Honor Among Thieves

Dungeons & Dragons (working title Chainmail) is a live-action movie based on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise and set in Neverwinter in the Forgotten Realms. It is currently in production by Paramount Pictures. It is written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley and stars Hugh Grant, Chris Pine, and Michelle Rodriguez, as well as Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Regé-Jean Page, Chloe Coleman, Jason Wong, Daisy Head, and Dexter Fletcher. Filming is currently underway in England, Northern Ireland, and Iceland, and it is due for release in 2023.

Warner Bros.
The story began with a screenplay called Chainmail, or Untitled Dungeons & Dragons Project, written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (Wrath of the Titans) in 2011/2012. It was named for and apparently based on the Chainmail miniatures wargame developed by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren that was a precursor to Dungeons & Dragons. Warner Bros. executive Jon Berg had asked Johnson to develop a screenplay based on D&D, despite Warner Bros. not then having the rights. Described as an action-adventure fantasy film, Johnson's script was well received at Warner Bros. in August 2012. So well received that, by September 18, 2012, Warner Bros. acquired rights from Courtney Solomon and Allan Zeman of Sweetpea Entertainment (the D&D movie rights holders since acquiring them from TSR, Inc. in the early 90s and known for the original Dungeons & Dragons movie in 2000) to make a new Dungeons & Dragons live-action movie. It was to be produced by John Middleton and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment (The Lego Movie, How to Train Your Dragon) and executive produced by Solomon and Zeman. The Chainmail script was adopted and appropriately enough retrofitted to suit Dungeons & Dragons just as its namesake game had been, and renamed Dungeons and Dragons. This was widely reported on May 7, 2013.

However, only a day later, it was reported Hasbro, owners of Wizards of the Coast and therefore D&D, were arguing the movie rights were theirs and furthermore were planning a movie with Universal Studios, directed by Chris Morgan (writer of the Fast & Furious franchise and 47 Ronin). They subsequently developed a script, titled Forgotten Realms: Dungeons & Dragons, its logline "Kept under wraps." by March 24, 2014. This was the first connection of either movie to the Forgotten Realms setting.

There followed much complicated legal wrangling beyond the scope of a D&D wiki, but it did depend on whether The Book of Vile Darkness was a sequel to the previous Dungeons & Dragons and Wrath of the Dragon God movies. They, and D&D fandom, will never know the answer to that question as, following a six-day trial in September 2014, Hasbro, Warner Bros., and Sweetpea settled out of court on the rights to a D&D movie. On August 3, 2015, it was reported they planned to make the D&D movie together, continuing the Warner Bros. project with the involvement of Hasbro's chief executive Brian Goldner and chief content officer Stephen Davis as producers. According to Greg Silverman, president of creative development and worldwide production at Warner Bros., "We are so excited about bringing the world of Dungeons & Dragons to life on the big screen. This is far and away the most well-known brand in fantasy, which is the genre that drives the most passionate film followings. D&D has endless creative possibilities, giving our filmmakers immense opportunities to delight and thrill both fans and moviegoers new to the property." Still using Johnson's Chainmail script, it was said to be set in the Forgotten Realms. In an interview with Collider at DICE 2016, Roy Lee suggested the Warner Bros. movie would be an ensemble picture, with a group of main characters, and have an adventurous feel, commenting "This new Dungeons & Dragons will be a Guardians of the Galaxy–tone movie in a Tolkien-like universe. Because when you think of all the Hobbit movies and The Lord of the Rings, they have an earnestness to them, and to see something fun, a Raiders romp inside that world, I feel is something the audience has not seen before." Of Warner Bros., he said "I believe they see Dungeons & Dragons as something that could be cultivated as a multi-universe movie where there will be spinoffs from the first movie being in Forgotten Realms and subsequent movies being in different worlds." He also promised it would go deep into the source material and that the writer and others were all long-term D&D fans: "everyone who's involved with it now, especially the writer of the first draft is a fan from the very beginning starting with Chainmail, which turned into Dungeons & Dragons, so you'll see things that are very faithful to the source material as well as new elements are being incorporated with help from Wizards of the Coast, who are giving a lot of input on the script." He revealed the movie would be entirely set within the Forgotten Realms, with the Yawning Portal Inn being a prominent feature and set piece of the movie.

