“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” seems like an absolutely delightful movie, and we can’t wait to see it. And helping us with that assessment considerably is an absolutely delightful new ad for the film that debuted earlier today.
The ad doesn’t actually contain any footage from the movie — you can watch one of those here, in case you need to see it again (you do). Instead, it hilariously reunites three of the stars of “Freaks and Geeks” to finally finish up that game of “Dungeons & Dragons” they played all the way back in the show’s final episode.
Now, we assume if you’re reading this you know what the previous paragraph is talking about, but just in case, “Freaks and Geeks” was a hugely influential single camera comedy-drama that ran for a single season from 1999-2000. Created by future “Bridesmaids” director Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow, the show also boasted one of the greatest casts in TV history — Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Samm Levine, Seth Rogen, Jason Segal, Martin Starr, and Busy Phillips (and, sigh, also James Franco before, well, you know). And yes, despite lasting only a season the show is credited with launching all of them into stardom.
The show took place during the 1980-81 school year and its final episode, titled “Discos and Dragons,” featured among other things a game of “Dungeons & Dragons.”
Skip ahead to 2023 and Daley is a celebrated comedy writer and director alongside his frequent collaborator Jonathan Goldstein — and yes, they directed “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.” Which brings us to the clip.
In the new ad — introduced on Twitter by Levine — we see Levine, who played Neal, Daley, who played Sam, and Starr, who played Bill Haverchuck, sitting around a table for a good ol’ D&D session.
“Oh, a 4,” Daley says over footage of a die being rolled. “The great ooze of the black pudding slowly pull you and Carlos the Dwarf into their sticky ooze, dissolving your flesh and bones.”
“Should I roll again,” Levine asks.
“No,” Starr replies. “You have no flesh, you have no bones. You’re dead.”
“Sorry man, he’s right. You are dead,” Daley says.
“Does this mean I get to keep the Orb of Constant Pleasant Vibration?” asks Starr.
“Yes, the orb is yours to keep,” Daley confirms.
“Hell yeah,” says Starr.
“We should probably wrap this up, it’s getting late, we’ve bene playing for,” Daley says as he checks his watch, “23 years.”
“Man, time really flies when you’re playing D&D,” Levine says.
“How long have you had that beard?” Levin asks Starr (who, by the way, is almost unrecognizable when you look at him on “Freaks and Geeks” vs now.)
“I don’t know,” Starr replies. “You?”
“Oh. Not sure,” Levine answers.
“Where’s your beard,” Levine asks Daley.
“Haven’t hit puberty yet,” Daley says. (One thing about his role on “Freaks and Geeks” is that his character looked way younger than he was. Daley was 14 during the show’s run.)
After some more fun banter, Daley says “You know, it’s such a fun game. Someone should make it into a movie.”
“That would never work,” Levine cracks.
“Why are you even saying that?” asks Starr.
“It’s the stupidest idea in the world,” Daley agrees.
“I hope it never happens,” Levine says.
“It won’t,” Daley promises — right before the film’s logo plays.
OK in addition to the fact that the ad perfectly captures the vibe of a good table top session, it’s also nice to see these three actors riff like this. Let’s see more of this, ok?
Meanwhile, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” which is getting absolutely fantastic reviews, hits theaters on Friday (March 31). It was written by Goldstein, Daley and Michael Gilio.
