A Live-Action Dungeons & Dragons Show Must Repeat Honor Among Thieves’ Best Strength

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves emerged in 2023 to critical acclaim, despite box office disappointment, signposting the way for a live-action D&D TV show. A live-action Dungeons & Dragons TV show was being discussed at Paramount Pictures but was axed in May and is now being shopped around by Hasbro. With an Honor Among Thieves sequel on the rocks after Honor Among Thieves’ box office difficulty, a TV show is still an excellent way for the D&D franchise to expand. And, there are many things a TV show could learn from the excellent Honor Among Thieves.

A Dungeons & Dragons TV show wouldn’t have the box office to contend with, and the streaming model is arguably more suited to the franchise. The Legend of Vox Machina is an excellent D&D anime that has seen streaming success, proving that in-home TV viewers are open to the franchise. A D&D TV show could imitate some of the successes of Honor Among Thieves and discard some of its troubles, with some successes in particular worth replicating. Honor Among Thieves’ scenic filming locations weren’t the only thing that made the movie memorable and unique.

A Live-Action Dungeons & Dragons Show Must Capture Honor Among Thieves’ Humor

A D&D TV Show Must Have Strong Comedy

Honor Among Thieves was utterly hilarious, and any Dungeons & Dragons TV show that gets made should imitate this element of the movie. Honor Among Thieves was one of the funniest movies of 2023, and it held up well as one of the funniest movies around even well into 2024. The movie caricatured corporate existence in one of its opening scenes, as Edgin faced trial against the useless Absolution Council. This humor was critical, highlighting D&D’s relevance to the real world and contemporary existence. If a D&D TV show gets picked up, it should take note.

Why Dungeons & Dragons Adaptations Shouldn’t Take Themselves Too Seriously

D&D Thrives As A Fun Pastime

Dungeons & Dragons adaptations shouldn’t take themselves too seriously, as Honor Among Thieves’ comedy success exemplifies. Honor Among Thieves succeeded where previous D&D movies did not, in that it developed a functional and appropriate sense of humor. The Legend of Vox Machina did the same thing and has a similar sense of humor, employing satirical layers to accompany the fantasy. As a franchise uniquely based on a tabletop game, on-screen adaptations must find their own voices outside of any one novel-style piece of source material.

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Satire works for this franchise and there is untapped potential for a TV show to exploit, with numerous D&D campaign settings ignored by adaptations so far. Also, as of yet, D&D has neglected to adapt drow Drizzt Do’Urden, which is lamentable. What’s more, a TV adaptation should play into D&D’s innate strengths as a game – this is a pastime that is meant to be fun and lighthearted. The franchise could take a TV show to a dark place – which may suit Drizzt more than other characters – but levity is key to what makes Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves so enjoyable.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a fantasy action-comedy film based on the popular tabletop game and set in the Forgotten Realms campaign by the original creators. Chris Pine stars as a song-slinging thief named Edgin Darvis, who is hired to find a lost relic but manages to anger the wrong people along the way. With his mismatched crew, each inspired by a race and class from D&D lore, Edgin will lead his team to complete their task – and many innocent lives depend on it.

Director

Jonathan Goldstein , John Francis Daley

Release Date

March 31, 2023

Studio(s)

Paramount Pictures , Hasbro , Entertainment One

Distributor(s)

Paramount Pictures

Writers

Michael Gillio , Jonathan Goldstein , John Francis Daley

Runtime

134 Minutes

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