'Dungeons & Dragons' Movie Cast Adds Sophia Lillis And Hugh Grant As The Film's Villain

The Dungeons & Dragons movie cast has added some more familiar names. Chris Pine is already leading a cast that includes Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, and Rege-Jean Page, and now It breakout Sophia Lillis and Hugh Grant are on board as well. While we don't know who the majority of these actors are playing, it's been revealed that Grant will play the film's villain.

Deadline broke the news that Hugh Grant and Sophia Lillis are joining the Dungeons & Dragons movie cast. There's no word on Lillis's character, but Grant will be the bad guy, and that opens the film up to all sorts of fun. In this latter half of his career Grant seems to be leaning into bigger and broader, and often fun, performances – and he made a wonderful and memorable antagonist in Paddington 2. In fact, I'm just going to go ahead and say that Paddington 2's villainous Phoenix Buchanan should also be the villain in Dungeons & Dragons. Don't even bother to explain it – just make it happen.

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who co-wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming, and directed the surprisingly great comedy Game Night, will write and direct the film for Paramount and eOne. The film will be inspired by the ever-popular fantasy tabletop role-playing game created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Plot details for the movie aren't available just yet, but in the game, "You and your friends tell a story together, guiding your heroes through quests for treasure, battles with deadly foes, daring rescues, courtly intrigue, and much more." The film adaptation is described as "a subversive approach to the game," whatever that means.

This isn't Hollywood's first attempt to bring Dungeons and Dragons to the screen. In 2000, a live-action Dungeons and Dragons movie arrived starring Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, Thora Birch, and Jeremy Irons. It was torn apart by critics and only made $33.8 million on a $45 million budget. That's. not a blockbuster by any means, but that didn't stop the release of two sequels – a made-for-TV sequel called Wrath of the Dragon God, and a direct-to-video sequel titled The Book of Vile Darkness.

In addition to the new Dungeons and Dragons movie, eOne is also developing a Dungeons & Dragons TV series, with John Wick franchise writer Derek Kolstad handling the script. On top of that, eOne is said to be "working with and looking for multiple writers to develop various projects set in the fantasy universe."