Netflix's New High Fantasy Series Is What Dungeons & Dragons Fans Have Been Waiting For

Published Sep 5, 2026, 7:45 PM EDT

Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. 

Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).

We were lucky enough to get the 2023 movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, but the planned follow-ups, unfortunately, went silent. Now, Netflix is making up for it with the announcement that it is developing a live-action Ravenloft series. This is a word that will immediately pique the interest of any D&D enthusiast. Ravenloft is the dark and gritty gothic horror setting of the game, and comes naturally with delicious thrills and chills. It's just the sort of thing we have all been begging for.

Ravenloft is coming from writer and executive producer John August, who is a frequent collaborator of Tim Burton, as well as executive producer Alfonso Cuarón, known for Pan's Labyrinth, Harry Potter, and Gravity. Hasbro Entertainment is also involved with the project, so we can expect this new series to align faithfully with players' expectations. So far, there just aren't any downsides here.

Netflix's Ravenloft Almost Makes Up For Not Getting Honor Among Thieves 2

The news about Ravenloft is especially great considering just how much Dungeons & Dragons fans have been let down in the past. Honor Among Thieves was a great offering, as demonstrated by its 91% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Immediately after the film released in 2023, there were calls for a sequel. Unfortunately, Paramount spent a good deal of cash making Honor Among Thieves—approximately $150 million. This is quite standard for a large-scale fantasy movie, but the fact that the global box office gross for this project was only $205 million really put a damper on things.

Paramount couldn't justify a sequel for that cost, so we have had to let the whole idea go for now. The pain was eased slightly, however, by the announcement of a Forgotten Realms ​​​​​​series from Drew Crevello and Shawn Levy, but the plug was pulled on this Dungeons & Dragons adaptation as well. Assuming Ravenloft doesn't suffer the same frustrating fate, this would most certainly make up for all those previous disappointments. Honor Among Thieves 2 or a Forgotten Realms series would be fantastic, but it's hard to complain when Netflix is throwing around the word Ravenloft.

Can Ravenloft Live Up To Prime Video's Critical Role Shows?

As we discuss the disappointment around canceled Dungeons & Dragons projects, it wouldn't be quite fair to ignore Prime Video's Critical Role shows. This started with The Legend of Vox Machina, and has since continued with The Mighty Nein, two animated series that adapt the real-play campaigns of YouTube's Critical Role. These shows are, honestly and truly, spectacular. Both hold a perfect 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and there are no signs of that streak ending any time soon. It's a massive legacy to hold up to. So, can Ravenloft manage it?

A 100% score on a live-action Netflix series is unlikely, since the pool of critics is guaranteed to be much larger. Even when considering this, it's hard to imagine that Ravenloft will be as much of a slam dunk as The Legend of Vox Machina. D&D enthusiasts may prefer Prime Video's animated shows, but the full truth is that Ravenloft is far more likely to gain mainstream popularity. Animation is a great way to bring fantasy to life, but it doesn't attract the same sort of audience. Said and done, this new Netflix project will probably stand out more (even if it is never as good).

Original Release Date 1974

Publisher TSR Inc., Wizards of the Coast

Designer E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson

Player Count 2-7 Players