Hasbro is developing a Dungeons & Dragons TV show, bringing elves and wizards and warriors to a streaming service or network near you.
Hasbro is working on developing a TV series set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons, according to The Wertzone. The only surprising thing about this is that it didn’t happen sooner.
Dungeons & Dragons is the longest-running and most popular role-playing game in history, with over 20 million rulebooks sold since 1974. It’s estimated that over 50 million people have played the fantasy role-playing game, and it’s just getting more popular. 2019 was the best-selling year for the franchise in its history, and that was before a global plague forced everyone to stay inside and use their imaginations to entertain themselves. By the time 2020 is over, it will certainly have set a new record.
So now is about the right time for a Dungeons & Dragons TV show, especially in these post-Game of Thrones days when everyone is trying to line up big new fantasy series (The Witcher, His Dark Materials, The Wheel of Time, The Lord of the Rings, etc).
We don’t have a ton of information on what exactly a D&D would look like, or where it would draw from. In addition to the base game, there are lots of books, video games and settings a show could look to for inspiration, including Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun and Planescape. Obviously, Hasbro hopes to expand this series into a shared universe like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because that’s what absolutely everyone is doing right now. As long as it steers clear of the widely derided Dungeons & Dragons movie with Jeremy Irons from 2000, they should be okay.
Actually, I take that back. I would probably watch something based on that.
Hasbro is working with Paramount to make this happen. Spider-Man Homecoming writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Daley are set to write and direct, while Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham will produce.
Remember what I said about them wanting to ape the MCU? That’s where da money is…in theory.
As of right now, there’s no home for the show, but between Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock, CBS All Access and all the network and cable channels out there, I’m betting someone will bite.
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