‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Filming Locations

If Monopoly wasn’t a thing, Dungeons & Dragons might be the most popular board game of all time. Attempts were made in the past to make a movies based on the epic game but failed miserably. However, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves seems to check all the boxes and hit all the right things. One of those things, of course, are the locations.

The storyline is mainly set in the Forgotten Realms, where epic D&D spots such as Neverwinter, Waterdeep, the Underdark, etc., are located. Those locations are fabulous – but to get that amazing vibe, the filmmakers also had to find amazing locations to film at. And they absolutely did it! 

Here’s everything we know about the filming locations of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

What is Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves about?

For those who never got acquainted with D&D, it’s a board game created in the seventies based on fantasy, character interactions, probabilities, and so much more. I’d need an entire article to go through how the game is played alone, but it’s something that countless people have been addicted to for decades now.

Numerous variations and editions of D&D board games came out over the years and numerous videogames (one of the most popular being Neverwinter Nights), but movie adaptations so far have fallen flat on their face.

There’s this one adaptation from 2000 with, actually, quite a decent cast that included Jeremy Irons, Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, and Zoe McLellan, but it was an absolute horror of a movie in all the wrong ways. The 3.6/10 IMDb rating says it all.

Now, we’re finally getting something worthy of wearing the Dungeons & Dragons mantle. Honor Among Thieves looked awesome from the start, with an awesome cast and spectacular D&D classic locations already visible in the trailer (you can see it above). 

Even the preliminary reactions and reviews seem awesome, as the movie had an 8.0/10 IMDb rating even before it premiered. So, what will Dungeons & dragons: Honor Among Thieves be about?

Well, it’ll follow a bard, who’s also a charming thief, as he forms a group of misfit thieves and adventure-seekers that embark on a journey through the Forgotten Realms to find a highly-valuable ancient relic. On their journey, things’ll take a turn for the worse when they mess with the wrong crowd of people.

I love the concept because it resembles what you do in the board game – you embark on a quest that leads you through the ‘map’ and is filled with left and right dangers. It’ll allow the movie to explore so many epic locations from D&D, so I’m extremely happy to learn where the movie was filmed. Here are all the locations that have been disclosed so far.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves filming locations

Iceland

Per several reports, the first part of filming began in early April 2021, when a crew of 60-70 people filmed scenes for the movie in Iceland. The breathtaking nature and scenery in Iceland were used as a backdrop for the story in the film, so none of the main star actors actually had to come to Iceland to do the shooting.

Instead, stand-ins were used in their place, but knowing just how phenomenal Iceland’s landscape is, you can rest assured that the setting for the Forgotten Realms will be absolutely spot-on.

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the location where most of the filming for D&D: Honor Among Thieves took place. Standing right next to River Lagan, and was actually the birthplace of the Titanic – the most well-known ship in history, which struck an iceberg in 1912 and sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Amusingly, most of the movie was shot at the Titanic Studios in Belfast, which is only natural, considering the fact that we’re talking about high-fantasy, which’ll likely require a lot of CGI. Even more amusingly, Belfast has a town in its metropolitan area called Holywood, so I guess this is the perfect spot to film a blockbuster.

Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

This location is the one I was the most excited about. Carrickfergus is located just northeast of Belfast and is one of the oldest towns in Northern Ireland’s history. It’s a beautiful, picturesque small town, but the heart and soul of it – that was used in the movie – is the Carrickfergus Castle.

It’s an almost 900-year-old medieval fortress that’s surrounded by sea and has been in constant use since the 1100s when it was built. Carrickfergus Castle is open to visitors and serves as a medieval museum, but it was used for filming purposes not just for D&D but for other projects as well.

Clandeboye Estate, Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK

If you continue your journey down the coastline northeast of Belfast, you’ll reach Bangor, another beautiful, historical city of Northern Ireland. On the very outskirts of Bangor, you can find the Clandeboye Estate, a breathtaking location that features the big Clandeboy House and a huge wooded area serving as the Estate’s grounds. 

Some filming was done in Clandeboye, which is often open to tourists and commonly used for concerts, festivals, social events, etc. It’s a sight to behold, built in the traditional Scottish Baronial architecture style.

Castle Ward, Strangford, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK

Castle Ward is a part of the Northern Trust of Northern Ireland and one of the most popular sights to see in Strangford – a small spot overlooking Strangford Lough, southeast of Belfast. The Gothic-style mansion is surrounded by a beautiful garden, woodlands, and incredibly picturesque nature.

To add to the Gothic-Classic mix of styles of the main mansion, the big courtyard and woodlands are actually home to another great castle – the Old Castle Ward. Game of Thrones might recognize it as Winterfell, but those who never saw Game of Thrones will be blown away by its old beauty just as well.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves release date

The release date of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has been pushed back numerous times. Initially, the film was supposed to be released way back in July 2021. Of course, as with many movies, scheduling conflicts caused by the postponement of movie releases due to COVID-19 made Paramount push back the release further and further.

Finally, in November 2022, it was officially confirmed that Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves would be released on March 31, 2023. Before the official theatrical release worldwide, however, there will be several special screenings organized.

Considering those screenings, the movie’s actual world premiere came at the South by Southwest film festival on March 10, 2023, and received very positive feedback.