The director of Netflix smash-hit Red Notice, Rawson Marshall Thurber, will oversee a flagship live-action Dungeons and Dragons TV series for eOne. This will form the cornerstone of a D&D TV universe that will include both scripted and unscripted shows.
Their Dungeons and Dragons movie starring Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez wrapped filming in August 2021 and is set for release in 2023. Developing Dungeons and Dragons for television has been a big focus for eOne since they were acquired by the makers of the original game – Hasbro.
“We don’t want it to just be one show, so we are building out, developing out a multi-pronged approach for television, a number of scripted shows and unscripted, and we hope to be taking this out to the marketplace early next year” the President of eOne said last November.
It is likely that Netflix will pursue the Dungeons and Dragons show, but we don’t yet know where it will land. The game has remained perennially popular since it came out in the 1970s. In the 1980s there was also a cartoon TV series of the same name.
Through such TV shows as Stranger Things, the 1980s have been back in fashion in recent years and this has led to a resurgence of interest in the game. The popularity of fantasy series such as Lord of the Rings and The Witcher also means that many people are familiar with the character types such as ranger, bard, rogue, sorcerer and wizard. Being the DM (Dungeon Master) of a group of friends is considered a trusted and coveted position.
While Thurber did grow up in the 1980s, his background was in comedy movies, such as Dodgeball and We’re the Millers before pivoting to Dwayne Johnson projects – Central Intelligence, Skyscraper and Red Notice. So, fantasy is coming somewhat from left-field for the director. Due to the success of Red Notice, he has been in demand though and eOne are clearly investing a lot in this D&D series.
If you’re rolling your 20-sided dice in excitement for Dungeons and Dragons, check out our guide to the best fantasy movies.