Partway through Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the adventure-comedy turns into a reverse heist film as the party worms their way into Castle Never's vault with some nifty portal usage. With the Hither-Thither Staff, they organize an elaborate scheme, placing a portal on the underside of a painting and sneaking it into a carriage en route to the castle, so it eventually ends up on the inside. Coolest of all, however, is the fact that so much of the sequence was done through practical effects. Ahead of the film's digital release, Collider can exclusively reveal a new featurette that shows the level of effort put in to make the "Portal Heist" work despite all the complications.
Directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley had a perfect idea of how portals should work in Honor Among Thieves, but it wasn't immediately clear what they were doing to the rest of the team. As Justice Smith explained, it drew from the best heist plots in that all pieces needed to be in place in order to see and understand the plan. The portals give the plan a unique Dungeons & Dragons edge and made it all the more confusing for all involved. The biggest challenge was working out how to have Doric (Sophia Lillis) flip through the portal and into the carriage practically. It required shooting upside down and constructing a set that allowed her and Smith to easily slip between locations. That became all the more challenging, however, when the portrait drops while Smith's Simon is sticking through, which required some serious physics calculations to work out what would happen. Goldstein and Daley also worked closely with Wizards of the Coast to ensure the magic and everything worked as it would in the game. In its earliest form, the scene stumped even editors who weren't entirely sure what the actors were doing. Producer Jeremy Latcham compared it to a puzzle box slowly being solved as edits were made, ending in a seamless scene in the final movie.
The adherence to practical effects was among the thing Chris Pine loved most about Honor Among Thieves, comparing it to classics like Willow or The Princess Bride. It wasn't just about thinking with portals either. Smith and Lillis praised the use of animatronics to create the fierce, iconic monsters of D&D like Themberchaud the Pudgy Dragon. It only adds to the reasons why audiences fell in love with this film.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Recreated the Energy of a Real Campaign
Honor Among Thieves followed Pine as the charming bard Edgin who joins a party of adventurers on an epic quest to steal an ancient relic and save the land only to run afoul of dangerous foes. Part of the charm of the group is how they manage to capture the feel of a party of players in a tabletop session complete with all the comedy and occasional bumbling that entails. In her review, Collider's own Carly Lane praised the film for treating the world of the game with respect while presenting endearing characters that make the adventure all the more entertaining.
Pine, Smith, and Lillis star alongside Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Hugh Grant, Daisy Head, Jason Wong, and Chloe Coleman in the grand adventure. The film is the first part of eOne's plans to develop projects around D&D including a live-action series that is bound for Paramount+. There's also a documentary on the way in 2024 from Joe Manganiello and Kyle Newman to celebrate 50 years of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson's iconic game.
From Paramount Home Entertainment, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will be available to purchase on Digital today. All bonus features will be available with a digital purchase. Check out the exclusive featurette below: