time of the battle, and when he gets out of the tub he slips and smashes his head against the porcelain. Chris Pine asks him what happened next, and the dead guy explains that he died. As Pine complains that the second corpse told them that he was given the helmet, the guy explains that was actually his brother – and frustration mounts.

That was the end of the first clip, but the second clip from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves followed shortly after, and it delivered some awesome action.

 A Deadly Race Through A Maze 

Opening in a giant arena with a magic floor that shifts and changes, Hugh Grant’s character stands on a giant pillar and promises an exciting show for a massive, cheering audience – promising that there will be gifts for everyone at the end. As Grant’s pillar is lowered following his speech, multiple parties are brought into the arena on risers from below the ground, including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, and Sophia Lillis. At the other end of the arena, the floor begins to shift and rise, and the heroes realize that they are meant to try and get through a maze. Unfortunately, what they don’t seem to expect is that they are going to be chased through the maze, as a group of vicious displacer beasts – black panthers with tentacles on their backs – come up from behind them.

Chaos erupts as all of the contestants in the challenge sprint away from the monsters into the labyrinth. A dwarf is killed when he is distracted by a displacer beast using an illusion and Sophia Lillis finds a chest that contains a sword that she can use to defend herself. Michelle Rodriguez tries to pull off a similar move with another box, but it turns out to be a Mimic in disguise. Rodriguez is able to avoid getting her hand bitten off by the creature’s teeth, but it pursues her and wraps its long tongue around her ankle. Thankfully, this is something that Lillis sees and she uses her newly acquired sword to free her friend – and shortly thereafter Rodriguez saves Lills before she can get trapped inside of a giant gelatinous cube. 

Chris Pine, meanwhile, is all by himself, and he winds up getting backed into a corner by two  displacer beasts… but the clip cut to black before providing a conclusion regarding the character’s fate.

These clips were an excellent bonus to go along with the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves trailer that premiered online after the Hall H panel – and if you have not seen it yet, you can watch it below: 

Clearly there is still a lot about Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (including the names of the various characters), but our anticipation for the film has most definitely increased, as it looks like a great deal of fun. The dialogue and timing was sharp in the footage, and paints the movie as being a comedic adventure in a fantasy world.

Fortunately, cinephiles and D&D players everywhere don’t have to wait too long for the film’s arrival. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, one of our most anticipated upcoming Chris Pine movies, is now just a few months away – set to arrive in theaters domestically on March 3, 2023.

To learn about all of the films that are presently set to come out next year, be sure to check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar, and be sure to stay tuned for more of CinemaBlend’s coverage of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. 

As fans of Dungeons & Dragons know, a successful game campaign is all about immersion in storytelling. At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the upcoming Paramount movie based on the  beloved tabletop RPG, that’s exactly the route the studio is going with introducing the film. Tucked away in the Gaslamp Quarter across the way from the San Diego Convention Center, adventurers to the con can experience Chris Pine’s movie in an exciting way. 

The Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Tavern Experience, which is located at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Island Avenue and open to the public, offers us a first glimpse about what to perhaps expect from the 2023 movie release and a fun, geeky bar experience in the heart of Comic-Con. And upon entering the 20-minute experience, there is an awesome sneak peek of a few of the cast’s looks. Check it out: 

In a short clip in framed screens as you wait in line and enter the tavern itself, the experience reveals what class each of the Dungeons & Dragons cast will be playing. Based on the symbols next to their names, Star Trek actor Chris Pine looks to be playing a bard, Fast & Furious’ Michelle Rodriguez will be a barbarian and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page will be a paladin. Additionally the clip includes Detective Pikachu’s Justice Smith, who will be a sorcerer, IT’s Sophia Lillis as a druid and Hugh Grant as a rogue. 

Once you find yourself inside the tavern halls, there’s a rather moody and creepy air about the room as you meet a set of statues of beasts in the “hall of monsters.” It’s there where we find the first tease of a mysterious “gelatinous cube” to "beware" of. Yes, Gelatinous cube: 

It then leads you to the main location of the tavern experience where Queen’s “Radio Gaga” blasts and there is also photo ops inside the gelatinous cube itself! You can sip glow-in-the-dark drinks served such as the house Dragon’s Brew and similarly green mojito shots. Dragon’s Brew is the tavern’s refreshing take on a Moscow Mule, as it includes fresh lime juice, orange extract, ginger beer, simple syrup and protective elixir essence. You can take the drink with or without vodka. 

The real kicker that makes the Dungeons & Dragons experience the most memorable is a massive projection of the beasts we’ve been warned about making an appearance during the experience. Smoke, commotion and various actors (you can interact with) within the tavern getting super stressed out about the beast definitely has me interested and excited about the action within the movie. 

Overall, this experience really got me intrigued for a movie I knew nothing about other than a few quick things announced over the years such as its cast and it being written/directed by John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein of Freaks & Geeks. It seems as though it will be family friendly and really build out the world of DnD into a cinematic experience. 

If you’re planning to check out the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Tavern Experience in San Diego, it will be open on Thursday, July 21 from 12pm – 10pm, Friday, July 22 from 10am – 8pm and Saturday, July 23 from 10am – 8pm PT. We’ll also be learning more about the movie itself at the Comic-Con panel for the film on Thursday afternoon. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is set to hit theaters on March 3, 2023. 

Though he hasn't quite crept his way into A-list status, Chris Pine has certainly proven his talents many times over. The charismatic, compelling actor has showcased his star power in the Star Trek franchise, Wonder Woman, Hell or High Water, Unstoppable, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Outlaw King, and several other titles. And he's got a number of intriguing movies on the docket, including (but not limited to) Dungeons & Dragons, a Walter Cronkite biopic, and a potential Star Trek 4, which should hopefully continue to rise his star power. If you love Chris Pine, here are the movies that you should look out for in the near future.

Violence Of Action - December 10, 2021 (Post-Production)

The new movie from Swedish filmmaker Tarik Saleh, Violence of Action follows James Harper (Chris Pine), a disgruntled man, who after being discharged from the Green Berets, takes part in a paramilitary organization in order to support his family — notably in the only way he knows how. But as Deadline reports, when Harper travels to Berlin with his elite team of black ops, their mission to investigate a mysterious threat takes a dark turn when Harper finds himself alone and hunted across Europe. Now, this outcast must do whatever it takes to stay alive in order to make it back home and figure out what the hell just happened, and who betrayed him.

Admittedly, the plot synopsis for Violence of Action does sound a bit familiar, as far as action-thrillers go. Nevertheless, Chris Pine's magnetic screen presence can go a long way towards selling a movie, and that shouldn't be an exception here. Whether the movie matches his past triumphs remains to be seen. Violence of Action will drop on December 10, 2021.

Don’t Worry Darling - TBA 2022 (Post-Production)

Following the exceptional critical success of Booksmart, her feature directorial debut, Olivia Wilde was among the most in-demand new filmmakers in Hollywood. For her much-anticipated sophomore feature, the actress-turned-director opted to make the psychological thriller Don't Worry Darling, a '50s period piece with a murder's row of heavy-hitters, including Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Chris Pine, and Wilde herself. Centered around an unhappy housewife (Pugh) who discovers a disturbing truth, while her husband hides a dark secret, Don't Worry Darling should prove to be a twisted, unsettling delight, and we'll have to wait to see what unfurls when the movie nears closer to its release date.

At the moment, Don't Worry Darling doesn't have an official premiere date, though it's rumored to arrive in 2022. There's a chance that the movie will squeeze its way into the 2021 line-up, but that's looking unlikely as we enter the jam-packed fall movie season. Nevertheless, while we're still learning more details about the upcoming movie, we should expect more information to arrive soon enough.

Dungeons & Dragons - March 3, 2023 (Post-Production)

Soon, there will be dragons. On March 3rd, 2023, a whopping 23 years after 2000's disastrous attempt at turning the popular role-playing game into a major blockbuster, writers-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night) will give the property another spin of the dice with a Dungeons and Dragons movie. Will it fare better? Only time will tell there, but this reboot has a lot going for it. Namely, Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez will take on the lead roles, while Justice Smith, Rege-Jean Page, Hugh Grant, and Sophia Lillis will round out the supporting cast. 

Details remain limited regarding this upcoming blockbuster, but it's reportedly going to be a mix of fantasy and fun, with comedic elements highlighting the action and lore. Will the combination work? We'll see. But Pine is certainly adept in the action and comedy departments, and he's able to sell far-out concepts with ease. Thus, he seems like an ideal fit for this property, but of course, it's ultimately up to the titular firebreathers to bring this potential film franchise to life.

