Joe Manganiello Still Hopes to Revive His Dragonlance TV Series

Joe Manganiello has not abandoned his ambition to bring Dragonlance to television. The actor, writer, producer, and prominent Dungeons & Dragons fan has again discussed the canceled live-action adaptation, saying that he will continue to hold out hope for the project despite the setbacks that ended its original development path.

Speaking at Lucca Comics and Games 2026, Manganiello reflected on the long effort behind the proposed series. He had been attached as both showrunner and screenwriter, with the intention of adapting one of Dungeons & Dragons' most enduring settings for a live-action audience. Although the show was ultimately confirmed as canceled in 2024, Manganiello indicated that he does not view the idea as permanently dead.

"The dream was always, always to be off running a Dragonlance series, and I will never give up hope on that," Manganiello said. "And I think there's a lot of people that share that vision."

That is not a confirmation that a new Dragonlance production is underway. No broadcaster, streaming service, release window, cast list, or new production partner has been announced. Still, Manganiello's comments make clear that he remains interested in returning to the property if a viable route emerges, and he believes the current environment around Dungeons & Dragons may offer more room for that possibility than existed when the first effort ended.

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Five years of work met changing priorities

Manganiello described the collapse of the original plan as the result of major internal changes rather than a simple loss of enthusiasm for the material. His project had been developed through Entertainment One, commonly known as eOne, where he was hired by former executive Michael Lombardo. Manganiello said Lombardo understood his pitch and saw the potential for a large-scale fantasy series in the vein of prestige genre television.

However, leadership turnover changed the circumstances around the project. Manganiello said that both Lombardo and another producing partner left, leaving the series without the same internal advocates who had helped bring it into development. As new leadership established different priorities, the projects he had been working on became, in his words, "nobody's child."

That shift arrived at a particularly difficult moment. Manganiello said he was turning in his script as the people most invested in his original pitch were no longer in place. He also connected the situation to a Dungeons & Dragons documentary that had been progressing alongside the Dragonlance show. Without backing from the original decision-makers, he felt he had nobody in the organization helping him push either project forward.

The result was a frustrating end to years of development. For fans, canceled adaptations can often appear to vanish with no explanation beyond a short announcement. Manganiello's account illustrates how creative projects can be affected by corporate restructuring even after substantial work has been completed. A script, a pitch, established relationships, and an experienced creative lead do not necessarily guarantee that a series survives a change in executives or strategy.

Why Dragonlance remains an important Dungeons & Dragons world

Dragonlance occupies a distinctive place in Dungeons & Dragons history. The setting became widely known through tabletop campaign material and a major collection of fantasy novels, including the foundational Dragonlance Chronicles books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Its world of Krynn, its conflicts surrounding dragons and gods, and its ensemble of adventurers helped make it one of the best-known fantasy settings connected to the tabletop game.

For a live-action adaptation, that legacy presents both an opportunity and a challenge. The setting has a large built-in audience and decades of stories to draw from, but longtime readers and players also bring clear expectations. Any adaptation would need to decide whether to directly adapt familiar stories, introduce a new tale set on Krynn, or use recognizable elements in a looser interpretation. Manganiello's previous attachment suggested a creator with personal affection for the game and its history, but the details of his script and his intended approach have not been publicly revealed.

The franchise also remains active in gaming. Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, a Dungeons & Dragons adventure set during the War of the Lance, brought the setting back into focus for tabletop players. That renewed visibility does not mean a TV series is imminent, but it demonstrates that Dragonlance is still a meaningful part of the broader D&D catalog rather than merely a relic of an earlier era.

A new relationship brings cautious optimism

Manganiello tied his new optimism to Dan Ayoub, who has taken on the role of President of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Digital Games. Ayoub had previously served as senior vice president of Dungeons & Dragons. Manganiello called him a "fantastic leader" and said they work well together, adding that there are talented people at the company with whom he expects to collaborate.

"I think there are talented people within the building now that are doing some amazing things, and we're going to do some amazing things together," Manganiello said.

Those remarks point to a potentially improved working relationship, but they should be read with appropriate caution. Ayoub had only recently begun his new role at the time of Manganiello's comments, and it is not known whether the position change has directly altered the status of Dragonlance, the documentary, or any other proposed Dungeons & Dragons screen projects. The actor did not announce that the television series had been restarted, acquired, or placed back into formal development.

Instead, the update is best understood as a statement of intent. Manganiello has a renewed connection with leadership at the company behind Dungeons & Dragons, and he has not stopped advocating for a show he spent years trying to make. In an industry where canceled projects occasionally return in revised forms, with different partners or platforms, that persistence can matter. It is not a substitute for an official production announcement, but it leaves the door open.

The documentary may have a clearer route forward

Of the two long-discussed projects, Manganiello suggested that the Dungeons & Dragons documentary may be closer to reaching audiences. He said the documentary, now associated with Ayoub, could be nearer to release than the live-action Dragonlance series.

Specific details remain limited. Manganiello did not provide a title, release date, distributor, format, or full list of participants. It is also unclear whether the documentary has completed production. Even so, his remarks offer the strongest sign yet that at least one project from his extended D&D work may still emerge after the earlier disruptions.

A documentary would naturally be a different proposition from an expensive scripted fantasy series. It may require a smaller production footprint and fewer commitments from external partners, while still allowing Manganiello to explore the tabletop game and the community that surrounds it. For someone who has long publicly embraced Dungeons & Dragons, it could also preserve some of the creative momentum that was lost when the dramatic adaptation stalled.

Dungeons & Dragons still seeks its next screen chapter

The uncertainty around Dragonlance sits within a wider period of transition for Dungeons & Dragons on screen. The 2023 film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was warmly received by critics, but its commercial performance did not lead to a confirmed sequel. Discussion of a second script has persisted, yet there has been no indication that it has moved into production.

That backdrop helps explain why Manganiello's comments are hopeful rather than definitive. Dungeons & Dragons is a globally recognizable name with a deep bench of worlds, characters, and campaign settings, but translating tabletop fantasy into ongoing film and television franchises remains difficult. The material has immense scope, while a successful adaptation must still find an audience beyond existing players and readers.

For now, fans waiting for Manganiello's take on Krynn have a reason to remain cautiously interested, not a reason to expect an imminent premiere. His original series is still canceled, and no replacement arrangement has been revealed. But after describing how the first version lost institutional support, Manganiello now sees new people and a new working environment that could someday give the concept another chance.

Until a formal announcement arrives, Dragonlance remains an unrealized television ambition. Manganiello's stance is straightforward: the project may have been shelved, but he has not stopped believing it can eventually return.