Honor Among Thieves 2 Uncertainty Makes Its Most Promising Replacement Even More Necessary

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was a fun action-adventure movie that was primed to spark a franchise for the Dungeons and Dragons universe. Unfortunately, this never materialized, as Honor Among Thieves failed to make a big impression in theaters compared to its significant budget. This makes it unlikely that an Honor Among Thieves sequel will ever happen after this, even though the world of D&D lends itself so well to an expansive franchise with multiple installments. However, the solution to this could come in the form of a live-action TV show.




Even though Honor Among Thieves was a box-office disappointment, this doesn’t mean that the IP still can’t be turned into something that connects with all audiences. There was a lot to love about Honor Among Thieves, and in many ways, its failure doesn’t reflect the quality of the story or how well it adapted the source material. Since D&D is such a popular game, it doesn’t make sense for no other screen iterations of its world to make an appearance. While certain animated TV shows have already capitalized on this, a live-action one needs to happen.


Honor Among Thieves 2 Doubts Make A Live-Action D&D Show Even More Necessary

The next step for the franchise is to branch into television


Though Honor Among Thieves’s Netflix streaming success makes a great case for confirming a sequel, this probably won’t be happening anytime soon. Lowering the budget and making a smaller-scale second film might be possible, but taking away the exciting parts of the film wouldn’t help bring audiences to theaters. Instead, the future of D&D should be turned over to the television sphere. With a live-action D&D show, the series could still tie into the movie while striking out into new territory and distinguishing itself. Honor Among Thieves tells a complete narrative, but the characters are intriguing enough to return to.

Fantasy is already better suited for television because of how much more time and space the narrative has to establish world-building and character development.


The best lesson that the D&D franchise can learn from Honor Among Thieves‘ disappointing theatrical run and later popularity on streaming is that a live-action TV show is the perfect place for the story. Fantasy is already better suited for television because of how much more time and space the narrative has to establish world-building and character development. Additionally, the series could touch upon multiple facets of D&D, using various perspectives and intersecting storylines to create a massive world that transports the audience into the story’s magic. Other fantasy series like Game of Thrones have had great success with this.

Title

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

91%

93%


What’s Going On With The Live-Action Dungeons & Dragons Series

It’s going to take time for anything to be confirmed

For now, things are stalling for the live-action D&D show, which is a shame considering how much traction Honor Among Thieves is getting on streaming. Despite growing excitement, Paramount canceled the live-action Dungeons & Dragons TV show (via GameRant). While Honor Among Thieves‘ underwhelming box office could be a reason why the show shouldn’t happen, it’s the exact opposite. This demonstrates that a movie iteration was never going to work for D&D and that audiences are still waiting for the right adaptation to come along.


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There’s some hope, as Hasbro has plans to keep shopping the live-action D&D show despite the failure at Paramount (via Deadline). However, this is no guarantee that the series will be picked up anytime soon or happen at all. The continued positive reviews and audience reception for The Legend of Vox Machina is a good indicator that there is a viewership base for a new show. Once the live-action series finds the right niche and network to bring the game’s unique tone and visual style to life, it has amazing potential.

A Dungeons & Dragons TV Show Can Do What Honor Among Thieves Couldn’t

Turn D&D into a long-running franchise that transcends the genre


It’s true that not every fantasy fan is familiar with the lore and magic systems of D&D. However, if the live-action series was a success, it would inspire new audience members to get involved. There’s no question that Honor Among Thieves was supposed to be the start of a franchise and incur multiple sequels. There are parts of the film that clearly set up future narrative arcs and character relationships that will now be left undeveloped. However, establishing a series could open the door for spinoffs and even more film adaptations in the future.

Dungeons & Dragons TV Show (2)

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After seeing all the amazing creatures in Honor Among Thieves turned into live-action, this is a reminder that the species and characters introduced in the movie are only one small part of the franchise. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves took on one type of narrative, but there’s room within D&D for the live-action show to be darker and more intense than its film counterpart. Many of the most successful fantasy shows of the past few years have leaned into this gritty tone, and if the D&D TV show went down this avenue, it might make a name for itself.