‘Dungeons And Dragons’ Trailer Suggests Paramount Learned The Right Lessons From Sony’s ‘Jumanji’ Sequels

Paramount went first (among major studio panels) at this year’s SDCC, which gave them a slight advantage in terms of free attention and cutting through the crowded media ecosystem. Although I will also note, in terms of the “Is Comic Con still useful to Hollywood?” discourse, Universal got plenty of free coverage and social media coverage over the teaser for Chris Nolan’s Oppenheimer. That teaser is a barebones announcement that was only in IMAX theatrical showings of Nope beginning last night. Anyway, the big pitch was for the all-star Dungeons and Dragons movie, subtitled Honor Among Thieves. So far, it looks perfectly okay.

The trailer has a certain Big Trouble in Little China vibe, namely that Chris Pine’s “handsome white guy heroic protagonist” is depicted as among the least helpful crew members. Overall, it looks enjoyable enough, and it’s trying to pass the Jumanji test. Paramount packed this eOne flick with a deluge of recognizable names, including Pine, Michelle Rodriguez (who will hopefully get to be more than just the “ass-kicking chick”), Regé-Jean Page (from Bridgerton), Justice Smith (from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Detective Pikachu), Sophia Lillis (young Beverly in It), Chloe Coleman (My Spy, Avatar: The Way of Water), Daisy Head and Hugh Grant (that guy from Paddington 2).

Sony’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle offered up an inverse of the original Jumanji (now the kids are inside the game), a fun hook involving kids acting out the adventure inside stylized video game avatars and a terrific kid-friendly cast (Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas). That the Jake Kasdan-directed film was surprisingly good only made it a better deal for folks who wanted another Jumanji and (most importantly) those who couldn’t care less about the IP. Likewise, this wants to look appealing to those who don’t care about Dungeons and Dragons but wouldn’t mind a comedic action fantasy starring that case.

It helps that it’s helmed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (who directed the terrific Game Night) and written by them along with Michael Gillo with a story from Gillo and Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War). The pedigree is there. I would have previously considered a Dungeons and Dragons movie to be a clear case of “IP for the sake of IP.” However, Paramount’s been on a previously unthinkable winning streak and I’d like to think those in charge are aware that they must treat the IP as the start of the process rather than the entire pitch.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves opens on March 3, 2023, a prime slot for essentially the kick-off of the “pre-summer but not quite summer” period. However, it’ll exist within a ridiculously crowded March alongside MGM’s Creed III (also March 3), Disney’s The Haunted Mansion (March 10), Warner Bros. Discovery’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (March 17), Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 (March 24) and Paramount’s own Scream 6 (March 31). If all or most of these films that thrive concurrently, partying like it’s March 2017 (Logan, Skull Island, Beauty and the Beast, Power Rangers, Ghost in the Shell, The Boss Baby), then we’ll know for sure that “movie theaters have been saved.”