D&D Movie/TV Directors: No fourth wall breaks in Honor Among Thieves

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Per IGN and, from there, Gizmodo:

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves writer/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein didn't feel the need to include a meta gameplay storyline in their fantasy adventure, they revealed during a panel at IGN Fan Fest.

Or, as Daley put it more simply, "this is not Jumanji."

"We talked about it, but we made a decision that we did not want to break the fourth wall," he said. "There's so much fun to be had just in the world of D&D that we didn't have to bring it into our world and show kids playing."

But bad news for the folks mad about the rule of cool being in full force in the trailers:

"We definitely played by the rule of cool when it came to how much we adhere to the game mechanics," Goldstein said. "Very often, I think we do have a lot of turn-based action. And all the spells and monsters and creatures that they come across are authentic to the lore, but we definitely took some liberties to give you the most action-packed fun that we could."

 

[pukunui]

I'm interested to know what they mean about "turn-based action" in this context. I hope it's not like this:

 

[Parmandur]

I'm interested to know what they mean about "turn-based action" in this context. I hope it's not like this:

My guess is that they mapped out a lot of action sequences using the logic of D&D combat initiative, but weren't married to following it exactly. For instance, take a look at The Legend of Vox Machina, which translates actual D&D combats thwt were recorded into cartoon form: they take some liberties, but following the actual flow.od what happend in-game works by and large.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

By "turn based" I assume they mean focusing on what one character is doing at a time. This isn't really new to film making, you see it, for example, in superhero team movies, such as X-Men, Avengers Assemble, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

 

[pukunui]

By "turn based" I assume the mean focusing on what one character is doing at a time. This isn't really new to film making, you see it, for example, in superhero team movies, such as X-Men, Avengers Assemble, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

OK. If that’s all they mean, then cool.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The trouble is when they run out of movement on their turn.

"Keep running! It's almost caught us!"

"I can't until you run some more!"

 

[Parmandur]

By "turn based" I assume they mean focusing on what one character is doing at a time. This isn't really new to film making, you see it, for example, in superhero team movies, such as X-Men, Avengers Assemble, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

I figure this means that they rolled out a battle map and game theories the battles as part of the storyboarding process for action scenes.

 

[OB1]

Well there goes one of my predictions for the film. I thought it would open with the actors (playing themselves) getting together for a session (with Hugh Grant as the DM) and then we get taken into their imagination to see the film. A bit like the Princess Bride frame, complete with the occasional interruption from the 'real' world as we see players worrying about a particularly grim situation or celebrating a victory. Regardless, LoVM has proven that playing it non-meta works great, and probably has less risk for confusing those unfamiliar with the game. At any rate, the next 5 weeks can't go fast enough!

 

[Parmandur]

Well there goes one of my predictions for the film. I thought it would open with the actors (playing themselves) getting together for a session (with Hugh Grant as the DM) and then we get taken into their imagination to see the film. A bit like the Princess Bride frame, complete with the occasional interruption from the 'real' world as we see players worrying about a particularly grim situation or celebrating a victory. Regardless, LoVM has proven that playing it non-meta works great, and probably has less risk for confusing those unfamiliar with the game. At any rate, the next 5 weeks can't go fast enough!

That would be a very valid choice for a D&D film, but probavly playing the Settings straight is better for franchise building.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Well there goes one of my predictions for the film. I thought it would open with the actors (playing themselves) getting together for a session (with Hugh Grant as the DM) and then we get taken into their imagination to see the film.

I thought we might get a post credits meta scene with the actors around the game table, but I'm fine with that not being there.