On March 31, 2016, Rob Letterman (Gulliver's Travels, Goosebumps) was confirmed to direct the D&D movie after a successful presentation to executives. Meanwhile, producers were rumored to be looking for an actor like Vin Diesel, a well-known D&D fan. On June 27, 2016, Ansel Elgort (The Divergent Series, Baby Driver) was reported to be in early talks to star. Dwayne Johnson was also in discussions to star at some point.

Paramount
However, a year and a half later, on December 18, 2017, Warner Bros. confirmed it was no longer developing a Dungeons & Dragons movie, while Paramount Pictures suddenly announced their own, to be released on July 23, 2021. This was alongside other movies based on other Hasbro properties, as part of a shared universe with Hasbro's Allspark Pictures.

On February 20, 2018, Chris McKay (director of The Lego Batman Movie) was reported to be in negotiations to direct the Dungeons & Dragons movie. Davis, Goldner, Lee, Solomon, and Zeman were all still producing. Michael Gillio was apparently rewriting Johnson's script. On March 8, 2018, Paramount was reportedly considering filming in the United Kingdom. It was reported on November 2, 2018, that principal photography would begin in summer of 2019. Furthermore, Shari Hanson (a visual effects producer for many Paramount movies) was added as a producer.

On March 12, 2019, it was reported Gillio had submitted a new script and Paramount was so satisfied that, while final revisions were being made, they would begin looking for a new lead male actor from a shortlist of A-listers, naming Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, Johnny Depp, Vin Diesel, Joel Edgerton, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Chris Pratt, Jeremy Renner and Will Smith.

However, Chris McKay moved on to another movie and by July 30, 2019, was replaced as director by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (directors of Game Night and co-writers of Spider-Man: Homecoming). Two days later, a source told wegotthiscovered.com that Goldstein and Daley were trying to get Zac Efron to play an important character named Malanthius, a big but not leading role.

Eventually, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic causing studio closures, filming delays, and difficulties, on April 24, 2020, the movie was delayed from November 19, 2021, to May 27, 2022, putting it in the middle of blockbuster movie season. By now, Goldstein and Daley had taken over scriptwriting. By May 7, 2020, Jeremy Latcham, a producer of several movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, had signed on with Hasbro's Entertainment One (eOne) studio and would work on the Dungeons & Dragons movie. On May 28, 2020, The Hollywood Reporter published an interview with Goldstein and Daley, in which they discussed how the pandemic lockdown affected their plans for the D&D movie, among other things. Their plans to scout locations in the United Kingdom in March were curtailed by the shutdown of travel, and they wrote the second draft while in isolation, while large crowd scenes were being reconsidered. Goldstein said "We want it to be fun. It's not an out-and-out comedy, but it is an action-fantasy movie with a lot of comedic elements and characters we hope people will really get into and enjoy watching their adventures." while Daley said "D&D is such a unique look at the fantasy genre where it is contemporary in terms of the people playing it and the way they speak to each other. So we never wanted to spoof the genre of fantasy or take the piss out of it. But we did want to find another way into it that we hadn't necessarily seen before. Just the format of Dungeons & Dragons is so interesting and fun and all about critical thinking and thinking on your feet and figuring out ways to make things work after they fall flat. There's a lot of the spirit of that that we're trying to inject into the movie itself."

Cinematographer Barry Peterson announced on Instagram on August 23, 2020 "D&D coming soon." and confirmed filming in Ireland, while sharing an image of a dragon's eye. This is a recolored and cropped version of a widely available desktop wallpaper image, suggesting it is a mock-up if nothing else.

On April 4, 2021, Paramount announced delays for ten of its movies, including the D&D movie, which was pushed back from May 27, 2022, to March 3, 2023.

