'Dungeons and Dragons' Receives Straight To Series Order At Paramount+

Hot off the heels of the upcoming live-action blockbuster movie, the "Dungeons and Dragons" franchise looks like it's getting new live-action television series for Paramount+. Deadline reports that Paramount+ has given an eight-episode, straight-to-series order for live-action series based on the popular longtime, fantasy, tabletop role-playing game series.

The game series is being adapted by Rawson Marshall Thurber ("Red Notice," "Skyscraper"), who wrote the pilot script and will direct the first episode of the upcoming series, which is being produced by Hasbro's eOne Entertainment and Paramount Pictures.

eOne reportedly shopped the project starting last November, which gained interest from multiple buyers. Paramount+ later got the rights to the show. It makes sense that Paramount Pictures would pursue the television series, in light of the studio soon releasing the upcoming live-action movie based on the game series, "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves," which lands in theaters later this March.

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Additionally, eOne President of Global Television Michael Lombardo had made the creation of a television show for "Dungeons and Dragons" a major priority for the studio. The planned series will reportedly be the largest TV project ever for Paramount+ in terms of scope, with plans to launch a potential shared "Dungeons and Dragons" universe for the streamer that could span multiple shows, both scripted and unscripted. EVP of Scripted Television Gabriel Marano is overseeing the live-action series for eOne.

The announcement comes at a time when "Dungeons and Dragons" IP holder Hasbro is currently looking to offload its eOne film and television business. Hailing from Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast, the popular fantasy role-playing game, designed and created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, is typically overseen by a host called the Dungeon Master and uses multi-sided dice. The franchise first began almost 49 years ago and has had over 50 million players. The franchise also now encompasses various videogames, merchandise, and livestream entertainment across streaming channels, such as Twitch and YouTube.

Interestingly enough, another genre-heavy adaptation that Thurber is working on is an adaptation of the classic cartoon and toyline, "Voltron," as a live-action feature adaptation for Amazon Studios based on a pitch he sold. He is co-writing the film with Ellen Shanman and is attached to direct the film. He will also produce the project alongside Todd Liberman. Thurber is also writing two sequels to "Red Notice" for Netflix. The film remains the streaming service's most-watched original film of all time.

The upcoming film, "Honor Among Thieves" is directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. It stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, and Hugh Grant. It hits theaters on March 31. This will not be the first theatrical adaptation of the series, lest moviegoers forget the 2000 film starring Jeremy Irons, Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, and Thora Birch. The film was a box office flop, making only $33 million off of a $45 million budget. It was also savaged by critics. It will be interesting to see if the new film, with an impressive budget and cast, can fare better when its released.