Joe Manganiello hasn’t let go of his Dragonlance TV series. In an interview with IGN at Lucca Comics and Games 2026, the actor and lifelong Dungeons & Dragons player said “there is new hope” for the live-action project, which was confirmed cancelled in 2024. He also said a D&D documentary he has been working on is closer to release.
Manganiello was hired as showrunner and screenwriter on the Dragonlance adaptation, a story that helped introduce him to tabletop role-playing. He told IGN the project fell apart after about five years of work, and he blames leadership changes at Entertainment One rather than the material itself. Michael Lombardo, his former boss at HBO, had hired him to build what he described as the next Game of Thrones. Lombardo left, then so did Manganiello’s producing partner, and the people who remained had other priorities just as he was turning in his script. The documentary hit the same wall, and he said both projects became “nobody’s child”.
What has changed, in his telling, is who’s running the D&D business. Manganiello praised Dan Ayoub, the Wizards of the Coast executive who Hasbro announced on 27 October as the new president of Wizards of the Coast & Hasbro Digital Games, effective 2 November. Ayoub was previously senior vice president of Dungeons & Dragons. Manganiello said Ayoub “gets it”, that the two work well together, and that talented people inside the company are now doing “amazing things”. He added that the dream was always to run a Dragonlance series and that he will “never give up hope” on it.
The documentary appears to be the nearer prospect. Manganiello said the film, made with Ayoub, is closer to getting out, though he gave no release window or distributor. The Dragonlance series has no announced platform, writer or greenlight, so for now it remains an ambition rather than a production. Because Ayoub’s new role starts only this week, it’s also unclear how the promotion affects any plans Manganiello described.
Live-action D&D has had a mixed run in the meantime. The 2023 film Honor Among Thieves drew critical praise but a lukewarm box office, and a sequel hasn’t materialised. Manganiello’s other long-gestating genre project has also stalled: he recently spoke about losing Ben Affleck’s Batman film and still being willing to play Deathstroke.
Is the Dragonlance TV series officially back on?
No. Manganiello says he hasn’t given up hope and sees new support at Wizards of the Coast, but no revival, platform or release date has been announced.
Who is Dan Ayoub?
Ayoub joined Wizards of the Coast in 2022 and most recently served as senior vice president of Dungeons & Dragons. Hasbro named him president of Wizards of the Coast & Hasbro Digital Games, effective 2 November, overseeing Magic: The Gathering, D&D, Duel Masters and Hasbro’s digital games.
