Regé-Jean Page, who is best known for his work in Netflix’s Bridgerton, shared details on his role in Paramount’s Dungeons and Dragons. The upcoming reboot began filming earlier this year at the Game of Thrones studio in Belfast.
Based on Hasbro’s popular fantasy entertainment franchise of the same name, Dungeons and Dragons' loaded cast includes Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Justice Smith. While information about the plot and characters have yet to be released, Hugh Grant will play the main antagonist. John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who co-directed Game Night and wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming, were tapped to direct the project after the film’s ownership rights were moved from Warner Bros. to Paramount Pictures.
In a new Variety cover interview, Page admitted that he rarely played D&D before booking the role. “I’ve listened to a couple of Dungeons and Dragons podcasts in my time. I played a ton of JRPGs [Japanese role-playing games] and basically everything that’s come out of it,” said Page. The actor considers himself a second-generation “Dungeons and Dragoner” since he played Diablo as a teenager and watched his friends play Baldur’s Gate. Page said his friends helped him prepare for the role by providing insights into the many worlds of the game. Dungeons and Dragons is known for its use of imagination and incorporation of war games, treasure hunts, campaigns, and camaraderie.
The Bridgerton breakout star asserted that his role allows him to show off his range as an actor and that the film will be a “huge sigh of relief for Dungeons & Dragons fans everywhere.” The last Dungeons and Dragons film was released in 2000 and starred Jeremy Irons, Marlon Wayans, and Zoe McLellan. The film was a commercial flop since it grossed $15 million domestically on a $45 million budget. Critics were also harsh towards the feature film adaptation, though it still managed to spawn a made-for-TV sequel and a third installment that was released direct-to-video, neither of which seemed to have fared any better than their predecessor.
Before starting production on the Dungeons and Dragons reboot, Page was filming the Russo Brothers’ big-budget action thriller The Gray Man. The Netflix movie is based on Mark Greaney’s 2009 debut novel and will follow a freelance assassin (Ryan Gosling) who finds himself hunted across the globe by his former CIA cohort (Chris Evans). Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo), Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Jessica Henwick round out the cast.
The Gray Man drew inspiration from the James Bond franchise and is reportedly Netflix's most expensive film to date. At this time it is unclear when the $200 million blockbusters will premiere on the streaming platform, but fans of Page will likely be thrilled when it finally arrives.
Dungeons and Dragons is scheduled to be released in theatres on March 3, 2023.
Source: Variety