Casting
Chris Pine (Star Trek, Wonder Woman) was reported on December 14 to be in negotiations to star. The next week, the site Illuminerdi claimed an exclusive report, giving details about Chris Pine's character, called Edgin.

By February 8, 2021, Michelle Rodriguez (Fast & Furious and Resident Evil franchises among others) and Justice Smith (Detective Pikachu and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), had closed deals to star in the movie, while Chris Pine was confirmed. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Rodriguez revealed her role as a barbarian: "You know what, I'm gonna be a barbarian in this one. And so, you know, I've just been training. I've been— lots of protein, oh my god, and I'm hoping to gain the weight necessary to just be able to carry an axe appropriately. So I'm in the mix with Chris, Chris Pine, I can't wait to work with him. I've always heard nothing but great things about this guy. And we're about to be in Ireland, man, you know, in the bubble." The bubble is coronovirus precautions, with testing three times a week.

Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton, Mortal Engines) was added a week later. In an interview with Variety in May, 2021, Page explained he wasn't a D&D player but said "I've listened to a couple of Dungeons and Dragons podcasts in my time. I played a ton of JRPGs and basically everything that's come out of it. I played a ton of Diablo as a teenager, so I'm used to the fact that I play a paladin—that's just what I do, and I know what that means, to a degree. I watched my friends play Baldur's Gate, so I’m like a second-generation 'Dungeons and Dragoner'." He recruited friends to teach him about D&D, adding "There is nowhere better or bigger to learn new worlds from than D&D." He said he was attracted by the Dungeons & Dragons movie script, observing it had stepped up and raised the bar for fantasy movies and would be a "huge sigh of relief for Dungeons & Dragons fans everywhere." Goldstein mentioned Page's role "allows him to show a full spectrum of his talent" and "He naturally exudes a sense of dignity and heroism that is fitting for the fantasy genre, and is perfect for the role we cast him in."

Hugh Grant, star of countless films, and Sophia Lillis (It, I Am Not Okay With This) were later reported to have joined by March 2. Grant was stated to be playing a villainous role. Various news sites added the rumor that Grant's character would be named "Forge Fletcher" and Lillis's "Doric", but the basis for this is unknown. In an interview with Screen Daily published on June 24, Grant said he hadn't played Dungeons & Dragons before but the movie, as a "great big, expensive Hollywood blockbuster" offered the chance to do something different and said "But more than that I laughed at the script. It's hard to please me, but it had real charm and moved me. I was certainly not expecting that." He could neither confirm nor deny reports that he's playing the villain.

Chloe Coleman (My Spy, Avatar 2) was added to the cast by April 21. Jason Wong (The Gentlemen) was reported on May 13 to be playing a character called Drallas (also reported as Dralas). A week later, Daisy Head (Shadow and Bone) was reported to have joined the cast.

Dexter Fletcher (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Rocketman) revealed in an interview with Alex Zane of the Just the Facts podcast, released June 2, that he had a small role in the Dungeons & Dragons movie: "I just did Dungeons & Dragons as well... I only did it the other day as a favor, for a mate... Malamun, he's called. I am Michelle Rodriguez's ex-husband... I think I'm a goodie. It's hard for me to say, because I've got one scene where she comes and sees me, in my little house. I'm really diminutive, I've got a very tall wife... They gave me one scene, I don't know what that's about... They were like 'Can you come and do this one scene, it'll just be really lovely.' ...I had a a big beard."

Production
Filming was planned to begin in the first quarter of 2021, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at Titanic Studios, where Game of Thrones was filmed. However, the first filming took place in South Iceland, supervised by Truenorth Productions, as reported on April 7. Some 60–70 people were involved, using Icelandic stand-ins for the main cast who couldn't attend due to pandemic restrictions, and 15 visitors from overseas.

