Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is one of the year’s most-hyped movies, with longtime Dungeons and Dragons players and fantasy film fans keen to dive into this new adventure. 

But Honor Among Thieves is far from the first movie based on D&D. But do you need to watch these movies before you go see the new one, and if so, what is the best order to view them in? 

How many Dungeons And Dragons films are there?

Before Honor Among Thieves, there have been three Dungeons and Dragons movies. 

The first, made by New Line Cinema and titled simply Dungeons & Dragons, arrived in American theaters in 2000. Starring Justin Whalin and Marlon Wayans, the film follows two thieves, Ridley Freeborn and Snails, as they get tangled in a conflict between the good Empress Savina and the evil mage Profion. This leads to both sides racing to wield the legendary Rod of Savrille, an item that can control Red Dragons. 

This film received a sequel in 2005, titled Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God. However, as the first film was a box-office failure, this installment debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel with only a limited theatrical release in some areas. Set 100 years after the first film, it follows warrior Berek (Mark Dymond) and sorceress Melora (Clemency Burton-Hill) as they try to stop the evil Damodar before he can awaken a sleeping dragon god. 

The third film in this trilogy, Dungeons & Dragons 3: The Book of Vile Darkness, hit screens in 2012. Unlike the second film, this movie was a direct-to-DVD installment. It follows a young paladin called Grayson (Jack Derges) as he teams up with Akordia (Eleanor Gecks), a Shadar-kai sorceress; Seith (Lex Daniels), a human assassin; Vimak (Habib Nasib Nader), a Goliath barbarian; and Bezz (Barry Aird), a human Vermin Lord to track down the titular evil book and destroy it. 

Honor Among Thieves is the latest movie based on Dungeons and Dragons. However, despite being based on the same source material as the previous films, it is a reboot of the franchise and is thus unlinked to the previous ones. 

The movie’s official synopsis describes the film by saying: 

“A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.”

What order should you watch the Dungeons and Dragons movies in? 

Thankfully, the watch order for the D&D films is easy to follow. The first three films can be watched in the order they came out. 

Because Honor Among Thieves is a reboot, you can watch it whenever you please, as it is not linked to the previous movies. In fact, based on early information about the film, it seems like the writers have gone out of their way to make the story accessible to those new to the franchise, meaning you’ll need little to no foreknowledge to enjoy it. 

The D&D films that aren’t D&D films

One reason many people get confused about the Dungeons and Dragons movie watch order is that there are a few movies that, while based on the gameplay or lore of Dungeons and Dragons, were not officially licensed by Wizards of the Coast, meaning they are not official D&D movies.  

This includes the infamous 1982 film Mazes and Monsters. This movie follows a group of young people (one of whom is played by a young Tom Hanks) obsessed with their favorite roleplaying game. When the group embarks on a spelunking trip, they all suddenly believe they are their in-game characters, leading to their suffering horrible fates. Obviously, due to the movie’s heavy anti-D&D stance, it wasn’t approved by the game’s publishers and thus isn’t an official product, despite frequently getting confused for one. 

There is also the 2008 animated movie Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight. While set in the classic D&D campaign setting Dragonlance, it is an adaptation of Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman’s novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight, meaning it isn’t considered a true D&D movie. 

There was also Scourge of Worlds: A Dungeons & Dragons Adventure. This 2003 direct-to-DVD computer-animated movie stood out due to its interactive elements; viewers could make choices as they watched the film, and these choices would shape the plot. However, due to this element, the game isn’t counted in the official line of D&D films, being marketed instead as a new way to enjoy the game.

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