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Chris Pine to Star in ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ Movie for Paramount

Chris Pine is in negotiations to star in “Dungeons and Dragons,” Paramount and eOne’s upcoming film adaptation of the popular fantasy role-playing game.

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the duo best known for “Game Night” starring Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman, are directing the movie and writing the screenplay, which is based on a draft by Michael Gilion.

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Paramount is co-producing and co-financing the “Dungeons and Dragons” movie with Hasbro and eOne. eOne is distributing the movie in the U.K. and Canada, while Paramount is handling the rollout in the rest of the world. The release date was recently pushed back from November of 2021 to May 27, 2022.

Jeremy Latcham is producing the movie for eOne, which Hasbro acquired last year.

“Dungeons and Dragons” was first adapted into a movie for New Line Cinema in 2000. The film, which starred Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans and Jeremy Irons, was a critical and commercial flop.

The upcoming iteration has been in the works for years. It was originally set up at Warner Bros. with Ansel Elgort being considered for the lead role. At the time, “Goosebumps” filmmaker Rob Letterman was set to direct. After a legal battle between Sweetpea Entertainment and Hasbro about ownership rights, the film was moved to Paramount. Chris McKay was brought on to helm the film before he was replaced by Goldstein and Daley in 2019.

Pine will be seen next alongside Gal Gadot in the superhero adventure “Wonder Woman 1984,” reprising his role as Wonder Woman’s love interest, Steve Trevor. The sequel to 2017’s smash hit “Wonder Woman” is debuting on HBO Max and in U.S. movie theaters on Dec. 25. He’s currently working on Olivia Wilde’s upcoming movie “Don’t Worry Darling.” The psychological thriller also stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles.

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