The Dungeons & Dragons franchise has been around for decades and has had mixed fortunes in terms of the various movies, TV shows, games, and other products based on the original tabletop game. Will the new movie due out this year be a hit or is it more likely to disappear without a trace?
What’s It About?
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is described as a fantasy action adventure. Based on the Forgotten Realms campaign from the original game, it has no relation to the earlier trilogy of D&D movies and stars Chis Pine (as Edgin the Bard), Justice Smith (as Simon the Sorcerer), and Michelle Rodriguez (as Holga the Barbarian), among others.
According to the trailer and the details on this Honor Among Thieves website, the overall idea is that a group of thieves and adventurers set off on a trip to a dangerous realm as they look to recover a valuable relic, but they run into trouble and need to try and stop evil forces from taking over the world. The trailer suggests a light-hearted approach with over-the-top fight scenes and playful dialog.
Is the Fantasy Genre Still Popular?
Since the Dungeons and Dragons board game was first released in 1974 and some of the more recent spin-offs have flopped, perhaps the biggest question is whether this franchise is still relevant. It was reported at the start of 2023 that the game has about 50 million players, although many aren’t active and the D&D Online games have just over 20,000 active players on a daily basis.
Perhaps the popularity of the wider fantasy genre gives us a better idea of the chance of success, as the likes of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon have shown that people still want to see this kind of action. What we’ve seen of Honor Among Thieves to date suggests that it may be closer in style to some of the recent superhero films, which have generally been extremely successful at the box office.
The fantasy genre can also be seen in a variety of popular online slot games like King of Crystals and Simsalaspinn 2. We can see how big this market is by looking at BonusFinder: PA online casino no deposit bonuses reviewed to see names like the FanDuel, BetMGM, and Borgata casinos, where welcome packages are used to encourage new players to join. Fantasy slots are seen among many other themes on this site.
In terms of new video games, Dicebreaker revealed at the end of last year that work was being carried out on an as-yet-untitled game from Invoke Studios. Said to be inspired by Dungeons & Dragons rather than a 100% faithful version of the board game, it could help to bring the franchise back into the public eye again.
We’ll Soon Find Out
The new movie will be released in the US at the end of March, and fans of the game will no doubt be keen to see whether the producers have managed to translate the D&D experience into a movie without losing any of its appeal and originality.
