Once upon a time, the announcement that Bridgerton's Rege-Jean Page has joined the Dungeons & Dragons film cast is news that would only have been welcomed by romance fans and cosplay aficionados.
However, in this post-Marvel, Netflix world of entertainment, where everyone pretty much watches everything, and you'll be positively shunned by the Zoom watercooler if you're not up to date with the latest goings-on in the Featherington household, the news has been met with excitement by a global audience hungry for the next Avengers-style fantasy universe.
And there's no doubt that if the film, scheduled for a 2022 release, is a hit, then sequels will follow.
Page joins Chris Pine, Fast & Furious actress Michelle Rodriguez and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom's Justice Smith in the film, which will be directed by Game Night's Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, and based on the popular role-playing game from Wizards of the Coast.
Having more recently been brought back to the forefront of pop culture, thanks to Mike, Dustin and the boys playing it in Stranger Things, as well as being a favourite pastime in The Big Bang Theory, the fantasy game, which spawned multiverse fandoms, films and a 1980s cartoon series, boasts a legion of celebrity devotees, including Jon Favreau, Vin Diesel, Joe Manganiello and Stephen Colbert.
"It was really good preparation for being a filmmaker," Iron Man director Favreau told Jimmy Kimmel of playing the game as a teen. "When you build worlds, making a superhero movie or dealing with CGI in filmmaking … You're putting on a show, you're setting something up, improvising different characters in the game."
What is Dungeons & Dragons?
First released in 1974, Dungeons & Dragons began as an interactive game which would be set up on a table. One player would take on the role of Dungeon Master who directed the game, while the other players each portrayed a character, determining its species, occupation, and moral and ethical outlook. They would also choose the character’s abilities, such as strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom and charisma.
In layman’s terms, the winner is the one who amasses the highest score, although as every fan knows, "playing Dungeons & Dragons to win is the most boring way to play", as the popular phrase goes.
Evolution of fantasy
Dungeons & Dragons is widely recognised as the great-grandparent of modern role-playing games and the role-play gaming industry as a whole. Almost immediately after its release, role-playing games including Tunnels & Trolls and Empire of the Petal Throne popped up the following year, while Chivalry & Sorcery arrived in 1976.
Over the years, there have been many iterations of the game which weaved in medieval history and mythology, as well as spells. There were also advanced modules introduced, including Ravenloft and Spelljammer, which added elements of horror and science fiction, respectively.
From kitchen table game to big screen
Having made the transition from board game to inspiring comic books and novels, many Gen X-ers have fond memories of the animated TV series of the same name, which ran for 27 episodes from 1983 to 1985.
Focusing on a group of friends who are transported to another world via a ride at an amusement park, the series featured a Dungeon Master who gave each child a magical item, including an invisibility cloak – long before Harry Potter got his hands on one – a magic bow and a magic shield, to help them as they try to find their way home.
However, 2000 film Dungeons & Dragons, starring Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons, was savaged by critics and bombed at the box office, scoring only a 10 per cent ratings approval on Rotten Tomatoes.
Celebrity fans
A-list fans have not been shy in extolling their love for the game. True Blood star – and Sofia Vergara's husband – Joe Manganiello has spoken about his role as Dungeon Master for a celebrity-packed Dungeons & Dragons group.
The group, which includes Fanboys director Kyle Newman, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, actor Vince Vaughn, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and Dan Weiss, co-creator of Game of Thrones, meet regularly to play the open-ended game.
"The guys who created Game of Thrones play in my group, and the game was instrumental for them in creating long-form storytelling within a fantasy world, with dragons and archetypal warriors, fighters, wizards and things like that," Manganiello told Variety.
“It’s a lot of fun, all of us used to play when we were younger. It was instrumental for a lot of us in terms of what we’d wind up doing for a career. For me as an actor, doing the character building, writing back stories … I was doing this stuff before I even started acting.”
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait this month is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
UAE’s fixtures: Fri Apr 20, UAE v Qatar; Sat Apr 21, UAE v Saudi Arabia; Mon Apr 23, UAE v Bahrain; Tue Apr 24, UAE v Maldives; Thu Apr 26, UAE v Kuwait
World T20 2020 Qualifying process:
- Sixteen teams will play at the World T20 in two years’ time.
- Australia have already qualified as hosts
- Nine places are available to the top nine ranked sides in the ICC’s T20i standings, not including Australia, on Dec 31, 2018.
- The final six teams will be decided by a 14-team World T20 Qualifier.
World T20 standings: 1 Pakistan; 2 Australia; 3 India; 4 New Zealand; 5 England; 6 South Africa; 7 West Indies; 8 Sri Lanka; 9 Afghanistan; 10 Bangladesh; 11 Scotland; 12 Zimbabwe; 13 UAE; 14 Netherlands; 15 Hong Kong; 16 Papua New Guinea; 17 Oman; 18 Ireland
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
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What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
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Prostate checks: 5
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Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
- Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
Thu, Aug 30: UAE v Nepal; Hong Kong v Singapore; Malaysia v Oman
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
RACE CARD
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 1,000m
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
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8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Amith's selections:
5pm: AF Sail
5.30pm: Dahawi
6pm: Taajer
6.30pm: Pharitz Oubai
7pm: Winked
7.30pm: Shahm
8pm: Raniah
MATCH INFO
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Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
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