All The Old Knives - TBA (Post-Production)

Based on the acclaimed novel by Olen Steinhauer, who also adapted the screenplay, All the Old Knives follows two ex-lovers — one a CIA spy, the other an ex-spy — who meet over dinner at a Vienna station to reminiscence about old time. Over the course of their meal, their conversation moves towards the disastrous hijacking of Royal Jordanian Flight 127 — a failure that resulted in the deaths of everyone on-board, and one that continues to haunt the CIA to this day. It's the hope of Henry (Chris Pine) that he can finally find some much-needed closure for this grave tragedy. But as the former couple continues their escapade, it's clear that one of them isn't going to live to see another day (via Deadline).

Also starring Thandie Newton, All the Old Knives sounds less like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and more refined and character-focused. Nevertheless, this spy thriller should have thrills (and kills) along the way. Directed by Janus Meta (ZeroZeroZero), this Amazon feature is expected to come out sometime next year.

Newsflash - TBA (Pre-Production)

There are few newscasters who have garnered the level of respect and admiration that Walter Cronkite accrued throughout his prestigious career. It's hard to think of an actor who could capture his command on the tube and the interest of the American public at large. Nevertheless, Chris Pine is an interesting choice. While he doesn't look too much like the late TV personality, the actor is undeniably magnetic and present, capable of commanding your attention with a steely gaze and a few choice words. Perhaps that's the reason why the actor was cast to play Cronkite in Newsflash, the long-in-the-works biopic centered around Cronkite's coverage of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, and the day he became the most trusted news anchor in America.

As Deadline notes, Newsflash has faced several false starts throughout its troubled production. Presently, though, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) is attached to direct, with Mark Ruffalo signed on to play Don Hewitt, Walter Cronkite's producer. Development remains fluid, but it's expected to start shooting sometime in the next year.

Star Trek 4? - June 9th, 2023 (Announced)

Will we ever get the long-promised fourth Star Trek movie? At this point, it's anyone's guess. Paramount seemed keen on trying to make it happen, resulting in a rotating door filled with potential directors, including S.J. Clarkson, Noah Hawley, and Quentin Tarantino. Alas, it's been years and the space-based sequel hasn't seen any major developments.

The last updates came earlier this year when it was announced that Star Trek 4 would arrive on June 9th, 2023, with WandaVision's Matt Shakman signed on to direct. Back in March, Star Trek: Discovery's Kalinda Vazquez penned a screenplay, however the update from Deadline in July 2021 stated that Lindsey Beer (Sierra Burgess Is a Loser) and Geneva Robertson (Captain Marvel) will write the script. So it's been an evolving situation. You'd be forgiven if you can't keep track of everything that has happened with this would-be sequel. But if a fourth film is made, Chris Pine will reprise his role as Captain James T. Kirk, along with several other cast members from the most recent films. For now, though, chalk this one up as a "maybe."

Recent Chris Pine Projects

Last year, Chris Pine reprised his role as Steve Trevor (well... sorta) in Wonder Woman 1984, which premiered in theaters and on HBO Max on Christmas Day 2020. While the superhero sequel proved to be more divisive than anticipated, the actor's performance was ultimately praised, despite some of the... weirdness surrounding Steve's return to our lead crimefighter's life. Additionally, Pine provided a cameo in Quibi's star-studded Home Movie: The Princess Bride as Westley. Additionally, the actor did voice work in Robot Chicken and American Dad. Prior to that, furthermore, Pine was at the forefront of TNT's I Am the Night, which is considered one of his best performances yet. Certainly, we should expect more great things in the actor's future.

For more updates on 2021 movies and 2022 movies, be sure to follow CinemaBlend.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Benedict Cumberbatch was the target of many plays on his name, with the internet dishing out all sorts of nonsensical variations, but no one is forgetting his name now, either seriously or for fun. Cumberbatch has pretty much killed the game in Hollywood and has had a number of roles that have proven his name is one that is here to stay. He doesn’t seem to be slowing down either, because after Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, he is rumored to be heading to another magical movie.

According to The Sun, Benedict Cumberbatch has joined the cast of the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons film, and the gaming community is rejoicing. While this is still just a rumor at this time, the people at The Sun claim they have “a movie insider” who says Cumberbatch was an obvious and necessary choice for the live-action film. Apparently after he narrated the Dungeons & Dragons animated short The Legend of Drizzt, he "couldn’t not be in the film version."

With the animated short only dropping last month, this could be the reason for Benedict Cumberbatch’s addition to the film being much later than the other stars who have already been announced, assuming this rumor of Cumberbatch signing on for the film ends up being true. We do know for sure that big name stars like Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, the Fast Saga’s Michelle Rodriguez and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page are set to star in the live-action Dungeons & Dragons movie.

Dungeons & Dragons is definitely a project that Benedict Cumberbatch could feel at home in. Sure, the Sherlock star has plenty of experience in more reality-based and serious projects like his recent The Courier, but he also has a seemingly lifetime amount of experience in the fantasy genre. I mean, the man was the voice of The Hobbit’s Smaug and plays a Master of the Mystic Arts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For Cumberbatch to snag a role in Dungeons & Dragons would definitely give the film another proven actor in the genre, in addition to Star Trek’s Chris Pine.

Dungeons & Dragons has apparently already started filming in the UK, which would also be convenient for the alleged addition of Benedict Cumberbatch. Either way, a confirmation of this casting will hopefully drop in the future. CinemaBlend will keep you updated on any developments to this story, as well as what is happening in the world of Dungeons & Dragons relating to the upcoming film - Cumberbatch or no Cumberbatch. In the meantime, you can look forward to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness working its magic in theaters on March 25, 2022.

Ever since becoming an overnight sensation following the release of Shonda Rhimes' popular Netflix period romance series, Regé-Jean Page has become pretty much the biggest thing going right now. But even though he won’t be returning for Bridgerton Season 2 after shocking the show’s diehard fans, this is not the last we’ll see of the dreamy British actor. Over the course of the next couple of years, we’ll be seeing plenty of the man behind the dashing and sexy Simon Basset as there some potentially great Regé-Jean Page movies on the way.

And while not a lot has been confirmed at this time (just because you want to make those Regé-Jean Page James Bond rumors come true doesn’t mean it’s going to happen), what we do know for certain is that this is just the beginning for what could be one of the great acting careers of our time. So, dear readers, let’s take a break from all the Bridgerton talk and see what’s head for the show’s former star.

The Gray Man - TBD (Filming)

If someone wanted to make a case for Regé-Jean Page donning a suit and tie, a Walter PPK, and a martini that is shaken and not stirred, then the upcoming spy thriller The Gray Man will be a good a place as any to start the argument. The Netflix-bound action flick from Anthony and Joe Russo, which boasts an massive $200 million budget, will tell the story of veteran CIA operative Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling) as he is betrayed by his former agency and forced to go on the run, being chased by his old colleague Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans). Joining Gosling and Evans on a stacked The Gray Man cast is Page, though his role has not yet been revealed.

The Gray Man has long been in the works with multiple directors and actors attached to star, including Brad Pitt at one point, but production didn’t officially get underway until Mach 2021, per Deadline. And while cameras will continue to keep rolling on the upcoming Netflix spy film throughout the spring, Regé-Jean Page has already completed his portion of the shoot, per The Hollywood Reporter. There is no word as to when we can expect to see The Gray Man land on Netflix, but we should know more on that and Page's mysterious role in the coming months.

Dungeons And Dragons - March 3, 2023 (Filming)

The iconic table-top role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, though popular over the years since its first publication back in 1974, is one somewhat of a resurgence here as of late with shows like Stranger Things and live-streaming services like Twitch introducing the once-feared adventure game to new audiences of all ages. Well, that popularity will surely continue to grow in the coming years with the long-awaited arrival of a new big-budget epic based on the timeless hobby. Dungeons & Dragons, which is being written and directed by the creative pairing of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Game Night), looks to be the biggest and baddest film adaptation of a franchise that has seen its share of hits and misses over the years.

While not much is known about the movie’s plot and or how it will connect the table-top game, the Dungeons & Dragons cast is one that features some pretty big names, including none other than Regé-Jean Page in an undisclosed role. Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Justice Smith have also been cast in unspecified roles while Hugh Grant will reportedly take on the role of the villainous Forge Fletcher, per The Hollywood Reporter. Sophia Lillis, of IT and Sharp Objects fame, will also appear in the movie, reportedly as a character named Doric.

Originally set to be released theatrically in May 2022, Dungeons & Dragons is now scheduled to open March 3, 2023 following Paramount Pictures’ massive April 2021 shakeup that saw a reshuffling of many of the studio’s movies, including Mission: Impossible 7 and Top Gun: Maverick. Production got underway in early 2021.