With the main cast, filming proper began in Belfast on April 29, with Goldstein posting a picture of the movie clapperboard for the first scene on Twitter on May 1, announcing "The campaign begins. #DnD", and Barry Peterson posting the same on Instagram with "Our adventure begins." Photographs of Titanic Studios taken around May 15–17 showed parts of the old King's Landing sets for Game of Thrones were rebuilt and others retained, with a new dark stone structure, artificial snow, and a blue screen added, seemingly for Dungeons & Dragons, though there may be some overlap with the GoT prequel House of the Dragon.

Filming began in the village of Ballintoy, Northern Ireland, on May 14; it had also been a location for Game of Thrones. Images of location filming being set up on the coast nearby appeared thereafter.

Filming was scheduled to take place around Wells Cathedral and Wells, Somerset, in England on June 2–5 and 8–12. Filming proper started on June 10, with first images showing Chloe Coleman and other actors in costume. Michelle Rodriguez was sighted half in costume a day or so later, and Hugh Grant shortly after.

Rumors also had filming scheduled to occur at Alnwick Castle (a location used for several movies) in Alnwick, Northumberland, with preparations going back to May 26th and the castle closed for a "private event" over June 7–12. Photos on June 4 showed the castle being embellished with fake lion-topped plinths and garden features, tracks being erased, tents outside and a market inside for the Dungeons & Dragons movie. The first images of filming at and around Alnwick Castle appeared on June 7 and 8, discussed below.

From around June 24, posts on social media reported film crew trailers and stages being set up at Carrickfergus Castle, in the castle, car park, and harbor. Images appeared on social media of medieval armored boats and paraphernalia, as well as Sophia Lillis in dressing gown and medieval boots hidden behind an umbrella. Friend of the FRW Gerald Clarke of Hibernoway later visited the castle and found it fenced off, and took pictures and video. On June 26, Michelle Rodriguez was seen arriving on set in costume, mask and dressing gown. On June 28, Chris Pine and Hugh Grant were seen at the castle in costume, with a glimpse of horned character who might be Sophia Lillis. The following day, Justice Smith, Chloe Coleman, and Sophia Lillis, as well as Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez, were all seen on set and joking together. June 30 was reportedly the final day of location filming at Carrickfergus with the actors, though more filming with stuntwork was expected.

Again from social media, the next sites for location filming are apparently the abandoned village of Galboly (previously a Games of Thrones site) and Fallowvee Cottage. Visitors reported Galboly to be fenced off by June 27 for a few weeks for filming of Dungeons & Dragons, starting July 7. This was confirmed when Barry Peterson posted an image from near Fallowvee on Instagram. Coincidentally, MovieExtras.ie made an urgent call on July 1 for children aged 12–14 to work as extras in a shoot in the nearby village of Carnlough on July 19 and 21; it's unknown if this is related.

Story
Images of filming at Alnwick Castle from June 7 onward showed the castle hung with banners, some displaying the blue three-snowflakes symbol of Neverwinter, confirming at least some of the movie is set there, and the same symbol in yellow and orange within a sun. Later images showed these sun banners removed. Other images showed warriors in armor and head tattoos, a boat on a river, artificial smoke or mist, a collection of tents outside and a small market inside, and extras dressed as knights, peasants, nobles, and merchants (see Gallery, below).

Meanwhile, images of filming at Wells Cathedral from June 10 showed Chloe Coleman, Michelle Rodriguez, and Hugh Grant in costume, and similar knights and noble characters in medieval dress.

Later, at Carrickfergus Castle, the harbor was dressed as a docks with boats, stacks of cargo, and the castle entrance given false stonework. Chloe Coleman, Sophia Lillis, Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Justice Smith were seen together in costume, and Hugh Grant was seen elsewhere.

A few prominent boats were seen. The most notable is a large black-hulled vessel covered over with spiked armored plates and bearing a battering ram ending in a copper dragon head, colored to resemble old copper. It resembles a Korean geobukseon (or turtle ship). Coleman, Lillis, Pine, Rodriguez, and Smith appeared to have a scene on board. This ship was later transported to Titanic Studios. Two ships are of Irish design: a currach (or curragh) and a Galway hooker (or clipper) with black-painted hull (teal or aquamarine below the waterline) and red sails. The Galway hooker was apparently transported from Abu Dhabi in a temperature-controlled container to preserve its sails.

