D&D Movie/TV Joe Manganiello: Dragonlance TV Show No Longer In Development

Actor Joe Manganiello has confirmed that the anticipated Dragonlance TV show that he had been working on is no longer being developed. In an interview with ComicBook.com. According to Manganiello, following poor sales of Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen and the Warriors of Krynn board game last year, "Dragonlance is not a property [WotC] are interested in developing further currently". This decision was also prompted by Hasbro's sale of its media studio, eOne.

In March last year, Manganiello confirmed during an official D&D video update that he was working on a TV show for WotC, and a D&D live action series was greenly by Paramount in January. It's not clear if these are the same property.

Manganiello also talked about his approach to the property, and the new designs he had for the world, the dragons, and even the casting. "I want to make [the show] because I want to see it and I just want to feel that excited and electric about something. The characters...like the casting, I have a look book with over 1,000 pages, but it's not what you expect. The design concepts I had for the world, for the armor, for the swords....I had a fresh take on what the dragons were going to look like, it was going to be nothing like anyone has ever seen."

He has been working on a script for years, and was told by TV executives that his pilot was one of the best fantasy scripts they had ever read. He even offered to buy Dragonlance from WotC.

You can watch the whole interview at the link above.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Bob's take on it.

 

[Distracted DM]

I still haven't seen the full interview; what "stories" is it linked to?

 

[Queer Venger]

Pretty sure you're going to get that, given how successful the series has been. Except Vecna will continue to be called "The Whispered One." I'll be interested to see whether or not Arkhan appears; Manganiello is friends with the CR guys, but that character showing up was a little bit inside baseball and not necessary for the core plot. Epic, though.

epic indeed! I saw that finale and it was what D&D dreams are made of. too bad it didnt make it into the animated tv show

 

[Queer Venger]

In addition, people telling him it's an amazing script is pretty meaningless. People say what others want to hear all the time.

specially in Hollywood, I think Gary Gygax learned well that pipe-dream.

Im still puzzled why Manganiello would burn his bridges (sour grapes?) with his "the current regime" comment. What is unsaid is very well said.

 

[Distracted DM]

specially in Hollywood, I think Gary Gygax learned well that pipe-dream.

Im still puzzled why Manganiello would burn his bridges (sour grapes?) with his "the current regime" comment. What is unsaid is very well said.

It seems like it's been made clear to him that they have no plans to engage him in any such manner; he doesn't like who's in charge and he's not going to get what he wants from them, so why lie and say "it's been great working with them?"

 

[michaeljpastor]

Bob's take on it.

My only observation is that Joe Manganiello's not a showrunner.

 

[bedir than]

It seems like it's been made clear to him that they have no plans to engage him in any such manner; he doesn't like who's in charge and he's not going to get what he wants from them, so why lie and say "it's been great working with them?"

because he has enjoyed working with them on other projects, to include the 50th anniversary documentary they hired him and his brother for despite him having zero qualifications

 

[Distracted DM]

because he has enjoyed working with them on other projects, to include the 50th anniversary documentary they hired him and his brother for despite him having zero qualifications

He's stated that the DL project was the driving force for getting into bed with WotC, and the people that gave the nod to such a passion project are no longer there.

 

[bedir than]

He's stated that the DL project was the driving force for getting into bed with WotC, and the people that gave the nod to such a passion project are no longer there.

This runs counter to what Hoffer has said to expect in the installment of the interview focused on the documentary.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Even if this project has been cancelled, at least it has been useful to knock doors and meet new contacts, and this could help to save time when in the future they wanted to start a new project.

Or maybe it is because now Paramount is not in its best time and they want to avoid risks.