Remember Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves? While the 2023 film may have flopped at the box office, it has found a solid second life by way of streaming over the past few years. Since its filmmakers, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, have their follow-up on the 2026 movie schedule, I had to ask about a potential sequel. And I was surprised to find out that there’s already a script for it! So, what’s the hold up?
Goldstein and Daley’s newest movie is the Ryan Reynolds-led action comedy, Mayday, which will be streamable with an Apple TV subscription starting September 4. In between chatting with the pair of filmmakers about the movie at San Diego Comic-Con, Goldstein had this to say about Dungeons & Dragons 2:
We have written the second… I wouldn’t hold my breath necessarily because the economics of making a movie are tricky. We loved the new script and I think it would be super fun to do. I think it’s something fans would respond to, but it’s tough, you know? It’s just tricky – There’s a Baldur’s Gate show obviously coming out that Craig Mazin’s doing that I think maybe might be able to sort of reignite and get some excitement for the franchise, but who knows? It’s a tough one because it’s a huge movie.
Honor Among Thieves — starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant — may have been well liked by critics and audiences alike. But the truth of it is that it only made around $208 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $150 million. That’s certainly not enough money for Paramount to have made a profit. However, Goldstein and Daley were still inspired to write the next installment. Now, I can’t help but wonder about it.
While the pair’s D&D movie didn’t do so well in theaters, the 2023 movie has since done well for itself on streaming services like Netflix and Paramount+. That same year, there was talk about a sequel, specifically in regard to figuring out “a way to make it for less”. Pine even suggested there was “a really good chance” they’d make another one in 2024. When I asked Goldstein why fans shouldn’t hold their breath for another, he elaborated with these words:
Because it’s expensive to make and because we saw what the audience is for a movie like Dungeons and Dragons, unfortunately. It just did well, but they didn’t do well enough. The studios will spend the money it takes to make enough unless we can make it much cheaper.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the already-written Dungeons & Dragons sequel ever gets a chance. In the meantime, Goldstein and Daley’s Mayday trailer suggests its going to be a another fun film from this underrated duo. So far, it’s been likened to Top Gun meets Misery. Check out the trailer below:
In addition to Mayday, the writer/directors talked to me about how they’re currently writing their Star Trek movie for Paramount. It was also just announced (per THR), that they’re producing a Bollywood-focused musical for the same studio. They also signed up to make another action thriller called Renegades.
Since Goldstein and Daley are so busy, I’m not sure where a D&D sequel would even in. But, given that I now know the sequel exists on the page, I’m not giving up hope. Check out Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves now using a Paramount+ subscription.
