While considered a highlight of the film as far back as its marketing, Chris Pine reveals his Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves character was nearly very different and unfunny. Pine leads the ensemble cast of the latest adaptation of the iconic tabletop game, which revolves around a group of thieves seeking to redeem themselves after incidentally giving a powerful relic to a dangerous Red Wizard. After languishing in development for a decade, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has finally hit theaters to rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.
In honor of the film's release, SlashFilm recently caught up with Chris Pine to discuss Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. When reflecting on his first read of the script and his character, Edgin the Bard, the star revealed that his character was nearly very different, believing him to have been "a bit more rogueish" and as such worked with co-writers/directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley to make him brighter, and in turn funnier. See what Pine explained below:
I think originally he may have skewed a bit more roguish. Not in terms of the character, roguish in terms of kind of gruff and easily frustrated, let's say. I guess what I found in reading it was I found Edgin to be really bright and kind of buoyant. He's the guy that always sees the silver lining. He's the guy where, no matter if there's a mudslide in the backyard of your party, it's like, 'Let's go swim in the mudslide.' There's always something positive to find in the thing. Once I found that entry point into the character, it really made a lot of sense to me. I don't think I'd seen a character like that in a while.
Why Pine's Character Change Was The Right Choice For Honor Among Thieves
Since her proper rise to stardom with J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie franchise, Pine has largely been known for his more serious performances in the likes of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Hell or High Water and Wonder Woman, among others. However, prevalent throughout many of these performances, as well as in such lesser-received works as This Means War and Horrible Bosses 2, has been a keen sense of comedic timing, which made his Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves casting make plenty of sense for its melding of multiple genres.
Though the ensemble around him bring plenty of comedy to the fold, Pine's decision to change Edgin into a more lighthearted figure ultimately was the better choice for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The plan-making bard shares a number of elements with his fellow group members, namely a tragic backstory that put him on the path to becoming a thief, but unlike Michelle Rodriguez's closed-off Holga or Sophia Lillis' angst-ridden Doric, it's his optimism that keeps audiences connected to him, even when things seem the most dire.
Daley and Goldstein's original plan for Pine's Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves character may not have inherently been a failure had it proceeded as planned, but the character change seems to have paid off with the widespread acclaim being directed both towards his performance and the film as a whole. While the film may only be off to a modest start at the box office, the open ending does leave plenty of room for Edgin and the rest of his team to return in a Dungeons & Dragons sequel should it pick up steam thanks to word of mouth.
Source: SlashFilm