Hugh Grant to play Dungeons & Dragons villain

Hugh Grant has reportedly signed up to play the villain in the upcoming film adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons.
The British actor has joined the likes of Chris Pine, Rege-Jean Page, Michelle Rodriguez, and Justice Smith for the project, which is based on the popular role-playing game, according to Deadline.

Sources told the outlet that the Notting Hill star will play the antagonist in the film, which is being directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who are also writing the script.

Newcomer Sophia Lillis, who has previously starred in It and It: Chapter Two, as well as the hit Netflix show I Am Not Okay with This, has also boarded the film, however, it's not yet known who she will be playing.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the tabletop fantasy classic is known for featuring war games, treasure hunts, campaigns, and reversals of fortune. The game involves various characters such as humans, elves, and orcs, uses multisided dice, and play is overseen by a host known as the Dungeon Master.

Dungeons & Dragons was first released in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc., and has been published by Wizards of the Coast, which is now a subsidiary of gaming giant Hasbro, since 1997.

More than 40 million fans have interacted with or played the cult game since it was first released.

Grant recently starred in the critically-acclaimed HBO series The Undoing, and is currently filming the upcoming spy thriller Five Eyes with director Guy Ritchie.