How To Watch Recent Rege-Jean Page Movies And TV Shows

Even though Regé-Jean Page only has a couple movies coming down the road, there are still plenty of his previous efforts to check out if you haven’t already.

Bridgerton (2020)

Chances are you have already watched the debut season of Netflix regency romance drama Bridgerton but there’s never been a better time to go back and watch how it all started for Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) and all of those sexy scenes for the second or perhaps third time.

Stream Bridgerton on Netflix.

Sylvie’s Love (2020)

Although he doesn’t have nearly as large of a role as he does in Bridgerton, Regé-Jean Page plays an important character in Eugene Ashe’s 2020 Amazon original Sylvie’s Love. In the romance drama that follows Sylvie (Tessa Thompson) spending years falling in love with saxophonist Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha), Page takes on the role of Chico, a talented drummer and close friend of the exceptional jazz musician.

Stream Sylvie’s Love on Amazon.

For The People (2018 - 2019)

Before working with Shonda Rimes on Bridgerton, Regé-Jean Page starred on another one of the television producer’s recent drama series: For the People. The courtroom drama, which followed the cases and lives of prosecutors and defense lawyers in the Southern District of New York Federal Court, saw Page take on the role of young assistant US Attorney Leonard Knox. He would remain on the show until its 2019 cancellation after two seasons on ABC.

Buy For The People on Amazon.

Mortal Engines (2018)

A couple years before he became one the most talked about actors in show business, Regé-Jean Page had a role in the 2018 steampunk adventure film Mortal Engines, playing a character by the name of Madzimoyo Khora, a captain of one of the many airships seen in the YA adaptation.

Rent/Buy Mortal Engines on Amazon.

Buy Mortal Engines on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Those are all the upcoming Regé-Jean Page movies you can expect to see in the coming years as well as some of his recent work worth checking out. With someone with as much momentum and potential as the former Bridgerton star, expect to see much more of him in the years to come. If you want to check out what else is coming to your local theater and streaming service this year, check out CinemaBlend’s list of 2021 movie premiere dates.

Movie theaters may be starting to open back up as people are getting vaccinated, but don’t think that means we’re done playing the film delay game. We’re still a ways off from the pandemic subsiding and life returning to normal, and as such, certain movies are still being pushed back. Case in point, Paramount Pictures has announced that movies like Mission: Impossible 7 and Top Gun: Maverick will, as we’ve gotten used to, be arriving later than expected.

Until today, Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7, both movies with Tom Cruise front and center, were slated to come out on July 2 and November 19, respectively. Now the plan is for the Top Gun sequel to take Mission: Impossible 7’s November release date, while the next entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise will move to May 27, 2022. Subsequently, Mission: Impossible 8, which is shooting back-to-back with its predecessor, will come out on July 3, 2023 now rather than November 4, 2022.

Paramount also announced that Jackass 4, which was supposed to arrive on September 3, will now be released on October 22, and the Dungeons & Dragons reboot will come out on March 3, 2023 rather than May 27, 2022. But the studio didn’t just announce delays today. Snake Eyes, the G.I. Joe spinoff, is actually coming out earlier, moving from October 22 to July 23. The studio also scheduled its untitled Bee Gees movie for Mission: Impossible 8’s old November 4, 2022 release date; a new Star Trek movie for June 9, 2023; The Shrinking of Treehorn for November 10, 2023 and an untitled Ryan Reynolds/John Krasinski movie for November 17, 2023.

So once again, everyone needs to break out their moviegoing calendars and adjust accordingly if you plan on seeing any of the aforementioned movies. Even though things may be looking a little brighter on the pandemic front and a lot of folks now have the option to see a movie on the big screen should they choose, Paramount is playing things safe by pushing back some of its most high-profile releases. It’s also worth a reminder that a number of other Paramount movies are still on track to arrive this year, including A Quiet Place: Part II on May 28 and Infinite on September 24.

As far as notable delays from other studios go, Disney recently announced a slew of new release dates, including Black Widow now coming out on July 9, although it will both play in theaters and be available on Disney+ Premiere Access for an added fee. Over at Sony, Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City have shifted to September 24 and November 24, respectively. And on the Warner Bros front, Mortal Kombat is now arriving on April 23, while Black Adam has been re-slated for July 29, 2022.

You can keep track of what else is set to come out this year with our upcoming 2021 movies schedule. As always, CinemaBlend will keep you apprised of any major delays in the cinematic realm as soon as they’re announced.

While Dungeons & Dragons started out as a role-playing game (and is still incredibly popular in that regard), it’s morphed into a full-blown media franchise over the decades, with this fantastical world being explored across novels, comic books, an animated TV show and even in a live-action movie. Alas, 2000’s Dungeons & Dragons did not fare well critically or commercially, but now the property is getting a second chance at cinematic glory through a reboot, which Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Jonathan Goldstein and Jon Francis Daley are writing and directing.

Plot details about the new Dungeons & Dragons movie are being kept close to the proverbial chest for now, including whether this will be a straightforward fantasy tale like the last movie was, or if it will incorporate the actual game-playing elements in some form or fashion. That said, over the last several months, the cast has started coming together, so are all the actors who’ve been lined up to participate in this adaptation of the Dungeons & Dragons mythos, starting with one Hugh Grant.

Hugh Grant

Paddington 2 fans, get excited! The man who played Phoenix Buchanan has boarded Dungeons & Dragons, and while we don’t know the specific identity of his character yet, THR claims that he’ll play the main antagonist, who’s named Forge Fletcher. Outside of the last Paddington Bear movie and Cloud Atlas, Hugh Grant’s filmography is largely made up of more ‘down-to-Earth’ movies and TV shows, so it’s interesting that Dungeons & Dragons piqued his interest. Nevertheless, given his Golden Globe-winning talents, it’s likelier than not that Grant will deliver a memorable villainous performance in this fantasy movie.

Chris Pine

While there was a time when Baby Driver’s Ansel Elgort was being looked at to star in Dungeons & Dragons, this current iteration of the project snagged Chris Pine as its first lead actor. Pine has a little experience with traditional fantasy through starring in Into the Woods and voicing Jack Frost in Rise of the Guardians, and he’s certainly no stranger to genre work, having played James T. Kirk in the Kelvin timeline Star Trek movies, Steve Trevor in the Wonder Woman movies and Dr. Alexander Murry in A Wrinkle in Time. While no details about his character have been revealed yet, it’s a good bet he’ll be playing the main protagonist given the types of roles he usually scores.

Michelle Rodriguez

As far as major franchises go, Michelle Rodriguez is unquestionably best known for playing Letty Ortiz in the Fast & Furious saga, but she also has some experience in more fantastical settings thanks to Avatar, Resident Evil: Retribution and Alita: Battle Angel. Now she gets to dive into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, and while it’s unclear who she’s playing, it’s easy enough to imagine her as a badass warrior fighting the forces of evil alongside Chris Pine’s character.

Justice Smith

Here’s an actor who has some experience dealing with all sorts of strange creatures. In 2018, Justice Smith fled from dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (and he’s reprising Franklin Webb in Jurassic World: Dominion), and in the following year, he explored a world filled with Pokemon in Detective Pikachu. As with the aforementioned actors, there’s no word on who Smith is playing in Dungeons & Dragons; maybe he’ll also be one of the good guys, or maybe he’ll get to shine in a more antagonistic light.

Rege-Jean Page

You might not have been familiar with Rege-Jean Page before Christmas Day 2020, even though he’d appeared in movies like Mortal Engines, and TV shows like For the People and the History Channel’s Roots miniseries. But now, thanks to his role as Simon Basset in the Netflix series Bridgerton, Page’s fame has skyrocketed, and now he’s slated to show up in Dungeons & Dragons as one of the lead characters. So if Bridgerton isn’t your thing, perhaps you’ll join the Page fan club after seeing his Dungeons & Dragons character in action.

Sophia Lillis

Between playing young Beverly Marsh in the IT movies and starring as Sydney Novak in the short-lived Netflix series I’m Not Okay With This, Sophia Lillis has made quite the name for herself in the entertainment space. Lillis also has a little experience in the fantasy realm from starring in last year’s Gretel & Hansel, but needless to say that Dungeons & Dragons is on a much different level. The actress’ character is reportedly named Doric, but it’s unclear how this individual factors into the story.

Chloe Coleman

She may be the youngest cast member in Dungeons & Dragons so far, but Chloe Coleman already has an impressive resume at her age. She’s appeared in TV shows like Transparent, Big Little Lies and Upload, and just last year, she starred alongside Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista in the action comedy My Spy. Dungeons & Dragons marks yet another blockbuster project Coleman is participating in, as she’s also attached to Avatar 2, among other high-profile movies. There’s no word on who Coleman will play in the fantasy flick.

