A live-action Dungeons & Dragons TV series is on its way and will be developed by John Wick writer Derek Kolstad, according to a story from The Hollywood Reporter.
Casting is already underway for a feature film adaptation of the iconic tabletop RPG (with Chris Pine set to star), but eOne – Paramount and Hasbro’s film studio – is also working on a TV series based on the fantasy universe.
Known by fans and the internet at-large as simply D&D, Dungeons and Dragons is perhaps the most famous tabletop RPG around, first published in 1974 and widely considered the origin of modern RPGs and the RPG industry as a whole. The game is known for its wars, treasure hunts and team-building objectives, which all take place in a fantasy setting home to elves, orcs and a host of other fantastical creatures.
- How to play board games online
- How Baldur’s Gate III devs are crafting the definitive D&D video game
- A Cyberpunk 2077 prequel tabletop RPG is on the way
Details are scarce on the plans for the TV series. Could Kolstad’s John Wick pedigree rub off on the world of D&D? Might we see gun-toting wizards performing daring stunts as they defeat an army of orcs? It’s very unlikely – but we'd hope to see a Witcher-esque story of The Lord of the Rings proportions. Kolstad is also a writer on the upcoming Disney Plus series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and co-created the Quibi series Die Hart – so make of that information what you will.
It’s also worth noting that eOne is working with multiple other writers to develop various projects set in the D&D fantasy universe in addition to the planned feature film and TV series, so the next few years could be very exciting for fans of the game.
Derek Kolstad, the creator and writer behind the John Wick franchise, has been tapped to pen and develop a pitch for a live-action series based on the Dungeons & Dragons universeexternal/t.co/jxhT6YWccBJanuary 15, 2021
A recent revival
Popularised in the 1980s after its 70s launch, Dungeons & Dragons has enjoyed a steady following of loyal fans in the decades since.
In recent years, it’s garnered renewed interest following the boom in mainstream fantasy storytelling – think Game of Thrones and The Witcher – not to mention the proliferation of popular streamers playing the game.
Just as Among Us proved the sleeper hit of 2020, D&D has been introduced to a whole new generation of players forced to find new games and hobbies during lengthy lockdown periods, and has found legions of new fans thanks to gameplay livestreams on Twitch and YouTube.
In October 2020, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said sales of the tabletop RPG had ballooned 20% from 2019. With a feature film and TV series on the horizon, those figures are surely set to increase even further.
- Best digital board games to play with friends and family online
