Dragonlance Live-Action Project Not Moving Forward According to Joe Manganiello

Joe Manganiello has some bad news for Dungeons & Dragons fans, especially those who loved the epic fantasy series Dragonlance. Speaking with ComicBook.com’s Chris Killian in an exclusive interview, the True Blood and Justice League actor confirmed that a proposed live-action Dragonlance project he’d been working on for years was not moving forward, despite the script receiving high praise from several Hollywood producers. “Dragonlance is not a property [Wizards in the Coast] are interested in developing further, currently,” Manganiello said. Manganiello said the planned project was not moving forward due to several issues, including Hasbro’s sale of the eOne studio and the poor performance of a Dragonlance D&D adventure and board game in 2022, as reasons why the project was not proceeding.

In the interview, Manganiello spoke about the work he spent attempting to turn the Dragonlance novel series, which features a group of heroes fighting against the dark goddess of dragons and her forces of evil. Manganiello worked with a script writing partner and consulted with novel writers Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis on the project. “Tracy and Margaret were all about it,” Manganiello said. “It was really me getting in there and fleshing out the world they built, and a world they hinted at in some places but didn’t shine the magnifying glass on.” Manganiello also mentioned that he was inspired by HBO’s treatment of True Blood, which was based off The Southern Vampire Mysteries novel series. 

“What I had planned for the first season was mind blowing,” Manganiello said, speaking about his plans for the series. “I just….I want to make [the Dragonlance show] because I want to see it and I just want to feel that excited and electric about something. The characters…like the casting, I have a look book with over 1,000 pages, but it’s not what you expect. The design concepts I had for the world, for the armor, for the swords….I had a fresh take on what the dragons were going to look like, it was going to be nothing like anyone has ever seen. And these beloved characters that have been read by…I think Tracy said there’s 35 million copies in circulation.” 

Manganiello said that the script he prepared for a Dragonlance pilot was well-received by those outside of Hasbro and eOne. “The biggest fantasy literary agent in town, he said and these are his words and not mine, that it was the best fantasy pilot he had read since the original Game of Thrones,” Manganiello said. “There was another executive that read it and said it was one of the best fantasy scripts he’s ever read. I actually got an email just this morning from a producer who said it was awesome and that he wanted to send it to the rest of his company and hopes I develop another fantasy IP.” 

“I didn’t write a script that was terrible,” Manganiello said. “Calls were made to say this is what you should be making, this is what you should be doing, but currently it is to no avail.” 

Manganiello also mentioned that he even attempted to buy the rights to Dragonlance. “I offered to buy Dragonlance,” Manganiello said. “I was talking to people with money just to get it and separate it so that I could get the option and take it out on the town.” 

However, his efforts have currently reached a dead end, although he’s optimistic that things could change. “Maybe somewhere down the line, someone comes back or the company switches hands and somebody sees the value,” Manganiello said.