We here at CinemaBlend will let you know when more actors are announced for Dungeons & Dragons (fingers crossed Joe Manganiello makes his way in), as well as any specific story information and when the movie is slated for release. For now, learn what movies are coming out later this year with our 2021 release schedule.

Now that more than two decades have passed since the box office flop from 2000 starring Marlon Wayans and Jeremy Irons, Dungeons And Dragons is reigniting its hopes for Hollywood success – and this past December the latest effort in that arena took a massive step forward. It was officially announced that the developing reboot has cast Chris Pine as its lead, and while he stood alone in the cast for nearly two months, we now have news that the project has added a couple of colleagues.

Per The Wrap, the new Dungeons and Dragons movie has cast both Fast And Furious' Michelle Rodriguez and Detective Pikachu's Justice Smith in undisclosed roles. Jonathan Goldstein and Jonathan Francis Daley, best known for writing and directing the 2018 comedy Game Night, have both penned the script and are set to helm the action-adventure feature. Hasbro is a big force behind the production, producing the film through their in-house company Allspark Pictures – which is in the midst of developing a whole new wave of projects based on the brand's toys.

If it doesn't feel like it's been that long since you last saw Michelle Rodriguez, there's a fair chance that's because you watched the brand new Super Bowl trailer for F9 that debuted yesterday during the big NFL game. That film, which will mark her seventh appearance in the Fast And Furious franchise, will be hitting theaters presumably whenever theaters are fully ready to reopen (it's currently on the schedule for May 22), but she actually has a movie coming out before that. Nicholas Jarecki's Crisis, which tells multiple stories about the opiod crisis in America and co-stars Gary Oldman, Evangeline Lily, Greg Kinnear, Armie Hammer, and Kid Cudi, is scheduled to play in theaters at the end of this month and will be available on PVOD starting March 5.

For Justice Smith, it appears that Dungeons And Dragons could very well be his follow-up to Jurassic World: Dominion, which just wrapped filming last year following multiple delays due to the pandemic. The upcoming movie will see him reprise his role as Franklin Webb from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but it's unclear what his role in the plot will be. He also will presumably be involved in Detective Pikachu 2, which got the greenlight back in early 2019, but that project has not made many public strides forward since then.

With Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Justice Smith on board, Dungeons And Dragons is definitely starting to cook behind the scenes, and that probably means that it won't be too long until we hear about more additions to the cast and a start date for the production. Given the legacy and popularity of the game on which the project is based, there are high hopes that the project will be a proper tribute, and we're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll hear more good news soon.

Just as the popular tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons has taken inspiration from the movies, there has been some movement on adapting the famed property into a new incarnation for the modern age. With Game Night directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein both writing and helming this latest cinematic quest into the role-playing world, it was only a matter of time until the casting process yielded its first results. Now, it looks like the project has found its first potential star. Alas, it's not longtime Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast Joe Manganiello, as instead, Wonder Woman 1984 star Chris Pine is ready to trade his flight suit for some chain mail.

Per reporting from Deadline, Chris Pine is in the circling phase of his potential Dungeons & Dragons hiring. The plans, should they follow the intended course, are to have this movie in front of cameras early next year; with Belfast looking to be the location that the production will make its home. Pine will more than likely not be only the first big name drawn to the project, as it’s expected that an ensemble cast will help land this would-be franchise on the road to the kingdom of sequels. Considering how much Joe Manganiello loves Dungeons & Dragons, there's always the chance he could be cast in the movie later down the line.

This latest Dungeons & Dragons project comes after a history of starts and stops that have seen the legendary gaming brand run through several iterations of development. That includes a draft co-written by Joe Mangianello, which fell into the dustbin of history, as that particular flavor of script was probably more serious about the Dungeons & Dragons property. The tone in John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s project is being hinted as “a subversive approach to the game.” So think something less like the 2000 New Line Cinema film starring Jeremy Irons, and potentially more like something from the minds that helped shape Horrible Bosses.

John Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have been hard at work revising the script of Dungeons & Dragons throughout this year. So naturally, real life circumstances have influenced the final draft of the film that’s about to go into production, which may or may not have lost some massive crowd scenes originally intended. It looks like this could indicate another great advantage in Chris Pine’s potential casting, as he’s used to interacting with aliens, potential invisible jets and anything else the world of cinematic imagination can throw his way.

Dungeons & Dragons hopes to roll a 20, as it wants to get underway with production in the first quarter of next year. But if the DM known as Fate casts “Development Hellscape” upon this project, CinemaBlend will be there to do what any good Bard would do: absorb the splash damage and live to tell the tale. In the meantime, you can see what’s already scheduled for the year ahead, courtesy of our 2021 release schedule. We promise there are no dragons, orcs or wizards waiting inside to challenge you and your party upon reading.

One of the great ironies of the production shutdown has been the number of movies that were moving forward after being in limbo for years, that have once again had to sit and wait now that stay-at-home orders have been put in place and large gatherings have been cancelled. One of those movies is the long in development Dungeons & Dragons film. The film finally found its creative force last year in John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein who are acting as both writers and directors for the project. The pair now say that the current environment may force them to make some changes to the movie they were going to make.

John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein recently spoke to THR where they gave an update of Dungeons & Dragons. While the film still has a ways to go before filming can get underway, the pair were set to go location scouting just as lockdowns started going into effect. While the duo apparently has used their time at home constructively, they have finished the second draft of the D&D script, They are now rethinking some of the things in that script, specifically, scenes that would require large crowds of extras to gather together. According to John Francis Daley...

It's certainly an understandable reaction. Even when things get back underway there are likely going to be a lot of precautions taken. There is still a lot of worry about a second wave of the virus, and no movie production wants to be part of that. Of course, it's difficult to make a movie without large numbers of people, but adding hundreds of extras to a scene in order to create a crowd is going to increase the odds of something getting spread.

There are, of course, other ways to handle filming a scene that would require a lot of extras. People could be created digitally, though that would likely increase the budget of the film significantly. It's possible that some clever camera work could be used to make a scene with only a few people look larger than it is.

The other option, of course, is to simply change the scene so there is no need to bring more people than necessary onto the set. This is likely to be a consideration that many movies are going to need to make over the next several months, and possibly years.

We may see some pretty creative storytelling coming out of the movies in the near future as filmmakers find ways to tell their stories with a new set of constraints. Sometimes constraints end up revealing some impressive results.

It’s almost the 20th anniversary of the first cinematic adaptation of Dungeons and Dragons, and considering how that was critically received, presumably it won’t take much for the upcoming reboot to turn out as a better product. Major updates concerning the next Dungeons and Dragons movie have been light over the last several years, but it looks like the project has finally some new directors: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.

Last year, The LEGO Batman Movie’s Chris McKay was being lined up to helm Dungeons and Dragons, but he eventually departed to work on Skydance’s Ghost Draft, which stars Chris Pratt. Now Variety reports that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have been eyed to fill that directorial vacancy, with negotiations currently underway.

Daley and Goldstein’s notable credits together including directing Vacation (which they also wrote) and Game Night, and penning Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, before Dungeons and Dragons came their way, they were set to direct The Flash for the DC Extended Universe. Alas, after more than a year, eventually the duo decided to depart the project due to creative differences, and now IT director Andy Muschietti has been tapped to oversee the Scarlet Speedster’s standalone story.

While a new Dungeons and Dragons movie has been in development since 2015, originally it started out at Warner Bros, but has since shifted to Paramount Pictures, which makes sense given the studio’s relationship with the company that owns the role-playing game, Hasbro.

Dungeons and Dragons will be one of the first projects that’s part of Hasbro’s AllSpark Pictures, through which the toy company hopes to start churning out Marvel Cinematic Universe-level competition. Other upcoming projects under the label include the G.I. Joe spinoff Snake Eyes and Micronauts.

Dungeons and Dragons has also gone through a lot of script writers over the years. Michael Gilio is penning the latest draft, taking over from Aquaman co-writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick. Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis from Hasbro are executive producing.

As far as on-screen talent goes, no actors have been announced for Dungeons and Dragons yet. At one point, Baby Driver’s Ansel Elgort was in talks to play one of the leads, but that was over two years ago, so who knows if he’s still even a candidate. Paramount should consider looping Joe Manganiello in considering what a huge Dungeons and Dragons fan he is (after all, he tried to get his own version of the movie made).

Dungeons and Dragons is scheduled to hit theaters on November 19, 2021, sandwiching it between Fantastic Beasts 3 the week prior and a yet-to-be-revealed animated Disney film the week after. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage in this major motion picture.

In the meantime, look through our 2019 release schedule to find out what silver screen offerings catch your eye for the rest of the year.

