Netflix Officially Finds Its Next Prestige Fantasy Series To Compete With LOTR & Game Of Thrones

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.Netflix is working on a new prestige fantasy adaptation that aims to compete with the likes of The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. Ever since Game of Thrones became a huge hit for HBO, other networks and streaming platforms have attempted to create their own version of the fantasy series. Prime Video debuted The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in 2022 and also released The Wheel of Time, Netflix created The Witcher franchise, and HBO dove back into Westeros with House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Now Netflix is trying its hand again at a prestige fantasy series. Deadline reports that a live-action Dungeons & Dragons series called Ravenloft is currently in development, with John August, Alfonso Cuarón, Gabriel Marano, Richard Schwartz and Gaby Rodriguez on board as executive producers. August is also serving as the show's writer, with Hasbro Entertainment working closely on the project as well. The title refers to one of the campaign settings in Dungeons and Dragons, and will center on Darklord Strahd von Zarovich's transformation from antihero to villain. Power, romance, obsession and tragedy all collide in one epic story. This isn't the first time that Netflix has attempted a live-action Dungeons and Dragons TV show. Over a year ago, the popular streamer announced that Drew Crevello and Shawn Levy were working on The Forgotten Realms. However, it's now been confirmed that the project isn't moving forward. Instead, Netflix is focusing on Ravenloft. A separate series at Paramount+ also never materialized. Ravenloft marks August's return to TV after more than 20 years. Most of his screenwriting credits are for feature-length films like Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie and the live-action Aladdin. Cuarón, meanwhile, is the award-winning filmmaker of Gravity, Roma and Children of Men. He also directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también and A Little Princess. Both Gravity and Roma earned him Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards for Best Director. Cuarón's small-screen credits include Believe and Disclaimer. It's been eight years since Cuarón last worked with Netflix. Back then, it was for Roma, which made history as the first Netflix film to earn a nomination for Best Picture. Now he's returning for Ravenloft. This project is separate from his first-look deal with Apple TV that began in 2019. There have been multiple Dungeons & Dragons projects on both the big and small screens, going back to the 1980s with an animated series. The franchise ventured into live-action in 2000 with the first installment in what became a film trilogy that also included Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God and Dungeons & Dragons 3: The Book of Vile Darkness. In 2023, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein helmed the movie reboot Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which grossed $205 million and earned overwhelmingly positive reviews with a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score. The underwhelming box office numbers mean a sequel is not guaranteed at this point, unless the budget can be decreased, according to Paramount's Brian Robbins. Whether Dungeons & Dragons returns to the big screen is uncertain at this point, but the franchise's future is looking bright on the small screen with Netflix's announcement of Ravenloft.