A Wizards of the Coast press release on May 21, 2021, confirmed the Paramount movie is set in the Forgotten Realms and that it's not focused on Drizzt Do'Urden.

Story Rumors
As to the story itself, various versions have been reported or rumored thus far. A preregistered copyright filed with the United States Copyright Office on May 12, 2021, gave a brief précis of the plot: "An ex-Harper turned thief escapes from prison with his partner, a female barbarian, and reunites with a no-talent wizard and a druid new to their team in an effort to rob the cheating conman who stole all their loot from the heist that landed them behind bars, and used it to install himself as the Lord of Neverwinter. Only the traitor is allied with a powerful Red Wizard who has something far more sinister in store."

This was subsequently reported to be "not accurate", according to unnamed sources and confirmations, perhaps because of a contradiction with earlier reported stories (below). Darryl Mott of Enworld offered more cogent reasons for this: as a placeholder description for copyright preregistration, it does not need to be official and may be an earlier or falsified version to prevent spoilers. Nevertheless, it is not necessarily incorrect as the extent of this inaccuracy is unclear, and it also does not necessarily conflict with the following accounts. Furthermore, images of actors in costume and the Neverwinter setting appear to bear out elements of this story.

Meanwhile, on movie-industry spec script resource The Tracking Board, the logline given for the original Chainmail script on September 18, 2012, reads: "Centers on a warrior and his band of mystical creatures who embark on a dangerous journey to find a mythical treasure."

This would expand slightly over time, with the logline for Dungeons & Dragons on August 3, 2015, (after the Hasbro/Warner Bros. partnership on the movie) reading: "Based on the iconic game, a warrior and his band of mystical creatures – including a half-dragon and a cunning gnome – embark on a dangerous journey to find a mythical treasure."

Industry publication Production Weekly gave a similar description as late as April 8, 2021: "The action-adventure tale centers on Edgin (Pine) a warrior and his band of mystical creatures – including a half-dragon and a cunning gnome – as they embark on a dangerous journey to find a mythical treasure."

This aligns closely with the following rumors and reports, but may also be out-of-date or falsified as this version dates back to the original Johnson-McGoldrick Chainmail script for Warner Bros., before the Gillio rewrite for Paramount. It is unknown what, if anything, remains of the original storyline; Johnson-McGoldrick's name is no longer attached, only Gillio's, but the Chainmail working title is retained. Furthermore, the Universal Forgotten Realms: Dungeons & Dragons may have been used instead or merged with Chainmail. Nevertheless, this description was updated to include Chris Pine and the Edgin character, who presumably replaces Raven Hightower.

On June 27, 2016, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News claimed to have seen Johnson-McGoldrick's first draft of the script. Apparently named Dungeons & Dragons: The Hand of Chaos, it is an "Object Quest style D&D story", described as more like Indiana Jones than Warcraft, with "competitors and traitors and all manners of magic and monsters and Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson inspired awesomery throughout." Characters include Raven Hightower, played by Ansel Elgort; a gnome cutpurse, a bald warlock, and a half-dragon, possibly fighting a gnoll at some point. (Incidentally, The Hand of Chaos shares a name with a non-D&D fantasy novel by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, noted writers of the Dragonlance D&D setting.)

On November 27, 2019, both FandomWire and Comicbook.com claimed exclusive reports from sources on the Paramount movie's plot and characters, giving details that tallied with the earlier reports about the Warner Bros. project, with FandomWire giving much more detail and the two differing in some spellings. "Fantasy adventure centering on a warrior and his band of mystical creatures as they embark on a dangerous journey to find a mythical treasure."

Both also revolve around the gold dragon Palarandusk and the Triadic Knights. Comicbook.com adds that they are "looking for the Eye of Vecna". Characters are detailed below.

