D&D sets itself apart from Lord Of The Rings or Game Of Thrones, says director
John Francis Daley said ’embracing the bizarre nature of this world’ helped set it apart.
The co-director of Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves has compared the film with Star Wars but said it “definitely” sets itself apart from fantasy series The Lord Of The Rings and Game Of Thrones.
The heist comedy sees Star Trek actor Chris Pine in the main role as a bard called Edgin Darvis who tries to look after his daughter Kira, played by Avatar: The Way Of Water actress Chloe Coleman.
Michelle Rodriguez, who starred in The Fast And The Furious films, Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page, I Am Not Okay With This actress Sophia Lillis and Notting Hill actor Hugh Grant are also among the cast.
Asked how the film serves both fans and those who have not played D&D, co-director John Francis Daley told the PA news agency: “It was definitely the mandate as we were making it because we couldn’t make a film for any one of those two groups.
“It had to be cohesive and work on multiple levels and I think the way that we approached it was by not bogging down the audience with a ton of proper nouns and expecting them to know what was going on when we introduce them to the world.
“So it’s really kind of parcelling out the information and the context of this world in a way that felt natural, in the same way that the first Star Wars, you have no idea what’s going on politically in this world.
“You just can relate to the singular character of Luke Skywalker, and then the people that he meets along the way, and that was kind of our (philosophy).”
D&D started off as a tabletop game in the 1970s, where players would take the role of fantasy characters.
The fantasy content was adapted into a video game series called Neverwinter Nights, based in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and the 2000 film Dungeons & Dragons, starring Jeremy Irons.
Mr Daley also spoke about the importance of telling the story through a comedic lens.
He told PA: “It’s baked into D&D, it’s what makes it so different from anything in the fantasy space.
“There was always a sense of whimsy when it was being created, even 50 years ago, you look at the creatures, the gelatinous cube, do you think that was an entirely serious creation?
“So we were just kind of embracing the bizarre nature of this world and it allowed us to make something that definitely sets itself apart from The Lord Of The Rings or Game Of Thrones.”
Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves is out now.