Wizards of the Coast has two of the most popular nerd-culture brands under its wing: Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. These two behemoth franchises have been in the public spotlight for years, gathering and building communities across wide swathes of the internet. The combination of the pen and paper games with the collectible card games have made the Wizards of the Coast a powerful organization in the world fantasy fiction. The latest crossover to take the world by storm is a cross-branded promotion of epic proportions in the form of Dungeons & Dragons meeting with Magic: The Gathering.

The crossover was announced over on the official Wizards website, giving a product overview of the D&D Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica. Ravnica, being a setting that has been used in the past, and will be used in the future, for card sets of _Magic: The Gathering. _The upcoming book is set for release later this year during the fall on November 20th, 2018. You'll be able to get the hardcover dungeon guide for $49.95.

D&D Guildmaster's Guide To Ravnica is set within the city of Ravnica, a metropolitan area for cosmopolitan citizens of all sorts. The description notes that the city is wildly diverse and that there are bustling marketplaces, bazaars, and back alleys stoked with the peddling of grifters and merchants, vagabonds and thieves. The city isn't all about the hustle and bustle of the lower-level street life, but also about the wealthy and powerful who inhabit the city's upper echelons. There are guilds that maintain a foundation of influence over Ravnica, and power plays and political intrigue run rampant through the civic municipalities and those who govern them.

Players will be able to take part in the sourcebook based on the upcoming card set featuring the "Ravnica Allegiance". The original card set for the Magic: The Gathering CCG was actually announced back in May, along with the "Guilds of Ravnica", which is another card set that will go live ahead of the release of the guild book in October. The guild set will contain 259 new cards, while the "Ravnica Allegiance" set will contain 264 new cards. The latter deck won't be available until January 2019.

There's also going to be a "Dissension" card pack featuring the location of the demon Rakdos, as well as other primordial inhabitants. The other set, known as the "Return to Ravnica", focuses on the Guildpact living within the metropolis, while the "Gatecrash" set is a 249 black-bordered card pack that contains the occasional premium card. The last of the sets is the "Dragon's Maze", which is pretty much what it sounds like, focusing on the maze-like areas of the Ravnica city.

Quite naturally everyone assumed that the cards would be relegated to the Magic: The Gathering realm, but Wizards of the Coast are now announcing that there will be a Dungeons & Dragons game book to help flesh out the lore of Ravnica.

The location is a strong part of the Magic: The Gathering community, and a variety of card sets help flesh out the city and its wildly diverse inhabitants.

It's unclear how much crossover there is between fans of the pen-and-paper world of Dungeons & Dragons and the collectible card game world of Magic: The Gathering, but clearly, the idea behind the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica is to get fans of one excited about the other.

This past weekend, Dungeons & Dragons hosted a massive livestream event to promote their forthcoming campaign book, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. But if you watched Dice, Camera, Action, the flagship show Dungeons and Dragons streams on Twitch, you didn't actually see much of the actual campaign that you'll find in the book. It might seem odd, since Chris Perkins, the Dungeon Master of Dice, Camera, Action, wrote the manuscript of the book, but Perkins told me in an interview that when he put together the actual game the "Waffle Crew" would be playing on the stream, he only took pieces of the story, because he specifically didn't want to give away plot points in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. According to Perkins...

On the one hand, the purpose of the Steam of Many Eyes was to spotlight the new campaign book, along with the companion book Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage which was announced over the weekend as well, but at the same time, the book won't actually be available to players until September, so you don't want to give away what the book actually sets up for those DM's that plan to run the book more or less as written.

Of course, part of the beauty of Dungeons & Dragons is that the game is designed to give players as much freedom as they want, so nobody is required to follow the story laid out in the book. Even Chris Perkins, who wrote the story of Dragon Heist in the first place, was then able to take the story he created, and use it as inspiration for yet another story.

Of course, there's another reason why Chris Perkins didn't follow the follow the book exactly. It was designed as a place where players could start a campaign at the beginning, and the players of Dice, Camera, Action have been playing for some time, which means they have an existing history that needs to be recognized in any future adventure.

In the end, there might be elements of the new module that make their way into the game that unfolds on the D&D Twitch channel, but the serial numbers have been well filed off so that you likely won't recognize them, at least not before you stumble into them in a game. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist will be out September 18. Dice, Camera, Action is viewable on the D&D Twitch channel every Tuesday.

This weekend Wizards of the Coast is holding an epic event with hours of streaming tabletop games, but before it all got started, we were introduced to the upcoming new adventure for Dungeons & Dragons, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. As the title implies, the adventure is focused on the classic Forgotten Realms city of Waterdeep. While many Dungeons and Dragons adventures send the players out into the perils of the natural environment, like forests or caves, Dragon Heist is designed to be a more urban story that has players exploring the city. Along with the more urban setting, comes a fitting story more at home with more modern urban adventures, the heist. At the beginning of the Stream of Many Eyes livestream event, Dungeons & Dragons writer Chris Perkins explained...

Dungeons and Dragons is designed to let any sort of adventure take place, so many players have probably been through a heist of their own, but it's certainly a unique idea for a Wizards of the Coast campaign. The appeal is obvious though. Imagine an Oceans Eleven like experience that has you talking your way into a fortified location before you sneak into a vault to retrieve a valuable object. Then you get to experience the chase that follows when everything falls apart because this is D&D and it almost certainly will.

Perkins explained that this adventure was intentionally designed to be very different from the ones that came before it, and clearly, based on what inspired it, that certainly appears to be the case. Frequently, cities are the place where adventures start and end, but in between they go elsewhere. Here, the expectation is that the city itself will be the home of the adventure. One thing that isn't different from traditional games is that treasure lies at the heart of the game, but in this case, the players are racing to beat the villains to it.

That doesn't mean that the entire adventure runs at a breakneck pace. Chris Perkins also revealed that Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is the first D&D adventure with built-in downtime. There's an expectation that the characters may take a break now and then, and there will be some side activities, like owning and running a tavern, as one example that was given, that players will be able to engage in. Cities also mean lots of NPCs, which means lots of opportunity for role-playing. This may not be the perfect module for players who love combat focused games.

Dragon Heist also has the potential for more replayability than other adventures could. At the beginning of the campaign, the Dungeon Master will choose one of four possible villains to be part of the story. This decision has far-reaching implications as it actually impacts the season the story takes place in as well, meaning that each villain drastically changes the game. Play again with another villain and get a very different game.

There's a lot of potential in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. If you check out the Stream of Many Eyes this weekend you'll be able to get a glimpse at what's on the way when the new book arrives in September.

If you've been following the Dungeons & Dragons lore for years and have been interested in the latest offerings from the Wizards of the Coast, there's actually a way for you to check out the new content early and ahead of everyone else.

Over on the official Dungeons & Dragons website, there's a brief notice informing gamers who are interested in the upcoming release of Modernkainen's Tome of Foes sourcebook on May 18th at local game stores and May 28th at all other participating retailers, will be able to get an advanced look (or at least advanced hearing) of the content during special podcast streams covering the content located therein.

The Wizards of the Coast will be working with podcast producers to create episodes based around the material located within the sourcebook, allowing gamers to delve into the fantasy of Dungeons & Dragons with one-shot podcast adventures themed around the monsters, stories and lore of the upcoming Modrdenkainen's Tome of Foes.

There will be more than 20 different podcasts available, which will be recorded and publicly available for gamers interested in the fantasy storytelling featured in the book. This will also give the producers and content creators some creativity to work with in terms of how they role-play the content and allow fans to engage with it ahead of the May release.

The podcasts covering the content from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes will begin rolling out on May 7th and each day after for every day leading up to the release, there will be two new episodes featured on the Dungeon Delve podcast feed.

Additionally, there will be two live-streams made available on Twitch over the weekends, covering additional points of lore and the monsters from the Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook.

There's also a podcast schedule so that you'll be able to know exactly when and what will be broadcast during the initial May 7th roll out. According to the itinerary, on May 7th there will be the Venture Maidens and the Sneak Attack!, show. This will be followed by Dungeon Drunks and Lawful & Orderly on Tuesday, May 8th. On Wednesday, May 9th there will be Roll Like A Girl and Drunks and Dragons, with Redemption and Heroes Not Included on Tuesday, May 10th. Heading into the weekend there will be d20 Games and RPG Academy on Friday, May 11th, with the live-streams taking place on Saturday and the podcasts picking back up on Sunday, May 13th, with the ITU Trash Crew.