Characters
Confirmed characters in the movie are:
 * A unnamed axe-wielding barbarian, played by Michelle Rodriguez.
 * Malamun or Malaman (spelling unknown), played by Dexter Fletcher. Bearded and diminutive, he lives in a small house, and is thus likely to be a dwarf, gnome, or halfling. He is the ex-husband of Michelle Rodriguez's character.

Assorted rumored characters are:
 * Edgin, played by Chris Pine, a warrior.  In his 30s to late 40s, Edgin is said to be "down on his luck and not the classic hero, but still lovable" and "Edgin is comedic, but with demons." This character is described as similar to Peter Quill/Starlord of Guardians of the Galaxy. (He apparently replaces Raven Hightower.)
 * A paladin, played by Regé-Jean Page. (It's unclear if Page is referring to the movie or his Diablo character.)
 * Forge Fletcher, played by Hugh Grant
 * Doric, played by Sophia Lillis
 * Drallas or Dralas, played by Jason Wong

The characters reported to the Copyright Office are:
 * An ex-Harper turned thief.
 * A female barbarian.
 * A no-talent wizard.
 * A druid.
 * A conman turned Lord of Neverwinter.
 * A Red Wizard.

The characters reported by Tracking Board, Production Weekly, Aint it Cool, Comicbook.com, and FandomWire are:
 * Raven Hightower, a warrior with a magical flaming sword and wearing leather armor and oiled cloak. He has long hair, a beard, and dark sunken eyes. He and his sister were once slaves, possibly of Razer Horlbar. He is an honorable man but haunted by his sister's death.  He explores "the Demon Temples" alongside Zanril and Karroway. A leading male role in 88 scenes. (Possibly replaced by Edgin.)
 * Hack Karroway, a half-dragon and former human. He can breathe fire, wielded a large bastard sword and wears armor. He is 7 feet tall and has a long tail, and blood-red scales. He is logical and intelligent. He explores "the Demon Temples" alongside Hightower and Zanril. A leading male role in 77 scenes played via voice-over.
 * Otivan Trickfoot or Olivan Trickfoot, a gnome thief.  He is cunning and untrustworthy.   He wears magical rings. A strong supporting male role in 51 scenes.
 * Alyssa Steelsong, the leader of "the masked warriors" and set to take Palarandusk's place as Lord Protector of the Triadic Knights after his death. She uses a mace. A strong supporting female role in 41 scenes.
 * Malanthius, a spellcaster. He is young, slender, and has long hair. A potential ally of the main characters; an important but not leading role. A strong supporting male role in 26 scenes. (This character has a very similar name and occupation as the Magister Malanthus Stormstaern.)
 * Palarandusk, an ancient gold dragon and Lord Protector of a group of Triadic Knights. He has catfish-like whiskers and his scales are cracked and spines dangling. He eats gemstones. A supporting male role in 3 scenes. (Palarandusk is a gold dragon known to be a protector of Neverwinter and Ieirithymbul), while "Lord Protector" is a title for leaders of Neverwinter like Dagult Neverember.)
 * Razer Horlbar, an elf and leader of "the cloaked men", including Damaia and The Beast. He is the main villain and once enslaved Raven and his sister. He is handsome, has jet-black skin, long white hair, and pointed ears. A supporting male role in 14 scenes. (Presumably he is a drow and a member of House Horlbar.)
 * Damaia or Damala, a tiefling descended from demons who has horns, a long tail, and pointed teeth. A supporting female role in 10 scenes. ("Damaia" is a suggested female tiefling name in Player's Handbook 4th edition and Player's Handbook 5th edition.)
 * The Beast, a brutish warrior. He is huge and wears a cloak and a blank wooden mask. A supporting male role in 9 scenes.
 * Bickety, a human swordsman and adventurer with a scarred face. A supporting male role in 9 scenes.
 * Zanril, a warlock adventurer. He's bald. He explores "the Demon Temples" alongside Hightower and Karroway. A supporting male role in 9 scenes.
 * Skeever, a half-orc adventurer. A supporting male role in 7 scenes.

Gallery

 * See pages on individual actors (links above) for photos specifically of them.
 * Alnwick Castle location shooting