D&D Movie/TV Ravenloft TV series in development by Netflix, Forgotten Realms TV series is dead

Netflix is developing a live-action series telling the origin story of Strahd von Zarovich. Deadline reports that Netflix is developing Ravenloft, a new Dungeons & Dragons TV series covering the origins of Strahd. The series is described as a “prestige fantasy series” combining adventure, gothic horror, and tragic romance. The series is being written and executive produced by John August, who has previously worked with Tim Burton on movies like Big Fish, Corpse Bride, and Dark Shadows. Also executive producing the series is Alfonso Cuaron and Hasbro Entertainment.

In addition to the news that a new Ravenloft TV series is in development, Deadline also reports that a planned Forgotten Realms series is “no longer in development” at Netflix. That show was announced last year and featured Drew Crevello writing and Shaun Levy executive producing. No reason was given for the abandonment of the show, but previous interviews indicated that the writers were struggling to come up with a strong narrative for the story.

 

[Parmandur]

Thanks so much for taking the time to look into this and type it up.

It definitely looks like I was thinking of a couple rare outliers such as Arcane and K-Pop Demon Hunters where animation might be more expensive than live action in the fantasy genre.

Appreciate the knowledge-check!

Absolutely!

One of the biggest mistakes TSR/WotC has made with D&D as a brand, IMO, is not pursuing some form of D&D anime.

 

[Zardnaar]

Decided to do a full fact check here.

For live action shows:

• Game of Thrones: $6-15 million per episode, started on the lower end of $6 mil and worked up to $15 mil
• House of the Dragon: ~$20 million per episode
• Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: $6-9 million per episode
• Witcher: $11.5 million per episode in Season 1, up to $27 million per episode in Season 4
• Rings of Power: $58-60 million per episode (it shows in 4K, too)
• Wheel of Time: $10-16 million per episode
• Shadow and Bone: $3-5 million per episode

For animated shows:

• Arcane: $14 million per episode (per what I've heard, Riot lost money on this)
• Frieren: $150,000-$300,000 per episode (thousands, not millions)
• Delicious in Dungeon: $150,000-$460,000 per episode
• Legend of Vox Machina: $750,000-1.1 million per episode
• Demon Slayer (or Hunters, as ye will) : $80,000-$115,000 per episode (and this is one of the most successful animated shows)

So, outliers in both cases, CGI animation being more in the same realm of lower end Live Action for the budget.

Shadow and Bone was surprisingly good relative to its budget.

 

[Azzy]

• Frieren: $150,000-$300,000 per episode (thousands, not millions)
• Delicious in Dungeon: $150,000-$460,000 per episode
• Demon Slayer (or Hunters, as ye will) : $80,000-$115,000 per episode (and this is one of the most successful animated shows)

I'm genuinely surprised that Demon Slayer costs less than the other two, given the the quality of the animation is better (Ufotable does some amazing animation).

 

[Parmandur]

I'm genuinely surprised that Demon Slayer costs less than the other two, given the the quality of the animation is better (Ufotable does some amazing animation).

Could be my quick searching turned up old, non-inflation adjusted numbers.

But the Japanese Anime industry does produce some excellent work at a low cost...

 

[Clint_L]

Not exited for this. I think it’ll end up feeling like just another vampire show rather than a D&D one, and it’s one of my least favourite settings. But I hope I’m 100% wrong.

If it actually gets made, which I doubt. Strahd and Ravenloft have very little brand awareness outside of D&D. This is what has always made D&D a hard sell: the brand has high awareness, but it has no popular characters, and that’s what hooks the audience. It’s not a literary property, it’s a game.

 

[MockingBird]

I hope its good. Still salty about the Witcher.

 

[Scott Christian]

Not exited for this. I think it’ll end up feeling like just another vampire show rather than a D&D one, and it’s one of my least favourite settings. But I hope I’m 100% wrong.

If it actually gets made, which I doubt. Strahd and Ravenloft have very little brand awareness outside of D&D. This is what has always made D&D a hard sell: the brand has high awareness, but it has no popular characters, and that’s what hooks the audience. It’s not a literary property, it’s a game.

To be fair, Drizzt, and the Icewind Dale Trilogy, has a pretty broad appeal outside of D&D. I have met a ton of teachers, generally in their 40s and 50s, that have read the books. Some loved the books. None of them play D&D, nor can they tell you who Tasha or Mordenkainen is. But you bring up Drizzt and many know the character.
And remember, when making a show, you have people that might not be in the hobby, but were exposed to the hobby long ago as a kid. So those people are in your market too.

 

[Zardnaar]

To be fair, Drizzt, and the Icewind Dale Trilogy, has a pretty broad appeal outside of D&D. I have met a ton of teachers, generally in their 40s and 50s, that have read the books. Some loved the books. None of them play D&D, nor can they tell you who Tasha or Mordenkainen is. But you bring up Drizzt and many know the character.
And remember, when making a show, you have people that might not be in the hobby, but were exposed to the hobby long ago as a kid. So those people are in your market too.

I'm like that with Warhammer 40k. Played the game once years ago. I understand most of the memes though and know a lot of the major characters via the novels, games etc.

 

[Clint_L]

To be fair, Drizzt, and the Icewind Dale Trilogy, has a pretty broad appeal outside of D&D. I have met a ton of teachers, generally in their 40s and 50s, that have read the books. Some loved the books. None of them play D&D, nor can they tell you who Tasha or Mordenkainen is. But you bring up Drizzt and many know the character.
And remember, when making a show, you have people that might not be in the hobby, but were exposed to the hobby long ago as a kid. So those people are in your market too.

Those books just don't have a significant cultural footprint outside of nerd fandom. Despite their relative success, these are not iconic characters that your average person could identify, or would even have heard of it. That's not to disparage them, but that's facts. If you pitch a Drizzt film or series to a producer, you're just going to get a blank stare. We're not talking Spiderman, and there aren't coattails to ride on.

Honour Among Thieves created a problem for WotC's attempt to market D&D to mass media: despite being a good, well reviewed film, it found no audience. D&D just doesn't have built-in characters with popular appeal or even popular awareness at the level needed to spur widespread curiosity.

I think their best bet is to get back in bed with Critical Role, who actually have created a character-driven fanbase (Critters, who are not unlike early Trekkies) and marshalled that support into successful series. Or spend the time and money to do it themselves. Dungeon Masters is awesome, but the seasons are too short, I think, for fans to get deeply attached to the characters.

 

[GothicDelusions]

So

A pity it's not a Van Richten's Guide series, where they could do a monster of the week with an overarching plotline and explore more of the setting.

... dungeons and dragons: Supernatutal? would that be the Crossbow brothers?