The live-action Dungeons & Dragons TV show is officially moving forward, as Paramount+ gives it an eight-episode season order. Now that the popular tabletop role-playing game is becoming more mainstream, there has been a bigger push within Hollywood in recent years to turn Dungeons & Dragons into the next big live-action franchise. Audiences are now mere several weeks away from seeing Paramount's live-action movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves starring Chris Pine. But, plans have also been in motion for the last few years to bring the fantasy game to small screens beyond Stranger Things.
The development of the Dungeons & Dragons show has now taken a promising turn ahead of the Dungeons & Dragons movie hitting theaters. Paramount+ has ordered an eight-episode first season for the series developed by Rawson Marshall Thurber according to Deadline. The Red Notice director is responsible for writing the pilot script and is also directing the first episode. Paramount+ acquired the series after a competitive sale that brought multiple buyers to eOne and Hasbro. There are currently no details available about the story of the Dungeons & Dragons show, who will be part of the cast, or when it will release on Paramount's streaming service. Thurber confirmed the news with a fun Dungeons & Dragons reference to the maximum dice role: a Natural 20.
Is The Dungeons & Dragons Show Connected To Honor Among Thieves?
The development of the Dungeons & Dragons show coming so close to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' winter 2023 release inevitably creates the question of if they are connected. There is currently no confirmation either way, but the possibility is not far-fetched. Thanks to Paramount+ landing the Dungeons & Dragons TV show, the upcoming live-action series and movie are coming from the same studios. eOne and Paramount co-produced and co-financed Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, so the studios working together again on the series makes a potential shared universe easier to connect.
At this time, it does not appear that the Dungeons & Dragons show and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves are connected. There are no shared creative minds between the two projects, even if the same studios are involved. Furthermore, it would have been a bigger announcement for Paramount to confirm any connection between the two Dungeons & Dragons adaptations. Whether the new series would be a prequel or spinoff, announcing a Dungeons & Dragons show connected to the movie would signal the start of a new franchise.
Dungeons & Dragons Live-Action Future Explained
Paramount does have hopes of starting a Dungeons & Dragons cinematic universe with the release of Honor Among Thieves, even if those plans have not been formally announced. Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have teased the likelihood of Dungeons & Dragons sequels happening as long as the first movie is successful. Paramount is in need of more franchises, though, and certainly has hopes that Honor Among Thieves will help launch one in the process. If it is a financial hit, more live-action Dungeons & Dragons live-action movies, spinoffs, and shows could be announced soon.
Source: Deadline