Heading into the second week of content there will be Taking Initiative: DnD RAW on Monday, May 14th, with Tabletop Potluck and You Meet in a Tavern on Tuesday, May 15th. If you stick around to the middle of the week you'll have D&D is for Nerds and The Broadswords on Tuesday, May 17th, with Dice for Brains, Nerd Poker, and The Dice Unkind filling out a rather jam-packed Friday on May 18th, and finally on Sunday, May 20th, there's Return to Greyhawk.

All of this will lead into the official release of Wizards of the Coast's Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes on May 18th and May 28th.

The Gary Gygax Trust has announced a partnership with Fig, the community publishing platform, in order to bring unpublished works from the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons to the world of video games.

Gary Gygax passed away about a decade ago, but not before gifting the world with Dungeons & Dragons, a roleplaying game he was both designer and co-creator of. The pen and paper version of the game has evolved quite a bit over the years, with the latest iteration gaining the game's largest following to date. The worlds of Dungeons & Dragons have spawned books, a movie, apps and even video games like the ongoing MMO, Neverwinter Online, but a recent partnership between Gygax's trust and Fig could result in new games inspired by the man's unpublished works.

According to the press release, these unpublished works formed the inspiration that led to the creation of Dungeons & Dragons, so we wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of monster fighting, adventuring and dungeon diving is in the mix. But according to Fig, we're still in the very early stages for the projects.

We're so early, in fact, that developers have not even been tapped. The whole point of this partnership is to build the games from the ground up. The Gygax Trust provides the material, and Fig will be working with the group to pinpoint developers they feel would best suit the individual projects. From there, they'll be integral in setting up a crowdfunding campaign for the project to get it off the ground. If all goes well, the end result is planned to be a collection of games that will let players experience adventures thought up by Gygax himself pre-D&D.

Gail Gygax, Gary's wife, said she feels these unpublished works are an "important part of his legacy." She adds that working with Fig has allowed the family to maintain complete control over the creative vision of potential games. Gygax's son, Alex, said he's a gamer himself and is therefore looking forward to partnering with developers to finally bring the games to life.

What sets Fig apart from other crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter is that participants are making an actual investment. When a Kickstarter project is funded and successful, the end result is that the participant receives their product. Sometimes that doesn't happen, though, and participants never receive a cut of any additional earnings.

With Fig, participants actually buy into the project and can earn returns from revenue shares, distribution arrangements, buyouts and the like. Big Fig successes have included Pillars of Eternity 2, Outer Wilds and Kingdoms & Castles. Psychonauts 2 was also funded through Fig, though it has not hit the market yet.

It's certainly a unique concept, and it's pretty interesting seeing a partnership like this take form from the earliest stages. We'll be interested in watching the Gygax projects evolve over time.

The following contains spoilers for both the Ready Player One movie and the book it is based on.

The Ready Player One movie was never going to be a note for note remake, such a thing was ultimately impossible. Still, whenever a beloved book gets the film treatment there are moments fans want to see on the big screen, but sometimes those are the moments that get cut. Such was the case with Ready Player One.

In the case of this movie, there were actually very few elements that made the transition from book to screen. While every reference in the novel was likely a big deal for somebody, there are a few very special ones that we were really hoping we'd see on the screen, and were more than a bit disappointed that we did not.

Ghostbusters

Parzival's car is one of the highlights of Ready Player One. It's a classic Back to the Future Delorean complete with a flux capacitor and a red Knight Rider LED light on the front. However, the version in the movie is missing one element that is referenced in the book. It doesn't have the Ghostbusters logo on the doors. Adding it wouldn't have changed much, so we can guess this is one set of rights that the filmmakers just weren't able to secure. In an additional Ghostbusters reference, the original license plate on the Delorean actually read ECTO-88 in the novel, rather than being Parzival's name, as it is in the movie.

The Tomb Of Horrors

The logo for Dungeons and Dragons appears a couple of places in the Ready Player One movie, but the famous tabletop RPG factors much more in the book, as the infamous D&D module Tomb of Horrors, is recreated inside the OASIS and Parzival has to fight his way through it. The physical layout of the Tomb is specifically described in the module written for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, but it has only ever existed in the minds of the people who have played through it. Seeing it come to life would have been awesome for those of us who grew up playing, and those who still play, D&D.

Blade Runner

Ready Player One the movie puts its heroes inside one of the best-known films of all-time, but the book does this several times. While actually recreating a movie within a movie was always going to be difficult to pull off in an entertaining way, one place they could have pulled it off was with Blade Runner. In the novel, Parzival realizes the Jade Gate is located inside a recreation of the Tyrell Corporation, requiring him to use a Voight-Kampff machine. Seeing Parzival walk through a perfect recreation of Tyrell's office would have been awesome, as would the moment he realized that was the place he needed to go, thanks to an origami unicorn.

Max Headroom

There are few faces that are so immediately associated with the 1980s as Max Headroom. Whether you remember him from his talk show, his Coke commercials, or the cyberpunk TV series of the same name, he was an icon for the decade. Max is nowhere to be found in the film, which is unfortunate because it would have been great to bring Matt Frewer in to voice the character once again. In the novel, Parzival/Wade uses a version of Max as a sort of A.I. voice control interface for his OASIS system. He's like Siri, but he's got basic intelligence and he interacts with Wade as well as following his commands. Max would have added some decade appropriate comedy to the overall movie that would have been funny without feeling out of place.

Ultraman

While it's absolutely true that seeing Japanese hero Ultraman appear in the Ready Player One movie would have gone over the heads of a large part of the western audience, for those of us who were familiar with the character, it would have been a thing of beauty to see. Seeing a Gundam go one-on-one with Mechagodzilla was great, but Ultraman has a particular old-school style to him that would have been perfect opposite the classic movie monster. He's also, admittedly, a bit corny, but that would have only added to the fun watching him teat Mechagodzilla apart.

One of the most popular role-playing games of all time is Dungeons and Dragons and it's persisted for decades as the go-to tabletop game. Well, Old Spice decided to jump into the fray with its very own character class for the game, and you can make use of the character thanks to the new character sheet being spread around online.

The tweet was made on the official Old Spice Twitter account. The tweet hilariously rolls out the details of the Old Spice Gentleman Class, which is a character for the game that the company couldn't mention in the tweet without the Wizards of the Coast coming after it, but it's pretty obvious that it's in reference to Dungeons & Dragons.

The tweet links to a PDF file over on Google Drive, where it describes the Old Spice character class. The Gentleman (or Gentlelady) is a class themed around good looks, humor, and seductive charisma. The class is renown for clever quips and catchphrases, and they do so while selling Old Spice to all who are willing to purchase it. Yes, the Gentleman class is essentially a merchant class fused with a bard.

But it's not a useless class. According to the character sheet, the Gentleman can wield charm as a weapon to disarm foes and protect his companions. The Gentleman doesn't have an alignment, so you can make them good, evil, chaotic, or neutral.

Hilariously enough, the Old Spice Gentleman has a special attack code, or rather an attack prevention. The Gentleman can't attack the opposite sex during the first move. I wonder if this also applies to the Gentlelady class as well? It would make the class kind of difficult to use in certain situations, especially if you're a Gentlelady who gets ambushed by a rogue group of bandits, where you would likely have to wait for them to attack you first and rely on counter-hits.

This Old Spice Dungeons & Dragons class does come with quite a few skills to compensate for the starting attack restriction against the opposite sex, such as having acrobatics, bluff, climbing abilities, disguises, escape skills, intimidate, and a bunch of other skills to weasel out of a tough spot... almost like Han Solo from Star Wars, but possibly less reliant on shooting opponents with a gun hidden under the table. However, the Gentleman is proficient with laser blasters... no really!

The class is also marked by having proficiencies in light armor and fancy clothes, a little bit like Harry Hart from Kingsman.

The character has some hilarious skills, such as a Bachelor in Marketing, being able to take a bullet for an ally, being able to turn into a wolfdog at level 11, being able to ride on a horse at level 5 just like in the iconic Old Spice commercial, and emitting pleasure smells at level 7.

I have no idea if game masters will allow a character like this in the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplay, but you can grab the character sheet from over on the Google Drive if you're so inclined.

Dungeons & Dragons is going stronger than ever, and that fact will be celebrated at the upcoming PAX Unplugged. According to a recent announcement, there will be plenty of D&D events scheduled throughout the event dedicated to tabletop gaming.

It's been great seeing D&D (along with all sorts of other pen and paper RPGs) take off in recent years. The game used to be played in secret, in somebody's basement like the youngsters from Stranger Things. And while plenty of people still hang out in basements pretending to be paladins and rangers, saying you play D&D is more of a badge of honor these days. Just like with video games, tabletop gaming has officially gone mainstream.

