Fans have been trained to expect the worst from Hollywood adaptations. Anytime something you love is announced as the next mega blockbuster, your heart sinks. Surely, they’re going to screw it up and ruin your childhood. Which is what happens 90% of the time.
But that 10% of the time? When Hollywood doesn’t screw it up? It’s glorious. And that’s what happened, rather surprisingly, earlier this year with Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Adapting a property as massive, in both scope and popularity, as D&D seemed impossible, but directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley made it work, by telling an original story inspired by the spirit of the franchise, and then covering it with Easter eggs and references. The result was an incredible 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a 93% audience score, but that didn’t translate into the box office. Dungeons and Dragons only grossed a little over $US208 million which, when you factor in everything it takes to make and release a movie, is certainly not enough profit to make a sequel.
But there’s no denying most people who saw the movie loved it. And in a new interview, one of those stars, Chris Pine, offered a small glimmer of hope. “I’ve heard some rumours about it,” Pine told GamesRadar. “But I don’t know anything yet. But I feel pretty confident that it may happen.” Pine also said he’d love to come back if that happens.
To which we say, hell yes! That’s fantastic news. Of course, it’s far from official but Pine hearing and acknowledging rumors means that someone out there realizes money isn’t everything. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a movie that will gain fans every single day it exists and, if a sequel does happen, the original’s enduring quality could point to its follow-up being much, much bigger.
Some of the biggest franchises ever didn’t start as massive as they became. But, a studio’s confidence in them made them popular. The Fast and Furious franchise saw grosses on its fourth and fifth films each double the previous movies. Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins didn’t even make $US400 million before The Dark Knight made over a billion. And the first Austin Powers didn’t even make $US70 million, but its sequels grossed about $US300 million each. In all cases, studios knew they had something good and audiences liked it. They just needed to bet on it one, or a few, more times.
Fingers crossed Paramount rolls those dice on Dungeons and Dragons again too.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video.
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