Attaching the director of "Roma" to a vampire-themed Dungeons & Dragons series sounds like miscasting on paper, but that's exactly what makes Netflix's latest move so intriguing. According to Deadline, Alfonso Cuarón is joining as executive producer on a live-action series adapted from D&D's classic Ravenloft campaign setting, with the show sharing the same title, "Ravenloft."
Cuarón wrote and directed "Roma" for Netflix in 2018, earning multiple award honors and marking his first collaboration with the streamer. This time, he's not directing but serving as executive producer, with John August actually writing the script. August's credits include Tim Burton's "Big Fish" and "Corpse Bride," so he's no stranger to gothic, dark atmospheres—a solid match for Ravenloft's setting, which is steeped in horror and tragedy.
The story will center on Darklord Strahd von Zarovich—the most iconic vampire villain in the Ravenloft campaign setting—with the series tracing his origin story. Netflix and Hasbro Entertainment have chosen to approach this through the character's backstory rather than adapting the campaign's plot directly, which is the only confirmed narrative direction so far. Casting, episode count, and release date have not yet been announced.
This isn't the first time D&D has made its way to the screen. The 2023 film starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Regé-Jean Page hit theaters not long ago, and HBO is also developing a series based on the video game "Baldur's Gate 3." For "Ravenloft" to carve out its own gothic horror identity amid all these adaptations, the script and casting will be the two things worth watching closest going forward.
