Now, thanks to various social media leaks, we have our first look at the main stars’ costumes for the highly anticipated fantasy movie based on the super-popular roleplaying franchise. The film’s stars, Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez’s, costumes may hold hints as to which classes from the game will they will be portraying. Check out the pictures below!
A matter of class
If you are at all familiar with Dungeons & Dragons (or any roleplaying game, in general), you will be familiar with the concept of character classes. Ever since the first Dungeons & Dragons game was conceptualized by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, it already featured the mechanic of character classes serving as the means of determining the roles that players take. What started with three character classes (Fighting-Man, Cleric, Magic-User) became a myriad of other classes, thanks to supplements, expansions, and new editions. The standard characters classes in the base game now count the following: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard (as of the game’s 5th Edition). In the game’s current rules, these are further expanded by paths and sub-classes, to allow players to further flesh out their customization and stories. Suffice to say, character classes are an important key to the appeal and to the history of D&D’s success. Later roleplaying games would adopt this mechanic in different ways, but the core remains the same: conceptualize your character, decide their specialty, and select a character class that best fits their abilities. Even in video games such as Baldur’s Gate and Dungeons & Dragons Online have closely followed this tradition.
Some class acts
This character class system is important to note in relation to setting up the roles actors will play in any D&D production. Even the previous attempt at a big budget production Dungeons & Dragons film from 2000 had the main characters identified based on their character class derived from the game, such as Justin Whalin and Marlon Wayans being Rogues, while Jeremy Irons as Profion was a Mage. Prior to that, the Dungeons & Dragons animated series reflected the importance of character classes, particularly in the show’s intro, informing the viewer as to which ones each of the kids represented. As the set photo leaks from the newest D&D film production surfaced (courtesy of the Forgotten Realms Wiki Twitter account), the attire of the cast can hold some ideas as to what they will be portraying. In the case of star Chris Pine, he appears to be sporting a non-traditional leather jacket or coat for his role.
— Forgotten Realms Wiki (@FRWiki) June 28, 2021 Typically, this would be associated with the Rogue or Thief class, as leather garb is most often this class’s usual choice. As the Rogue was also the role chosen for the lead in the previous film, this would not be surprising. The Rogue class is often the most skillful and offers the most freedom in the motivations of the character that Pine will likely be portraying as.
More barbarian warrior women should ride into battle on a war-scooter, we say.#DungeonsAndDragonsMovie #dnd #DungeonsAndDragons https://t.co/C4DVfadZGi pic.twitter.com/58Jiv7Mg22 — Forgotten Realms Wiki (@FRWiki) June 27, 2021 On the other hand, Michelle Rodriguez is sporting a more ruggedly designed costume. The rougher, less sophisticated design combined with the knuckle dusters and bracers the actress is sporting would indicate she is playing one of the more combat oriented classes such as the Barbarian, the Fighter, the Monk, or the Ranger. However, in one picture, Rodriguez is seen wielding a battle axe. There have been rumors and a possible plot leak on Reddit that claims Rodriguez is playing a Barbarian. Her leaked costume is certainly consistent with this.
— Forgotten Realms Wiki (@FRWiki) June 30, 2021 Hugh Grant is likely playing one of the arcane spellcasting classes. That would mean either a sorcerer, a warlock, or a wizard. It seems to be a common trope with fantasy films that the main bad guy will be a spellcaster of some sort. Just look at The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. Even the Star Wars films followed this trope with Emperor Palpatine.
Setting the stage
While the costumes reveal some potential details about the characters and the D&D classes they will be representing, the actual plot remains a closely guarded secret. Moreover, we are still in the dark as to what roles the rest of the main cast will be portraying. Finally, although there are speculations as to which of the D&D campaign settings will be used in the film (rumors point to the Forgotten Realms aka Faerun), there is still very little in the way of actual confirmation. It is still possible the story will be set in a new fantasy world, as in the case of the first film’s kingdom of Izmer. Produced by Entertainment One and to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, Dungeons & Dragons stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Regé-Jean Page, Hugh Grant, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head, and Jason Wong. Written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Dungeons & Dragons will be released in theaters March 3, 2023.