That's evident by the number of events that keep popping up dedicated to physical gaming, such as the upcoming PAX Unplugged. And, while plenty of sessions (both official and random) will be played throughout the event, organizers have now announced that several big D&D personalities will be making an appearance for live events, including Critical Role, Acquisitions Inc. and Dice, Camera, Action.

While tabletop was helped into the stratosphere in recent years thanks to more and more games being crowdfunded, D&D owes a bit of its success to people playing the game in the public eye. Sure, having a new edition that's super streamlined and player-friendly helps, but all of these "watch us play" groups have managed to capture the attention of a huge audience that, in turn, go on to play the game with their own friends.

PAX Unplugged will run from Nov. 17-19, with the groups listed above hosting official panels where they'll be recording sessions of their games. If you can't make it out to the event yourself, you can always tune in on Twitch. We imagine each group will provide their sessions through their regular means, too.

The Dice, Camera, Action crew will be live on Nov. 17 from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on the main stage. The usual team will be on hand, along with an unannounced guest to help spice things up a bit.

Geek and Sundry's Critical Role squad will be on stage Nov. 18 from 4 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. They'll be more focused on their past adventures while giving teasers for what to expect in the episodes ahead.

Penny Arcade's own Acquisitions Inc will be up on Nov. 18 from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Wizards of the Coast's Chris Perkins will be Dungeon Master for this event, which will see the group's ongoing story evolve further.

Registration for this latest PAX event is ongoing at the official website. Three-day tickets are $60 with single day tickets going for $25 a pop. Special rates for kids are also available.

Joe Manganiello is an actor who mixes it up in a lot of genres, from comedies like Magic Mike to dramas like One Tree Hill. His more fantastical projects over the years have included playing Alcide Herveaux in True Blood and Flash Thompson in Spider-Man, and he's also set to portray Deathstroke in the upcoming Batman movie. However, Manganiello is also a big fan of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and one of his current goals is to take this fantasy heavy hitter and adapt it into a cinematic tale. In fact, just last year he started his mission to make the Dungeons & Dragon movie a reality. As he put it:

Joe Manganiello recently stopped by MTV's Happy Sad Confused podcast, and when asked about if there have been franchises he's made extra effort to see if he could be involved, the actor mentioned wanting to make a Dungeons & Dragons movie. But the actor went several steps further by penning a script with someone and meeting with the company that's owned the game for two decades. If Manganiello's Dungeons & Dragons movie were to move forward, he would want to contribute both as an actor and working behind the scenes. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but he also gave some advice on what it will take to make a great Dungeons & Dragon movie regardless of who is overseeing it. From his perspective:

It's worth noting that as of last year, there was a different Dungeons & Dragons movie in development, with Goosebumps director Rob Letterman helming and The Fault in Our Stars' Ansel Elgort starring. Assuming this particular project is still in the works, Joe Manganiello's chances of spearheading his own take on Dungeons & Dragons will be extremely difficult. Though that's not to say he couldn't still participate in the Letterman/Elgort version strictly as an actor. Surely that would at least scratch his itch with this franchise.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend on more updates on how Dungeons & Dragons' journey to the big screen is progressing, whatever version that may be.

At long last, Wizards of the Coast has announced that the Dungeons & Dragons pen and paper universe will finally be making its way into the digital space in the form of an official app. Get ready to take your dungeon-diving sessions "Beyond."

According to a recent announcement on the official Dungeons & Dragons website, D&D Beyond is just about everything both players and dungeon masters could have hoped for out of a digital app. If you boot up your Android or Apple device and search for "Dungeons & Dragons," you'll find all kinds of fan-made apps meant to help people create characters, manage their spells, look up stats and rules, etc. Now that WotC is partnering with Curse, you'll finally be able to get your hands on all of that information from an official, updated source.

Plenty of folks still love playing D&D with pen and paper, but sometimes it's easier to keep track of things on a digital device, be it a smartphone or tablet. The cool thing about the Beyond app is that it will let you go as "digital" as you want. Don't have your player's handbook on hand? You can use the app to look up vital information on the fly. Keep forgetting your character sheet at home? You could keep track of all of those details through the app instead. Whether you're using it as a tool or to completely convert your campaign to the digital space, it looks like the Beyond app for D&D will have a little something for everyone.

They even made a trailer to announce the app, complete with an epic soundtrack.

As stated in the official trailer, the D&D Beyond app is set to launch this summer, though you can sign up for a beta by visiting the sourced news post. When it finally arrives, players are being invited to go "beyond" pen and paper to enjoy an app that uses the official Fifth Edition rule set. We'd be interested in seeing if they eventually add older rule sets for players who still like rocking the classics.

The in-game compendium will include in-depth information of all sorts of beasties, gear, and rules, while players will likely adore the interactive character sheets that keep track of effects, experience and the like.

In the announcement, D&D Senior Director Nathan Stewart said the team sees this as a "way forward" for the game. We imagine many of you are shaking in fear at the idea of an all-digital D&D, but we seriously doubt anyone's plan is to stop printing all those wonderful books and storylines. Instead, by making a move to digital as well as physical, we see this as WotC making the classic game more readily available to all types of players.

For the upcoming PAX West there's going to be a special theatrical presentation of a live Dungeons & Dragons session hosted by game designer Chris Perkins. The event will get underway on September 4th across theaters nationwide.

Game Informer is reporting that the yearly Acquisitions Incorporated Dungeons & Dragons event will take place at PAX West in Seattle, Washington. The upcoming PAX event will run from September 2nd to September 5th, and on September 4th the Acquisition Incorporated event will take place.

As mentioned, Chris Perkins will host the event as a dungeon master and there will be various quests and dungeons that a group of gaming personalities will go on. According to Game Informer, the event can be quite wild and entertaining. It's expected to get underway at 6pm PST.

It's usually a two hour role-playing romp as five individuals partake in the events hosted by a dungeon master. If you have no idea what it's like or how the Acquisitions Incorporated series works, there are a variety of videos up and available on YouTube right now on the Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel. You can check out the latest video below from PAX East, which took place this past May.

The entire event is almost borderline NSFW, but it's filled to the brim with a lot of laughter and a lot of jokes and a lot of silliness as the group showcases why Dungeons & Dragons the tabletop game can be as fun as it is, even in today's world of video games and virtual reality.

It may be a little difficult to get into, but it's something that's kind of explained in a bit more detail where Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins, Mike Krahulik, Toonhound Studios Scott Kurtz, and The Kingkiller Chronicles' Patrick Rothfuss while Wizards of the Coast's Chris Perkins works as a dungeon master.

If this all still sounds way in the weeds, Penny Arcade TV actually has a tightly edited first episode of the Acquisitions Incorporated series. You can check out the episode below to see what it might be like if you check it out in the theater on September 4th.

If you don't regularly play Dungeons & Dragons and you were curious how the tabletop game could be played in real life with a lot of the layers of role-playing involved, the video above gives you a good idea of how a dungeon master might plot out the game and how the other players get involved in the game.

It's till a niche pastime, but something worth checking out if you have even the faintest inclination to get involved with Dungeons & Dragons or at least check it out and see what all the fuss has been about for the past 30 or so years.

You'll need to check the Fathom Events website for listings on ticket information and start times at local cinemas across the nation, so you'll know where to show up to check out Dungeons & Dragons' Acquisitions Incorporated at a theater near you.

Dungeons & Dragons has been a gaming phenomena since the 1970s, allowing players to create their own character and adventure in an RPG fantasy world with friends. However, the game yet to experience any true cinematic success. There was a movie adaptation that came out in 2000, but it was received poorly, and its two direct-to-DVD sequels fared even worse. Now Warner Bros is setting out to give Dungeons & Dragons another chance at the big screen, and they may have found the new movie's lead in Divergent actor Ansel Elgort.

According to a new Deadline report, Elgort is in early negotiations to star in the new Dungeons & Dragons movie. No deal has been officially worked out, but if he does join, he would be the movie's first official actor. Vin Diesel previously expressed interest in joining if the story was done right, and considering how much he loves the game, his presence would undoubtedly be welcome both as a movie star and fan. Goosebumps' Rob Letterman is directing the feature, while The Conjuring 2's David Leslie Johnson penned the script.

The Dungeons & Dragons movie will follow a warrior and his band of mystical creatures as they go on a dangerous journey to find a legendary treasure. That sounds about right for a theatrical adaptation, and while elements like races, weapons and spells will undoubtedly remain intact, the movie has the creative freedom to go wherever it wants to story-wise, just like the games themselves. Dungeons & Dragons was involved in a lengthy lawsuit over rights issues, but that was finally resolved last year. The Deadline report also mentions that the movie has become a "top priority" for Warner Bros, as the studio is seeking new franchises to add to their slate, which already includes the DC Extended Universe and Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts series.

