Dungeons & Dragons 2: Director Confirms Script is Complete With Ominous Update

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 2 has a completed screenplay, but Jonathan Goldstein’s latest update comes with enough financial uncertainty to keep the sequel trapped in development. Speaking with ScreenRant at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, the director confirmed that he and his collaborators were officially hired to write another adventure after the 2023 fantasy comedy gained a devoted following. His full update was encouraging and frustrating in equal measure: 

The good news is that this sequel moved beyond casual discussions. The bad news is that a finished script has not persuaded Paramount to roll the dice on production.

Honor Among Thieves 2 Has a Script but No Green Light

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves | Paramount Pictures

Goldstein’s confirmation changes the conversation surrounding Dungeons & Dragons 2. For the past three years, most updates amounted to optimism, vague discussions, and actors saying they would gladly return. Paramount went further than that behind closed doors by commissioning an actual screenplay. Well, a studio does not hire filmmakers to write a sequel unless somebody sees commercial or creative value in continuing the property. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley directed the first movie and co-wrote it with Michael Gilio, while Chris Pine also served as an executive producer.

Paramount’s official production page credits the trio with the screenplay and lists Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant among the principal cast. The sequel script presumably offers another campaign for Edgin Darvis, Holga Kilgore, Simon Aumar, Doric, and their extended party, although Goldstein did not disclose its story. Xenk Yendar could also return after Regé-Jean Page’s impeccably solemn paladin became one of the first film’s most popular characters.

Goldstein and Daley had already discussed the vast number of settings, monsters, and figures available across Dungeons & Dragons lore. Daley previously said the filmmakers would love to continue telling stories in this world, while Goldstein noted that future movies could explore settings beyond the Forgotten Realms. The pair had even considered using Drizzt Do’Urden before rights and story decisions led them toward creating Xenk instead (PC Gamer).

Chris Pine also expressed confidence in 2023, saying  (via GamesRadar), “I’ve heard some rumors about it, but I don’t know anything yet. But I feel pretty confident that it may happen.” When asked whether he would return, Pine answered, “Absolutely.”

Honor Among Thieves succeeded because its performers resembled a mismatched gaming group whose plans kept collapsing in entertaining ways. Pine’s Edgin could talk for ten minutes without solving anything, Rodriguez gave Holga blunt competence, Smith made Simon’s insecurity sympathetic, and Lillis played Doric with the patience of someone surrounded by exhausting people. Grant then arrived as Forge Fitzwilliam and treated corruption like a networking opportunity.

The first movie also left enough room for a continuation without ending on a cheap cliffhanger. A sequel could begin with a fresh quest instead of spending half its runtime undoing the previous ending. The trouble is that writing a screenplay and financing its production remain very different battles. Goldstein’s warning that the film may never “see the light of day” suggests Paramount has not found a budget that protects the studio from another disappointing theatrical result.

The First Movie’s Budget Still Blocks the Door

A still from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves | Paramount Pictures

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was well received, but affection arrived without the financial result Paramount needed from an expensive franchise launch. The movie earned $93.5 million domestically and $111.9 million internationally, bringing its recorded worldwide total to approximately $205.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Other industry reports place the final global result closer to $208 million, depending on how later earnings and territories are counted. Either figure creates the same problem beside a reported production budget of about $150 million. Marketing costs and theaters’ share of ticket sales reduce what returns to the studio, so worldwide gross cannot be treated as profit.

Paramount executives recognized the issue soon after release. Former Paramount Pictures chief Brian Robbins said a sequel remained possible under one condition (via ComicBook):

That sentence has followed Honor Among Thieves ever since, and Goldstein’s new remarks confirm that the calculation has not changed. Fantasy adventures become costly once they require large sets, creature effects, extensive locations, action sequences, and recognizable actors. Themberchaud alone probably ate more than the average independent movie’s catering budget.

A reduced budget could still produce a worthy sequel. The first film’s best material often came from character interaction, failed planning, and imaginative uses of familiar game mechanics. The corpse interrogation sequence remains hilarious because Edgin wastes limited questions, while the portal robbery becomes memorable through timing and teamwork. Neither sequence requires another city-destroying finale.

The risk is that Paramount could cut the qualities audiences responded to. A cheaper sequel that loses the ensemble, fantasy variety, or tactile world would satisfy nobody. The goal should be a more economical campaign built around the same party, with fewer locations and a tighter quest, rather than a visibly diminished imitation.

The critical response gives Paramount a reason to keep trying. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists a 91% Tomatometer score from 317 reviews and a 92% verified audience score. The franchise has also retained cultural momentum. Honor Among Thieves gained new viewers through streaming, while Baldur’s Gate 3 helped expand interest in the wider property. Netflix is separately developing a live-action Dungeons & Dragons series associated with Shawn Levy and showrunner Drew Crevello. Levy later described adapting the game as challenging because the creative team must capture an entire world, language, and spirit instead of translating one fixed narrative. He also said development remained active (via GamesRadar).

That series, previously reported under the title The Forgotten Realms, is separate from the Honor Among Thieves continuity. Its progress does not guarantee another movie, though it confirms studios still believe Dungeons & Dragons can support live-action storytelling. Would you rather see Paramount approve a smaller Honor Among Thieves 2, or wait until the studio can afford another enormous fantasy adventure? Comment below and follow FandomWire for more updates!

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is currently available on Paramount+.