Deborah Ann Woll’s Favourite D&D Movie Is Not What You Think

D&D fanatic and Daredevil star Deborah Ann Woll explains why Jumanji best captures the mindset of playing the fantasy game. 

Deborah Ann Woll is best known for her roles on True Blood and Daredevil: Born Again. But outside of acting, Woll is known for her passion for the role-playing adventure game, Dungeons and Dragons. A prominent Dungeon Master who has appeared on Critical Role, as well as her own YouTube show, Relics and Rarities, Deborah Ann Woll is one of several celebrity advocates for a game once viewed as social suicide. 

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Thanks to shows such as Stranger Things and actors like Deborah Ann Woll and her True Blood co-star, Joe Manganiello, Dungeons and Dragons has been growing in popularity over the last decade. For those still unsure whether playing the game is for them, Deborah Ann Woll spoke to JustWatch about the movie that best captures the mindset behind Dungeons and Dragons.

What Is Dungeons And Dragons?

For those not in the know, Dungeons and Dragons, often shortened to D&D, is a fantasy tabletop game that requires role-play. Best described as a collaborative game of imagination, Dungeons and Dragons sees a group of players assume the identities of otherworldly characters such as an elf or a dwarf, each of a certain class like fighter, druid or barbarian.

Once everyone has their role, a campaign led by a Dungeon Master begins. These campaigns can last for a single session, or in some cases, for years. The game is formed from a shared story where the rolling of dice impacts and affects its outcome. 

The Film That Best Captures D&D According To Deborah Ann Woll

Speaking with Deborah Ann Woll, JustWatch asked which film she would recommend for people to best understand the mindset of Dungeons and Dragons. Without any hesitation, Woll had her answer, but it was clear that she had met some resistance to the idea in the past as she opened her response with, “go with me on this”. She continued, “I think aside from actual D&D properties, the best D&D movie that has ever been made is Jumanji.”

What is it about Jumanji that makes it feel like Dungeons and Dragons? Woll explains, “I think it’s that combination of the player going into the world, and the world coming out to the player. That is what D&D feels like. It feels like you are yourself, and a character, all at the same time."

Where To Start With The Jumanji Films

The original Jumanji was released in 1995 and starred Robin Williams and a young Kirsten Dunst. In the film, Dunst’s character, Judy, alongside her brother Peter, stumble across a magical board game called Jumanji. Bored and with nothing else to do, the siblings start playing the game, only for the events foretold by the board to start happening in real life.

Their game also frees Williams’ Alan, who began playing as a small boy, but wound up stuck inside Jumanji until someone else found it and began playing. The group then work together to finally finish the game started years earlier and return the real-world carnage to the board. 

Jumanji is a family film gem of the ‘90s, and ended up getting its own three-season spin-off cartoon. Then in 2017, Jumanji got an upgrade with the arrival of a new movie - Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Starring Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, and Kevin Hart, this new version replaced the board game of the original with a video game, and saw a group of teenagers sucked inside the world with no way out other than to complete the gameplay. The movie was a massive success, and so Jumanji: The Next Level arrived in 2019 with the cast additions of Awkwafina and Danny DeVito. A third film, Jumanji: Open World, is due to arrive at the end of 2026.

More Traditional Dungeons And Dragons Viewing

Once Jumanji has you in the mindset of playing Dungeons and Dragons, there are more viewing options that better explain the world of the game.

The first is the ‘80s cartoon series, Dungeons & Dragons. The series, which ran for 27 episodes, saw a group of teenagers transported to the D&D realm after riding a fairground ride. Each of the teens is granted powers tied to a key class of character, and with the help of a kindly Dungeon Master, try to find their way home. Along the way, they encounter all manner of mythical monsters and bad guys, with wizard Venger being the one thing that stands in their way.

If you grew up in the ‘80s, Dungeons & Dragons was staple viewing, and it still holds up today; just steel yourself for the frustration that the cartoon ended before the gang could get home. 

A more recent attempt to ignite wider interest in D&D came with Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. Starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, and, in a brief cameo, Bradley Cooper, this film outing does a really good job of capturing the world created during D&D gameplay. Its biggest problem is that it was one of the many movie casualties of the Pandemic era, and so didn’t generate the box office it deserved, and thus a sequel hasn’t been put into production.