Joe Manganiello has not given up on bringing Dragonlance to television. The actor, writer and longtime Dungeons & Dragons player says the live-action project that was cancelled after years of development remains a personal ambition, even if it is not presently an announced or active series.

That distinction is the essential one for fans: Manganiello has expressed renewed optimism, not revealed a greenlight, production start, cast, network, streaming home or release window. His comments describe a door he believes can reopen rather than confirmation that it has reopened.

The proposed series had been a significant undertaking for Manganiello. He was brought aboard as showrunner and screenwriter, with the aim of adapting a setting and stories that helped draw him into tabletop role-playing. A showrunner is the person who typically provides the creative and practical leadership for a television series, guiding its writing and production direction. In this case, that role meant Manganiello was not merely attached as an actor; he was developing the project’s core creative approach.

A project caught in leadership changes

Manganiello says the project lost momentum amid leadership changes at Entertainment One. He had been hired by Michael Lombardo, a former HBO executive whom Manganiello felt understood the pitch and believed in its potential. When Lombardo and another producing partner departed, Manganiello described the project and a separate Dungeons & Dragons documentary as having become “nobody’s child.”

For more context, explore Snoop Dogg’s Dr. Bombay Hires Violinist Annabelle Traves for $30,000 Remote Ice Cream Tasting Role.

That phrasing captures a familiar, if frustrating, reality of screen development. A project can have a script, a creator and a recognizable underlying property, yet still depend heavily on the executives and producers who champion it inside a company. When those people move on, their replacements may have different priorities, different strategies or little reason to take ownership of work initiated before their arrival.

Manganiello said he was turning in his script as those changes unfolded. In his telling, the people who had backed the original plan were no longer in place, leaving him without internal allies to help carry the series through the next stages. The live-action Dragonlance project was ultimately confirmed as cancelled in 2024.

Cancellation is not necessarily the same thing as a permanent creative dead end, but it is also not a promise of eventual rescue. In entertainment, a revival would ordinarily require fresh support from the relevant rights holders and business leadership, along with a viable production plan. None of those elements has been publicly detailed here. Manganiello’s new comments should therefore be read as an expression of persistence, rather than a formal status change.

Why Manganiello sees a reason for optimism

Manganiello nevertheless says there is “new hope,” pointing to Dan Ayoub, the president of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Digital Games. Ayoub had previously served as senior vice president of Dungeons & Dragons and had moved into the presidency only days before Manganiello discussed the series.

Manganiello called Ayoub a strong leader and said the pair work well together. He also suggested that there are now talented people inside the company with whom he expects to make “amazing things.” Most directly, he said the dream has always been to be running a Dragonlance series and that he will not abandon that hope.

That is encouraging language from someone who spent five years on the effort, but it remains subjective and forward-looking. Ayoub’s new title may matter to future plans, yet the available information does not establish what effect, if any, the leadership change has had on Dragonlance. It also does not establish that a television adaptation has moved back into development.

For the practical-minded D&D audience, the sensible reading is simple: watch for concrete follow-up rather than treating enthusiasm as an announcement. A confirmed revival would normally come with details such as a studio or platform, a new development order, named producers, a renewed writing assignment, or a production timetable. None has been provided.

The documentary may be the nearer-term project

The other project in Manganiello’s comments is a Dungeons & Dragons documentary. It was also affected by the earlier leadership upheaval, he said, but he now believes it may be closer to release than the television show.

Again, “closer” does not establish a date or guarantee. It does, however, suggest that the documentary may be the more immediate place to look for a tangible outcome from Manganiello’s ongoing D&D work. Documentaries and scripted fantasy series have very different development demands: the latter must solve larger questions around long-term creative direction, production scale and distribution, while the former may follow a different route to completion. The specific scope, format and release plans for Manganiello’s documentary have not been laid out in these comments.

There is additional discussion of Manganiello’s continuing interest in the project in this report on his hope for a Dragonlance revival. What remains clear is that he considers both the series and documentary unfinished ambitions, rather than ideas he has personally put behind him.

Dragonlance’s place in the wider D&D screen question

The potential series also sits within a broader effort to translate Dungeons & Dragons beyond the tabletop. The 2023 film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves received a positive critical response but did not deliver a strong commercial result. A sequel has not materialized, despite reports that a second script exists.

That backdrop helps explain why caution is warranted. D&D is a well-known name, and Dragonlance carries meaning for many fantasy and tabletop fans, but a recognizable property alone does not settle the practical questions around a screen production. The route from early development to a finished series is full of decision points, especially when corporate restructures have already interrupted one attempt.

It also makes Manganiello’s personal attachment notable. His interest is tied not simply to the commercial appeal of D&D, but to material he says was formative in his own relationship with tabletop gaming. That does not make a series more certain, but it explains why the cancelled project remains something he is willing to pursue after a lengthy and unsuccessful first run.

What has and has not changed

  • What has changed: Manganiello says he sees renewed hope, has a positive working relationship with Dan Ayoub, and believes the D&D documentary could be nearer to release.
  • What has not changed publicly: There is no confirmed return of the live-action Dragonlance show, no announced platform, no release date and no disclosed production schedule.
  • What remains relevant: The original effort was derailed after key supporters left during organizational changes, and it was confirmed cancelled in 2024.

For now, the best description of Manganiello’s Dragonlance television ambition is dormant but not abandoned. His words offer fans a reason to keep an eye on future D&D screen developments, particularly any news around the documentary or formal movement on a scripted project. They do not yet provide a reason to mark a series premiere on the calendar.