Netflix Develops Live-Action D&D Ravenloft Series With Alfonso Cuarón And John August

Netflix is reportedly developing a live-action series based on Ravenloft, the gothic-horror setting from Dungeons & Dragons, with filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón and screenwriter John August attached to the project alongside Hasbro Entertainment.

The adaptation is expected to center on Strahd von Zarovich, Ravenloft’s infamous vampire Darklord, although the project remains in development and Netflix has not announced a cast, production date or release window.

 

TL;DR

 

• Netflix is reportedly developing a live-action Dungeons & Dragons series set in Ravenloft.
• John August will write and executive produce, while Alfonso Cuarón is attached as an executive producer.
• The story is expected to explore vampire Darklord Strahd von Zarovich.
• Netflix’s previously reported Forgotten Realms series is no longer in development.
• No cast or release date has been announced.

 

Netflix Is Developing A Live-Action Ravenloft Series

 

Netflix is expanding its fantasy ambitions with a new project based on one of Dungeons & Dragons’ best-known horror settings.

Deadline was first to report that Netflix is developing the Ravenloft series, with John August writing and executive producing. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón is attached as an executive producer alongside Hasbro Entertainment.

The Verge subsequently reported that the project is currently in development at Netflix rather than formally ordered to series. That distinction means the project could still change significantly before production begins.

The initial reports did not announce casting, a production schedule or a release date.

 

Ravenloft Series Will Reportedly Focus On Strahd

 

At the center of the proposed series will reportedly be Strahd von Zarovich, one of the most recognizable villains associated with Dungeons & Dragons.

Deadline’s reporting says the story will follow the making of vampire Darklord Strahd, charting his journey from a tragic antihero through themes involving power, love, obsession and his transformation into an undead villain.

Strahd rules over Barovia, one of the Domains of Dread that make up the wider Ravenloft setting.

Ravenloft itself takes Dungeons & Dragons away from more traditional high-fantasy adventures and into gothic horror, with haunted locations, supernatural creatures and villains known as Darklords.

Dungeons & Dragons’ official Ravenloft material describes the setting as a collection of nightmare realms controlled by Darklords who are simultaneously rulers and prisoners of their domains.

The franchise’s latest tabletop release, Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, includes 16 Domains of Dread and 17 Darklords, along with new character options, monsters and tools for building horror campaigns.

John August And Alfonso Cuarón Join The Project

 

The reported creative team gives the early-stage adaptation considerable Hollywood experience.

John August is attached as writer and executive producer, while Alfonso Cuarón will executive produce. Hasbro Entertainment, which oversees film and television projects based on Hasbro properties, is also involved.

Cuarón is known for films including Gravity, Roma and Children of Men, while August’s screenwriting credits include projects such as Big Fish, Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

However, neither Cuarón nor August has been announced as the series director in the initial reporting.

Netflix and Hasbro also have not publicly detailed how closely the proposed show will follow specific Ravenloft campaigns or other existing Strahd stories.

 

Forgotten Realms Series Is Reportedly No Longer Moving Forward

 

The Ravenloft development also arrives with a less positive update for another planned Dungeons & Dragons television project.

Deadline reports that Netflix is no longer developing its Forgotten Realms series, which had been in the works with Drew Crevello and Shawn Levy.

That project was expected to bring another of Dungeons & Dragons’ most prominent settings into live-action television.

The change makes Ravenloft Netflix’s latest reported attempt to develop a television series around the D&D universe, but it also illustrates why the development status matters.

Projects can spend significant periods in development before receiving a production order, and some never advance beyond that stage.