The Mists are apparently rolling into Netflix.
A live-action Dungeons & Dragons series based on Ravenloft is in development at Netflix, according to a new Deadline report, giving the tabletop gaming franchise’s most famous horror setting its own shot at TV. The project, simply titled Ravenloft, comes from screenwriter John August, Alfonso Cuarón, and Hasbro Entertainment, and is described as the successor to Netflix’s other, now-canceled D&D project, The Forgotten Realms.
While Dungeons & Dragons is often associated with taverns, dragons, treasure, and quippy adventuring parties, Ravenloft is the game’s gothic nightmare corner. It’s the place where D&D trades high-fantasy heroics for haunted castles, cursed lands, tragic monsters and the sense that there’s always something lurking in the fog.
Why Ravenloft matters
Ravenloft has been one of D&D’s most iconic settings for decades, dating back to the original 1983 adventure built around Count Strahd von Zarovich. Strahd remains the setting’s defining villain — he’s a vampire lord, tragic monster, and tyrant trapped in the mist-shrouded land of Barovia.
The setting later grew into the Domains of Dread, a collection of horror realms ruled by Darklords who are often imprisoned in worlds shaped by their own sins and obsessions. The premise gives the TV show a lot of flexibility in the stories it tells, bouncing between gothic horrors, cursed folklore, and actual nightmares within the one setting.
That flexibility is a big part of why Ravenloft has endured. While Curse of Strahd remains the best-known modern entry point for many D&D players, newer books like Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft and Ravenloft: The Horrors Within have expanded the setting beyond Barovia, turning it into a toolkit for nearly every flavor of horror D&D can support.
D&D is getting busy on screen and beyond
The Ravenloft project is also part of a broader push to expand D&D outside the core tabletop game. Netflix had also been developing The Forgotten Realms, though Deadline reports Ravenloft is now positioned as its successor. Meanwhile, a sequel to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves remains uncertain, even though co-writer and co-director Jonathan Goldstein recently said a script exists.
D&D’s reach has also been boosted by projects that don’t look like traditional tabletop products. People are still playing, modding and arguing about Baldur’s Gate 3 years after its 2023 launch, while Critical Role has helped turn actual play into a major entertainment lane of its own, with live shows, animated adaptations, and a huge audience beyond the table.