While the extent of his role in the film remains unclear, Hugh Grant has a hilarious reason for joining Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Based on Wizards of the Coast’s tabletop game of the same name, the story revolves around a bard and his group of adventurers as they attempt to recover an artifact they stole for a dangerous being intent on destroying the world. Chris Pine is leading the ensemble cast of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves alongside Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant, Chloe Coleman, Jason Wong and Daisy Head.
In a recent interview with Collider at Brazil’s Comic-Con Experience, Hugh Grant opened up about his time working on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. When asked about working with writing/directing duo John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Grant shared the hilarious reason for wanting to join the adaptation of the iconic tabletop game, citing the various characters’ “loser-ish” natures in the story. See what Grant explained below:
I think maybe what I responded to most in their script was that it’s about losers. This little band of comrades, they’re all a bit crap. You are not great at being a bard. And the magician, played by Justice [Smith], is really bad. What do they call magicians in Dungeons & Dragons? Sorcerer. He’s not much good. And Michelle [Rodriguez’s] character has been thrown out of whatever. What is she? Barbarian. And is still in love with her husband, who is in love with someone else. And I responded to that loser-ish thing about this little band. Maybe that’s an English predilection. We love a loser.
Though the marketing for the film has attempted to highlight its brighter tone and fast-paced nature, Grant’s reason for wanting to join Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves may be one of the most promising signs the movie has going for it thus far. One of the biggest joys for players of the tabletop game comes from trying to build one’s character up to becoming a proper hero, working with the dungeon master to craft an extensive backstory to factor in to the DM’s campaign and their actions within it. Coming into a campaign with an overpowered character not only doesn’t allow for any development, but also quickly wraps up any hurdles placed in front of them, including the various monsters shown off in the film’s trailers.
The most recent Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves video offered a deeper tease of some of the loser qualities Grant has teased for the film’s characters, including how it will play into their fight scenes. While Rodriguez’s barbarian Holga was expected to be the muscle of the group, the footage indicated that some of their skills in scenes would come from a matter of sheer luck, getting her weapon by accident after it was knocked out of the hands of an enemy. With Pine’s bard Edgin also humorously set up as a leader who makes plans that fail, despite his arguing he’s a good improviser, and little shown of Smith’s sorcerer Simon showing off his abilities, it’s clear the group will have a lot of growing to do in the film.
With Grant indicating the film will focus on characters far more likely to be familiar to those who have played the tabletop game than larger heroes, it seems clear that Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is in the hands of those who understand the appeal of the games and want to retain the spirit and tone of it. Considering the original film is not only considered one of the worst films of all-time, but also a terrible attempt at adapting the world of Dungeons & Dragons for the screen, any indication that the new film will hew closer to its source is sure to help build further anticipation for its arrival. Only time will tell if it can meet fans’ expectations when Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves hits theaters on March 31.
Source: Collider
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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves