Benedict Cumberbatch is no stranger to dragons, having performed the motion capture and voiced Smaug in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, but a new rumor claims the actor has joined the cast of Game Night duo Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley’s adaptation of the beloved tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons.
The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star does have a connection the property, after narrating an animated short for Wizards of the West Coast that told the origin story of fan favorite character Drizzt Do’Urden. However, the story originated from famously unreliable British tabloid The Sun, and it would be a strange decision for Paramount to keep such a major addition under wraps when there’s still a whole lot of question marks surrounding how much the big budget fantasy will appeal to casual audiences, and Cumberbatch would arguably be the biggest name involved with the possible exception of leading man Chris Pine.
Along with Star Trek‘s Captain Kirk, the supporting ensemble boasts Hugh Grant in his first-ever blockbuster role as Forge Fletcher, with Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith and Michelle Rodriguez also on board. Shooting kicked off back in April and is expected to run right through the summer, so there’s admittedly still a lot of time for new recruits to be signed up.
With or without Benedict Cumberbatch, though, Dungeons & Dragons is locked for a March 2023 release date, and will be hoping to capitalize on the game’s resurgent popularity to put a sizeable dent in the box office, because there’s no shortage of potential in the concept to launch a money-spinning franchise that could realistically generate any number of sequels for years to come.