Ansel Elgort has been a rising star in Hollywood over the last three years. The young adult crowd will recognize him as Caleb Prior in the Divergent movies, and his other credits include the Carrie remake and The Fault in Our Stars. His upcoming movies include November Criminals and Billionaire Boys Club, and at one point, he was reportedly in the running to play young Han Solo in the 2018 Star Wars spinoff movie centered around the smuggler, but that honor now belongs to Alden Ehrenreich. Assuming this Dungeons & Dragons deal goes through, this will most certainly propel Elgort to a new level of fame.

Dungeons & Dragons hasn't been assigned a release date yet, but we'll keep you apprised of its progress as more news comes in. In the meantime, let us know what you think of Ansel Elgort possibly joining the movie in the comments below.

Since they have their hands on the rights to one of the most popular fantasy games in pop culture history, it’s no surprise to learn that Warner Bros. is currently developing plans for a Dungeons & Dragons film, which they obviously hope will evolve into a franchise. The studio just took a huge step forward, and their vision for this film has become clearer with the revelation that Rob Letterman will direct. We even have an idea of who they want for a leading man.

Tracking Board confirmed that Goosebumps director Rob Letterman has been hired by Warner Bros. to oversee this hugely anticipated film. Letterman will work from a screenplay by David Leslie Jones, whose most prominent work came when he wrote Wrath Of The Titans. The studio and the director also reportedly have their eye on a Vin Diesel-type for the lead role, and we’ve even been provided with a tiny synopsis for Dungeons & Dragons, which teases:

But which actor do they hope will play the warrior? Well we have a vague idea, as it’s also been teased that Warner Bros. and Rob Letterman are after a Vin Diesel-type to star. It’s not yet known if they might pursue the most Vin Diesel type of star out there – Vin Diesel – for the part, but they might have a good chance of landing him as the 48-year-old is a self-confessed fan of Dungeons & Dragons.

There have actually already been three big-screen adaptations of the game thus far, starting with 2000’s Dungeons & Dragons, which was followed by 2005’s Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath Of The Dragon God, and then finally 2012's Dungeons & Dragons: The Book Of Vile Darkness. All of these were abject failures, with the first film going on to gross just $33 million from a $45 million budget, and the latter two only receiving limited cinematic releases.

But it seems as though Warner Bros., who are working in conjunction with Vertigo Entertainment, Sweetpea Entertainment, and Hasbro to bring the game to life again, are taking this adaptation a little more seriously. The decision to hire Rob Letterman to helm Dungeons & Dragons is a great start, especially since his most recent gig was directing Goosebumps, which grossed $150 million across the world from just a $58 million budget. It also helps that it was a sublime watch, too.

Here’s a word of warning, though: Warner Bros.’ recent track record of trying to start sci-fi fantasy franchises has been rather poor. Jupiter Ascending and Pan were both flops, while Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice might have already grossed over $500 million, but it has been critical kryptonite.

Digital Extremes and n-Space recently released Sword Coast Legends, the spin-off from Dungeons & Dragons. The game features the classic computer role-playing gameplay mechanics that helped define PC gaming back in the mid and late 1990s.

The game features a lot of classic Baldur's Gate style gameplay that BioWare and Black Isle Studios made famous back in the day. Sword Coast Legends features isometric, real-time gameplay and combat with a strategic pause feature, something that the old cRPGs were known for back in the day, such as Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale.

There are five playable races in the game along with six different character classes afforded for players to choose from in order to create their own unique hero for the game world.

What really sets Sword Coast Legends apart from some of the other RPGs that have been recently making the rounds on PC, such as the highly praised Pillars of Eternity from Obsidian Entertainment and Wasteland 2 from inXile Entertainment, is that there is a DM mode made available in Sword Coast Legends.

Now what the DM mode does is allow players to become their own Dungeon Master. If you tabletop fanatics are salivating at the mouth thinking that this is the mode that you think it is, well I'm here to tell you that this is the mode that you think it is.

Dungeon Master allows players to build their very own dungeons, complete with traps, treasures, monsters and hidden secrets. The mode is mirrored after tabletop role-playing for board games. Not only is it possible to create your own dungeons, but it's also possible to share those dungeons with friends and challenge them to complete whatever nefarious contraptions and machinations you've cooked up in the brewery of dungeon crafting.

The only thing to watch out for is that a lot of the user reviews for the game haven't been kind. It currently has a “Mixed” rating on the Steam store, and this is in result to a number of things that gamers feel weren't done right and proper in Sword Coast Legends, ranging from the lack of proper multi-classing to a lack of certain classes such as Druids.

Another common complaint is that the game's combat is not quite as in-depth as some other cRPGs on the market. The main issue is that the reviews state that skills and abilities have really long cool-downs, so most of the fight is automated with players just kind of overseeing what's happening rather than actively partaking in the micromanagement of skills and combat abilities. It's also mentioned that the combat isn't quite action-RPG oriented, so there's no active role that players partake in when dealing with their party members.

A few users described the game as being designed for casuals who aren't really heavy in the Dungeons & Dragons rulesets but want a fantasy medieval game with magic, swords and boards.

If you're interested in the game you can pick up a digital copy on PC right now over on the Steam store for $39.99.

It’s hard to imagine any other actor more gung-ho about Dungeons & Dragons than Vin Diesel. The movie star constantly muses about his love for D&D on social media, has third-party books typically owned by old-school D&D fans, and he played a massive game with the folks at Nerdist. (Side note: He played as a custom-made "witch hunter" class created by the Nerdist crew.) Given how studios love passionate actors who will vie for their properties, might he then want to star in Warner Bros.’ upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie?

During the press junket for The Last Witch Hunter, Cinema Blend geeked out with Diesel over the beloved role-playing game. (Check back later for more on the hidden links between the film and D&D.) Something that came up was the upcoming film adaptation that was placed in development after that longtime lawsuit was finally settled. As for whether or not Vin Diesel wants a part in it, he explained, 

The first attempt at a live-action Dungeons & Dragons feature film came in 2000 from director Courtney Solomon. Jeremy Irons portrayed villainous mage Profion, while Justin Whalin and Marlon Wayans played two of the lead characters. There have been other attempts since, such as Wrath of the Dragon God in 2005 and The Book of Vile Darkness in 2012, but none stuck. 

Vin Diesel continued to say that he considers D&D sacred territory, so if the WB wants him for the new adaptation, they’d have to turn out something major. He explained, 

Vin Diesel can be seen next in The Last Witch Hunter on October 23. And hopefully in a D&D movie somewhere down the line. 

Dungeons & Dragons is venturing back into the land of video games with the announcement that n-Space and Digital Extremes will be launching Sword Coast Legends, a new RPG adventure, for both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this year.

Set to release in “late 2015,” according to Business Wire, players can expect all of the traditional top-down questing goodness of classic games set within the world of D&D, yet to arrive on modern consoles. In case you’re thinking that Sword Coast Legends sounds familiar, it’s because a PC, Mac and Linux version were already announced a while back, and have now been officially given a launch date of Sept. 8.

According to Director Dan Tudge, Sword Coast Legends will offer up all of the typical questing and looting players expect out of games set within the Forgotten Realms, with the added bonus of party-based gameplay.

“We’ve had a clear goal since day one to evoke the classic D&D experience between four players and a Dungeon Master, and to bring back memories of the great D&D games of the past,” Tudge added. “…They clamored for console…so we circled back and figured out how to do it without compromising our vision for PC gamers.”

According to D&D brand director Nathan Stewart, the team sees bringing Sword Coast Legends to more platforms as nothing but a good thing.

“We love that Sword Coast Legends delivers the authentic D&D experience by letting friends tell great fantasy stories together,” Stewart said. “With SCL being available on so many platforms, it doesn’t matter if you game on a couch, at the kitchen table or your desk—you’ll be able to join your party for some glorious D&D dungeon delves.”

Along with a “massive story campaign,” the development team is promising deep character customization, party-based gameplay, NPC interaction and an “active and reactive Dungeon Master” to put players through their paces.

The game will also include campaign creation tools for crafting additional adventures, rules pulled from the current Fifth Edition of the core game, as well as plans for lots of DLC and additional modules.

At launch, Sword Coast Legends will set you back the usual $60 for the standard edition and a whopping $239.99 for the collector’s edition, which boasts a Tome of Knowledge, a cloth map, the official soundtrack, a bunch of in-game bonuses and starter items, as well as a statue of the demon Belaphoss.

If you’re gaming on Steam or the PlayStation 4, though, you can go ahead and pre-order the game for a discounted $34.99. As an added bonus, PS4 pre-orders will also net you $10 worth of in-game currency for the free-to-play action title, Warframe.