D&D is getting a live-action TV adaptation from the writer and director of Dodgeball
The 8-episode series will air on Paramount+.
On top of the big screen adaptation with Chris Pine, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, D&D is now poised to return to TV, with Paramount+ ordering an 8-episode run from studio eOne.
The studio had interest from multiple buyers, according to Deadline, but the streaming service, which also features the iffy Halo adaptation, won out. The show will be a co-production between eOne and Paramount Pictures, with Rawson Marshall Thurber directing the first episode, for which he also wrote the script.
While the plot and setting have yet to be revealed, there's a pretty good chance it will be aiming for laughs as much as goblin-slaying, given that Thurber also wrote and directed Dodgeball, Central Intelligence and Red Notice. This isn't Thruber's only game adaptation, either, since he's also directing The Division, based on Ubisoft's multiplayer series.
Despite the lukewarm critical response to Halo, the series has been a success for Paramount+, so it's no surprise that the streaming platform is eager for more shows based on games. I'm sure the popularity of Amazon's Rings of Power, Netflix's Witcher series and spin-offs, and HBO's House of the Dragon also makes another fantasy show an appealing prospect. It could also potentially launch a D&D universe of scripted and unscripted shows.
Unlike the original Dungeons & Dragons show, which aired during the mid-'80s for three seasons and was responsible for at least one kid becoming obsessed with D&D (that kid is me), the Paramount+ show will be a live action deal. There's no word on the cast yet.
While the popularity of D&D—and tabletop gaming generally—seems to be on the rise, helped by a variety of factors from the pandemic to Stranger Things, it looks like things aren't going quite as well on the videogame adaptation front. Last week, it was reported that Wizards of the Coast had cancelled at least five D&D games, though it declined to comment on what games had been affected.
Paramount+ is yet to announce a date for the new show, but we'll still be able to get our live action D&D kicks on March 31 when Honor Among Thieves arrives.