I'm concerned about the directors' past emphasis on comedies

Hugh Grant has being trying out different genres, and I actually like him better now than in the past. Chris Pine being involved in this at all is encouraging. Yeah, the directors did not do much, but Game Night was a good movie that was far better than it had any reason being.

It would not surprise me if the studio wants it to like a Marvel movie. Not that I mean it will be a superhero movie but it will have that kind of tone and humor.

Sometimes the funny people know their stuff, though. Consider Todd Phillips, who was mostly known for comedies before delivering in spades with Joker. As for Hugh Grant, he has a lot of range. He made his name with that charming, somewhat nervous character, but he's got more ability than that. Look to The Gentlemen, for instance.

The rest of the cast seem too contemporary for me. I'm not saying they can't overcome this, but Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez (admittedly, the only names I recognized on a glance) seem "modern". That might hurt their ability to transport me to a fantasy world. That said, I think they're both decent actors, and maybe it'll be okay.

But, the project as a whole might go towards the comedy-action blend popularized by Marvel films - as HarlemEagle42 already suggested. That said, if they do go for a full MCU type experience, there's so much D&D to cover that there's room to expand into more serious material if the audience enjoys a more "broad" entry point into the franchise. The flip-side, of course, is that if they perceive it as frivolous or derivative, they might not care enough to watch more.

Ultimately, "wait for a trailer" is the best idea. That will (should, anyway) give a sense of the tone and quality here.

Not sure what you mean by "bigger" than Lord of the Rings. Like, there's more of it? Probably. D&D has been continuously developed by multiple authors for decades, while Middle Earth only received three primary texts by JRR Tolkien and a handful of others edited by Christopher. But if you mean "better" or "richer" I might disagree. The opportunity for storytelling is certainly there, but the world of Arda and the lands of D&D have different purposes. Because Tolkien was trying to tell stories, they come with themes, characters, and the necessary beginning-middle-end. D&D was designed to let others tell stories, so more work needs to be done to craft meaningful tales (unless directly adapting from the numerous novels).

Be more concerned that all modern movies are turned into comedies. They've been trying to make D&D into a laugh fest for many years. This ain't gonna be no LOTR adventure, and it sure as shit ain't gonna be a gritty barbarian flick from the 70s. It's gonna be an absolute Thor Ragnaork wank fest.

Have you seen the new trailer? This looks like FUN!

Isn't that what we are supposed to say? Good grief, I get so sick of these joke-a-minute marathons.