Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most beloved role-playing games in history, making it surprising there haven’t been more successful movie and TV adaptations of the complex and compelling campaigns. Recently, the explosive popularity and critical acclaim of The Legend of Vox Machina have shown that there’s an audience out there for additional projects. This could help pave the way for the potential live-action TV series based on D&D, but there will still be plenty of problems to grapple with. Namely, the show will have to pick the right story that stands out and engages fans, new and old.

As of now, the live-action D&D TV adaptation doesn’t have a home. Paramount missed a Dungeons & Dragons opportunity by choosing not to pick up the series. Due to this, the live-action TV show will be shopped around to other potential studios. However, one universe within the D&D world, Dragonlance, would make perfect sense for the series and likely attract interest from producers. However, there’s an issue the writers and creators will face when writing this narrative for the screen. Though Dragonlance is a far-reaching plot, it’s not the perfect solution.

The Most Obvious Story For A Dungeons & Dragons Show Is Based On Dragonlance

This would be a popular and accessible place for the series to start

The Dragonlance campaign makes the most sense for any potential D&D TV show now that Paramount has canceled its plans for the series despite the streaming success of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Due to its fame, notoriety, and expansive world, Dragonlance has no shortage of open-world possibilities. Using the Dragonlance Chronicles book series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and drawing inspiration from the campaigns that take place within this world would be a great progression for the show. Hickman and her sister Tracy are the original creators of the universe.

There are many benefits of drawing from such an encompassing world, as the geography, characters, lore, and politics have already been well fleshed out.

There are many benefits of drawing from such an encompassing world, as the geography, characters, lore, and politics have already been well fleshed out. This gives the writers and creative team the opportunity to use this well-built world as the setting for an original show with characters that pay tribute to the many different takes on Dragonlance. Naturally, dragons play an enormous role in the development of the plot. However, a Dungeons & Dragons TV show based on Dragonlance might be hard to watch because audiences have seen similar narratives many times before.

A Dragonlance Show May Have Trouble Standing Out In The Current Fantasy Landscape

There are too many similar series that deal with dragons

The first thing that comes to mind when contemplating a Dragonlance series is the prevalence of narratives that feature dragons in contemporary fantasy TV. Recent series like Game of Thrones brought dragons back to the forefront of speculative fiction narratives on TV, and with House of the Dragon currently airing and more spinoffs on the way, the franchise isn’t going anywhere. Additionally, there are plenty of other dragon-oriented shows planned for the future, with the television adaptation of The Empyrean novels in development. Rebecca Yarros’ books rely heavily on dragons and their connection with their riders.

Additionally, Disney has plans to bring the Eragon books to life, which will make another addition to the ever-growing list of dragons in fantasy television. Though none of these stories are exactly the same, they’re similar enough to make adapting Dragonlance more risky. Audiences will ask themselves what makes this new story that features dragons unique and why they should tune into one series rather than the others. Since so much of D&D takes place within a traditional fantasy world already, it will be important for the upcoming show to challenge this and itself to be different from the rest.

How Dungeons & Dragons Can Set Itself Apart From Its Competitors

If the series goes with a different campaign, it could present a more unique offering

Though Dragonlance makes the most sense on paper, tackling a different universe could also be a path forward for the D&D series. The opportunities for original storytelling are practically endless for the show, thanks to the many creative worlds and characters that players, fans, and writers have been imagining for decades. Instead of focusing on the limitations of one story angle, the D&D series team must look toward the opportunities that such an innovative franchise and fanbase creates. However, if Dragonlance is chosen as the jumping-off point for the series, there are still ways it can distinguish itself.

The dragons in Dragonlance don’t have to be the war machines they are in Game of Thrones or the weapons/teammates of Fourth Wing. Inherently, D&D makes them more mysterious, and their connection to the gods in Dragonlance puts them on a different plane, which is something the series could lean into. Of course, they’ll still be dangerous and used in combat, but that doesn’t have to be their only trait. It will be a long time before the live-action Dungeons & Dragon TV show is brought to life onscreen, and anticipation is only going to grow in the meantime.