Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves star Chris Pine recently reacted to comments by his co-star, Regé-Jean Page, branding his character, Edgin Davis, a “horny bard.”
Pine responded to Page’s appraisal of Edgin’s libido in an interview with Geek & Sundry. “It’s a very specific word,” he said. “For whom I would be horny, don’t know. It’s my best friend, I have an elf and I have, you know not a lot of horndog stuff happening in this [movie], pal. I think it’s enthusiasm, it’s positivity, [and] it’s party playing.” Fellow Honor Among Thieves cast member Michelle Rodriguez was also present for the interview and labeled Page’s remarks “hilarious,” before suggesting the actor’s use of the word “horny” to describing Edgin was an innocent mistake.
Pine’s defense of Edgin reflects his affection for both the character and the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game’s bard class. The star, best known for portraying Captain Kirk in the rebooted Star Trek franchise and Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984, extolled the virtues of playing a bard at 2023’s SXSW festival. “I love being a bard so much,” he said. “No preparation. Lots of smiling.” Pine also recalled playing a Dungeons & Dragons game with his father, recalling how fun it was to see the 82-year-old assume the role of the RPG’s warrior class.
Not everyone is so thrilled by Dungeons & Dragons’ various character classes, though. Forge Fitzwilliam actor Hugh Grant recently joked about his dislike of the Dragonborn creatures featured in Honor Among Thieves, saying he “found them annoying.” Grant went on to reveal the source of his frustration with the Dragonborn, explaining that their presence tended to overshadow his own performance. The English actor added that he would cut the Dragonborn from Honor Among Thieves entirely, were he given the opportunity.
Fortunately for Dragonborn devotees, creative control of Honor Among Thieves resides with directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, not Grant. The filmmaking duo discussed their approach to the fantasy-comedy blockbuster’s source material at a recent fan event, noting that they initially toyed with the idea of inserting characters from our world into the Dungeons & Dragons universe. “We talked about it, but we made a decision that we did not want to break the fourth wall. 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,” Daley said.
Also Read : Dungeons & Dragons Set to Battle John Wick 4 for Box Office Domination
If Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves wants to win the box office during its opening weekend, it’ll have to get past a major boss in the form of John Wick: Chapter 4.
According to Variety, this coming weekend’s box office winner is currently a toss-up between the fourth entry in the John Wick saga and the debuting Dungeons & Dragons reboot. Honor Among Thieves is hoping to make anywhere between $30 million and $40 million at the domestic box office over its opening weekend, plus another $25 million internationally. At the same time, John Wick: Chapter 4 is projected to bring in $36 million domestically during what will be its second weekend in release.
John Wick: Chapter 4 handily topped the domestic box office during its own opening weekend with a debut of $73.5 million. (The closest runner-up last weekend was Shazam! Fury of the Gods at 9.3 million.) At the time of writing, the latest Keanu Reeves-led John Wick sequel has risen to $86.1 million domestically. Meanwhile, John Wick: Chapter 4’s worldwide grand total currently sits at $152.7 million.
Of course, that’s not to count out Honor Among Thieves. While the Jeremy Irons-starring Dungeons & Dragons film from 2000 notoriously ended up being a critical and commercial failure, the Chris Pine-led reboot has proven to be a massive hit with critics and audiences alike following its initial premiere at SXSW. Currently, Honor Among Thieves has a “Certified Fresh” rating of 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes against an audience score of 94 percent.
The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes describes Honor Among Thieves as an “infectiously good-spirited comedy with a solid emotional core” that “offers fun fantasy and adventure even if you don’t know your HP from your OP.” As far as the box office is concerned, Variety similarly speculates that Honor Among Thieves will be a “word-of-mouth hit” that manages to make money from not only existing Dungeons & Dragons fans, but also moviegoers who have no prior experience with the tabletop role-playing game.
Still, in addition to its box office success, John Wick: Chapter 4 has proven to be a massive critical success in its own right. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds its own “Certified Fresh” rating of 94 percent against an audience score of 94 percent. This would make Chapter 4 the best-reviewed film in the already lauded John Wick franchise. Plans for a fifth main-series film starring Reeves are currently in flux, though John Wick is getting an Ana de Armas-led spinoff film titled Ballerina. A John Wick prequel series titled The Continental is also slated to premiere on Peacock this year.
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