Tom Hanks' First Major Role Was in This Fantasy Film That's Even More Depressing Than 'The NeverEnding Story'

14 hours ago 3

Tom Hanks crawling in the sand in Splash.

Published Feb 10, 2026, 5:42 PM EST

Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.

Tom Hanks might have landed the role of "America's Dad," yet he's also starred in some very, very dark films. Philadelphia tackles the fallout of the AIDS crisis. Cast Away shows how solitude can wear on a man's soul. Saving Private Ryan doesn't flinch from showcasing the horrors of war. Yet it's Hanks' debut film, Mazes and Monsters, that stands out due to his incredible performance. Mazes and Monsters is also infamous for being the kind of fantasy film that eclipses the dark moments of The NeverEnding Story; keep in mind, that film has an emotionally scarring scene where the protagonist loses his horse.

Mazes and Monsters takes its plot from the novel of the same name by Rona Jaffe, and features college student Robbie Wheeling (Hanks) as he starts playing a campaign of Mazes and Monsters with his newfound friends Jay-Jay (Chris Makepeace), Daniel (David Wysocki) and Kate (Wendy Crewson). Things take a dark turn as Robbie winds up having a psychotic break and believing he's actually the character he's playing. Throughout Mazes and Monsters, Hanks shows off the acting skills that would make him a household name.

Tom Hanks Gives A Tragic Performance in 'Mazes and Monsters'

Tom Hanks as Robbie holding a lantern in 'Mazes and Monsters'

While The NeverEnding Story manages to balance moments of hope and horror, Mazes and Monsters slowly descends into a dark drama and doesn't let up. Robbie's delusions affect everyone around him, as he breaks off his relationship with Kate due to his character being a cleric, and he winds up stabbing a mugger, believing it to be a monster. The rest of the group have their own hangups, whether it's Jay-Jay's self-esteem issues leading him to consider committing suicide or Kate's absentee father. Unlike Bastian in The NeverEnding Story, Mazes and Monsters doesn't use fantasy as a path to salvation but rather a prison that slowly closes around those involved.

The element that keeps Mazes and Monsters from being overly melodramatic is Hanks, who perfectly captures the ups and downs Robbie is going through. A perfect example is the aftermath of the scene where Robbie stabs the mugger; upon seeing the bloody knife he's holding, and the stains on his clothes, there's a look of utter despair on his face that would break even the hardest of hearts. If that wasn't enough, Robbie has a tear-filled call with Kate where he begs for help, and Hanks' voice is full of the kind of loss you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Hanks continues to deliver these kinds of performances well into his career; there's a reason why people keep flocking to Greyhound on Apple TV.

'Mazes and Monsters' Sparked the 'Dungeons & Dragons' Scare

Anyone who watches Mazes and Monsters can easily figure out that the game Robbie and his friends are playing is Dungeons & Dragons in all but name. What they don't know is that the movie was released in an era where Dungeons & Dragons was considered to have satanic ties, especially in the wake of college student James Dallas Egbert committing suicide. Upon discovering Egbert's D&D materials, a wave of panic broke out as many falsely believed his dabbling in the game led him down a dark path. Michael Gray, a game designer who worked on the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons, said that he and other creators received threats of all kinds.

"It helped the sales of D&D, but there were a whole lot of people that thought it was an evil company. Gary Gygax felt so threatened he got a new house quite a ways away from Lake Geneva - it was a big secret."

While Stranger Things and The Legend of Vox Machina have helped make Dungeons & Dragons into a global phenomenon, Mazes and Monsters painted it as the road to ruin. Yet it also served as the pathway for Tom Hanks to become one of the world's most decorated actors, and showed that even at a young age he had plenty of talent. Fantasy fans should prepare for a Nat20 in emotional damage if they ever want to watch Mazes and Monsters.