During an interview with Empire, Chris Pine shared why he considers “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” to be the successful adaptation fans have been waiting for. To his mind, the project found its feet by collaborating with Wizards of the Coast, the company behind the famous tabletop role-playing game, and by allowing the directors, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, to frame everything within their artistic viewpoint. Pine said:
“I think we benefitted from having Wizards of the Coast involved, so we could make something that was in line with the world, but you also need to have artists with a perspective to bring it to life, and I credit John and Jonathan with having a viewpoint. They can own it and either cry victory or fall on their sword, so to speak. But it’s not diluted, and I feel quite proud of that. I think we made a film that both players and non-players will like.”
Further expanding upon what Pine meant, Goldstein broke down how he and Daley brought elements of the table top RPG to the big screen, stating that he used his own mother as the baseline for what could and couldn’t be expressed. Goldstein said that:
“We created each sequence in a way that, if you know nothing about D&D, you’re still gonna enjoy it, because it’s not specific to your knowledge of the game. I would always go back to, ‘Would my mom understand this?'”
There you have it. Goldstein and Daley worked with Wizards of the Coast to honor the source material but they also fashioned a film with the express intent of shepherding new fans into the fold. If you’re not careful, it’ll be you out shopping for dice, soon.