The podcast Midst will continue later this year with a four-part sequel that brings in Critical Role cast members Liam O’Brien and Marisha Ray. Announced last night, Moonward is a new four-part miniseries set in the world of Midst that brings together O’Brien and Ray with Third Person, the troupe behind the original Midst show. Third Person’s Matt Roen and Sara Wile (who had previously been anonymous until a Critical Role live stream this week) will join O’Brien and Ray as “players” while Third Person’s Xen will serve as the “Guide Narrator” for the series.ย
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Moonward will feature a cast of characters on an expedition to locate the sunken remains of Midst’s destroyed moon. The series will run four episodes and was filmed in Critical Role’s studio. Midst was originally a podcast but was acquired by Critical Role and extended for an additional third season. Remastered versions of the podcast aired on YouTube, but with few visual elements outside of largely static animation that ran throughout the episodes.ย
Unlike Critical Role’s other narrative content, Moonward is not an Actual Play series, but rather an improv storytelling show in the vein of the first Midst series. There are no rules or dice, just actors sitting around a table describing a story as it unfolds. A full trailer for Moonward will be released on July 24th.
Critical Role has worked to expand its programming over the past two years to supplement its main Dungeons & Dragons-focused programming. In addition to Midst, Critical Role also launched a Candela Obscura monthly series that focused on gothic horror, and also launched a new podcast called Re-Slayer’s Take on their Beacon streaming service. Critical Role is also simultaneously developing seasons of The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein for Amazon Studios alongside animation partner Titmouse Inc.