Joe Manganiello, the passionate Dungeons & Dragons fan and actor, has confirmed that his long-anticipated live-action adaptation of the beloved Dragonlance series is officially dead. Despite years of dedicated work, a highly praised script, and creative designs that promised a fresh take on the fantasy world, the project fell victim to corporate shakeups and waning interest from Wizards of the Coast. The sale of Hasbro’s eOne studio and the poor reception of recent Dragonlance games ultimately sealed its fate, leaving fans to mourn what could have been the greatest D&D adaptation yet.
“Everything happened exactly as he said,” Weis said in an email. “The rumor is floating around that a pilot was actually filmed. That did not happen and Joe doesn’t say that it happened. The project never got that far.”
Rumors of a live-action English-language adaptation of the Dragonlance setting have circulated for years now, but things came to a head early 2023. That’s when Manganiello, speaking during a D&D livestream presentation, seemed to indicate that he was working on a Dragonlance TV project in earnest. On Wednesday he confirmed to ComicBook.com that the project was real, and that it wasn’t moving forward following the sale by Hasbro of its eOne entertainment arm to Lionsgate. That’s a move that Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks had been telegraphing to the company’s investors for years.
“Tracy and Margaret were all about it,” Manganiello said of the project, which had a completed script for a pilot episode. The actor, clearly in mourning, said there was a 1,000-page lookbook created featuring concepts for arms and armor, as well as unique takes on the franchise’s iconic dragons.
“I [even] offered to buy Dragonlance [from Hasbro],” Manganiello said.
In addition to the sale of eOne, Manganiello points to the lackluster performance of last year’s Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen adventure module. Following a fractious legal battle over a new series of Dragonlance novels, neither Hickman nor Weis were invited to participate in its creation. Manganiello, clearly frustrated, also said that the module was weighed down by what he calls a “failed” board game, Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn, designed by Rob Daviau (Risk Legacy, Pandemic Legacy) and Stephen Baker (HeroQuest, Battle Masters).
Last we heard, Paramount Plus was said to be working on a D&D streaming series with eOne. It’s not known to have had anything to do with Dragonlance. Fans still have some exciting new content on the horizon, however: Dragons of Eternity, the third volume in the Dragonlance Destinies series by Hickman and Weis, is due out on Aug. 6. Pre-orders are available now, including at Amazon. You can read excerpts of the trilogy’s first two novels, Dragons of Deceit and Dragons of Destiny, on AELGAMES – alongside in-depth interviews with the authors.
Why did Joe Manganiello’s dream Dragonlance TV show get canceled in 2024
Joe Manganiello’s dream live-action Dragonlance TV show was canceled in 2024 primarily due to Hasbro’s sale of eOne, the TV and film company that had been developing the project, which disrupted its production pipeline. Additionally, the departure of eOne President Michael Lombardo, a key supporter of the series, further weakened the project’s backing. Another significant factor was the poor commercial performance of the 2022 Dragonlance 5e adventure Shadow of the Dragon Queen and the related board game, which led Wizards of the Coast to lose interest in further developing the Dragonlance property at that time. Despite Manganiello’s highly praised script and creative vision, these corporate and market challenges ultimately doomed the adaptation.
How did Hasbro’s sale of eOne influence the show’s cancellation
Hasbro’s sale of eOne significantly influenced the cancellation of Joe Manganiello’s Dragonlance TV show because eOne was the studio developing and managing the project. When Hasbro decided to sell eOne’s film and TV business to Lionsgate in 2023, it disrupted the production pipeline and caused uncertainty about the show’s future. The sale was part of Hasbro’s strategic decision to focus on fewer, more profitable properties, which deprioritized projects like Dragonlance that did not directly support its core branded entertainment strategy. This corporate shift, combined with key personnel departures at eOne and the transition to a new parent company, led to a loss of momentum and support for the Dragonlance adaptation, ultimately contributing to its cancellation.
