I remember the theater going quiet after the last joke landed. The crowd left buzzing, and I felt, like a coin flip, the sequel’s fate hanging between hope and studio math. Months later Jonathan Goldstein admitted the script exists, but that a number of financial reasons might snuff the follow-up.
I’ve been covering how studios greenlight sequels for years, and you should know two things right away: good reviews don’t equal greenlights, and timing can be fatal. You loved Honor Among Thieves; the industry loved the craft. The ledger did not.
At the box office window: timing turned a win into a paper loss
You remember the release calendar. John Wick 4 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie owned 2023 weekends, and Honor Among Thieves landed in their slipstream. That kind of scheduling pressure eats opening weekends and after-market legs—two things studios use to justify sequels.
Studios follow metrics from sources like Box Office Mojo and Comscore the way generals follow maps. When a tentpole can’t promise a strong domestic and international haul, the safe move is to pause. The result: a film praised by critics and fans can still be treated as a risky bet at the executive level.
Will there be a Dungeons & Dragons 2?
Short answer from the creators: a script exists. Jonathan Goldstein told Screen Rant he and John Francis Daley were hired to write a follow-up. But “a number of financial reasons” is not studio-speak for “yes.” It’s corporate accounting language that often means the movie doesn’t meet profit hurdles.
Inside the studio: budgets and boardroom math override fandom
On spreadsheets, films are either greenlighted or cut. You’ve seen the headlines about studio leadership changes—Paramount reorgs, shifts at Warner Bros.—and those moves change appetite for risk overnight. When stakeholders demand films cost less, the easiest line item is the sequel you hope will happen next summer.
Studios now expect tentpoles to hit budget lines that top $100 million (≈€93 million) and then earn multiples back across theatrical, streaming deals, and licensing. If the forecast models from Warner Bros. (or Paramount before rights shuffled) show uncertain returns, executives will push for trims or shelving.
Why did Honor Among Thieves underperform?
It’s two-part: timing and cannibalization. You had two blockbuster competitors during release, plus shifting audience habits and streaming windows that pare theatrical upside. Even strong word-of-mouth can’t always outvote market forces and calendar crowding.
At the writer’s desk: the script exists, but the fuse sputtering out is real
Goldstein and Daley aren’t anonymous names—you can see their fingerprints in the film’s tone and structure. They were in talks for sequel or spinoff development. You should feel encouraged that the creative intent is intact.
But the fuse sputtering out is literal: studios may demand budget cuts or a new release slot, or ask for changes that hollow the story. That’s why a finished script can gather dust while executives balance shareholder pressure, tax incentives, and international market projections from partners like Universal or Disney.
Is the sequel script finished?
Yes—according to the co-creator quoted by Screen Rant—but a finished script is only one line item in a much longer approval chain that includes finance, marketing, and talent availability.
If you follow studio behavior, you know some projects get resurrected when a new regime takes charge or when streaming platforms buy distribution rights. You also know that sometimes a movie lives on through tabletop interest, merchandise, and fan campaigns that change calculus. Would you push for a streaming-first release, or fight for a theatrical comeback—knowing either path reshapes the movie you want to see?