Michelle Rodriguez (Fast & Furious) and Justice Smith (Pokémon: Detective Pikachu) are reportedly joining the Dungeons & Dragons movie. The two are set to be a part of a big-budget adaptation of the fantasy role-playing game, though there’s no word on their characters. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who directed the 2018 action-comedy film Game Night starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, are writing and directing Dungeons & Dragons. Paramount Pictures and Hasbro-owned eOne — Hasbro is the rights holder for Dungeons & Dragons — are producing the film, with the latter distributing it in the UK and Canada, and the former doing so everywhere else.
The Hollywood Reporter brought word of Rodriguez and Smith boarding Dungeons & Dragons, claiming that both have closed deals to star in the film. They join Star Trek and Wonder Woman 1984 star Chris Pine, who was reported to be in talks back in December. Dungeons & Dragons has been in the works for a while now, originally at Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema with Ansel Elgort set to star. And then at Paramount, first with The Lego Batman Movie director Chris McKay, before the studio brought in Goldstein and Daley as replacements following their script work on Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Rodriguez has been part of seven entries in the Fast & Furious franchise, with her eighth appearance in F9 having been delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. F9 is currently scheduled for a May 28 release, but it’s unlikely to come out then. Rodriguez was last seen in the psychological horror She Dies Tomorrow, and will be next seen in the drama thriller Crisis, out February 26 in the US and March 26 elsewhere.
In addition to the lead human role in Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Smith had a supporting role in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which he is set to reprise in its sequel Jurassic World: Dominion that recently wrapped filming. Jurassic World: Dominion is slated to open June 10, 2022 in cinemas worldwide. Smith was last seen in the Netflix teen romantic drama All the Bright Places, and will be next seen in the erotic thriller The Voyeurs that is currently awaiting a release date.
Dungeons & Dragons is slated to open May 27, 2022 in cinemas worldwide. It plans to begin filming in the first quarter of 2021 in the Northern Ireland capital of Belfast. Another fantasy epic, Game of Thrones, spent all eight of its seasons there.
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