If you’re a fan of the Dungeon Crawler Carl LitRPG novel series by Matt Dinniman, then this is the kind of news for you, as the adaptation has scored a major showrunner directly from Netflix.
According to Variety, former Shadow and Bone creator Eric Heisserer has joined as co-showrunner for the new adaptation, which will stream on Peacock. The adaptation will be live-action, and he will co-showrun the series alongside Chris Yost, the writer of Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: The Dark World for the MCU.
The adaptation itself already has an official synopsis, which is sticks close to the books it follows:
“An alien invasion has wiped out most of humanity and any survivors are forced to fight for their lives on a sadistic intergalactic game show. Sounds bad, right? Now try doing it with bare feet and a stuck-up, self-centered, tiara-wearing talking cat as your partner. Welcome to Dungeon Crawler World: Earth, where the apocalypse will be televised … and Coast Guard vet Carl finds himself stuck with his ex-girlfriend’s award-winning show cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk, as they try to survive the end of the world, fighting monsters, aliens, an insane A.I. and even other survivors … all for the sake of good TV. Survival is optional. Entertainment is not.”
Honestly, just from that synopsis alone, I’m already on board, but with Heisserer as part of this team, I know it’s going to rock. Shadow and Bone was arguably one of Netflix's better adaptations. Frankly, I’m still a little annoyed years later that Netflix canceled it (probably because the marketing for season 2 was slim to none, so thanks for that).
But now it’s all okay, because we get to have Heisserer’s talents elsewhere in this Dungeon Crawler Carl adaptation. He has worked on many great movies, including the screenplays behind Arrival (an absolutely phenomenal sci-fi movie), Lights Out, and the iconic Netflix movie Bird Box. I think this show is in good hands.
The series itself already has a cast member — Jeff Hays. But keep in mind he’s the narrator and producer of all eight Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobooks, so it makes sense as to why he’d be involved. He will be voicing Princess Donut. Other than those few key details, everything is up in the air. Dinniman is quite excited, though, and even posted about the news on his Instagram when it was confirmed that Hays would be back.
If you’re new here and you’re wondering what the heck this whole series is about — and what a LitRPG is — you’ve come to the right place.
What is Dungeon Crawler Carl?
As mentioned before, Matt Dinniman writes Dungeon Crawler Carl and, so far, has eight novels. That’s right, eight. It feels like the books are only now really starting to pick up in popularity, but Dinniman has been writing the books since 2019 (it began as a web serial) before he first self-published on Amazon in 2020. However, Ace Books picked them up traditionally in 2024.
While the series is known as LitRPG, it’s also speculative fiction with role-playing game elements, such as character stats, levels, quests, and more. It's essentially about the titular man, Carl, a United States Coast Guard veteran, and Princess Donut, his ex-girlfriend's cat.
He and the cat, along with several million others, survive the elimination of the human race and are then forced into something called the World Dungeon, where each dungeon he enters represents different aspects of dungeon crawlers in both tabletop games and video games. And, of course, the whole thing is streamed across the planet.
Is this wacky? Yes. Is it strange? You betcha. But a lot of fans love the concept, and it's wholly original. There are so many great fantasy books and fantastic sci-fi novels today, but this one is truly out there, and I love that.
Most of the time, a novel covers one floor of the dungeon, but sometimes it’ll cover two. Right now, the novels are up to Dungeons 10 and 11. The next book will most likely cover 12 and has a working title, according to Dinniman’s Patreon: “The Beautiful Place.” We’re not sure when it’ll be released, but with how much hype this new series is getting, I’m sure it won’t be too long.
One can only wonder when the show will come out, but if you’re interested, all the books are available to read on Kindle Unlimited.
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