Dungeons & Dragons is coming to the small screen, according to a recent announcement from Hasbro.
There have been a number of D&D media projects released over the years, the most famous of which was the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon from the '80s. There was also a series of D&D movies in the past, though these were all of questionable quality. D&D has traditionally been far better suited to video game adaptations, which have resulted in classics like the Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights series.
It was recently revealed that a live-action D&D show is now in development. This comes directly from a statement made by Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner. According to Comic Book, Goldner revealed during an earnings call that a new D&D series is currently being worked on.
"[The team is] also working on a couple of different approaches, because there is so much mythology in Canon to - Dungeons & Dragons for live action television," Goldner said. "And there's been very strong interest. We've talked about how many global streamers and terrestrial broadcasters have been very interested in Dungeons & Dragons."
Goldner confirmed that the show won't affect the production of the upcoming D&D movie, which is still expected to be released in 2022. There is currently no word regarding which network/streaming platform would be interested in broadcasting the show, nor any details about its characters or plot.
There are a number of D&D settings that can be used for a TV show, but it's likely that it will use Faerun/the Forgotten Realms as its location. Faerun is the most popular setting by far, so it makes sense that it would be used for the show. It's also possible that the creators of the show could make their own D&D Cinematic Universe, similar to the Arrowverse. It's confirmed that D&D characters have traveled to the different campaign worlds through magical means or Spelljammer ships, so there's no reason why the same can't happen in the show. The sharp decline of Game of Thrones might have seemingly squashed the fantasy genre on TV, but Amazon's upcoming show based on The Lord of the Rings could help elevate it again. D&D has never been more popular, so the time is right to bring it to TV in a way that can appeal to mainstream audiences. It's just a shame that the cartoon from the '80s isn't receiving a reboot... yet.
Source: Comic Book