Dungeons & Dragons rolls a new live-action series from John Wick creator

Tread carefully with torch in hand, because there’s a new Dungeons & Dragons TV series reportedly around the corner — and it’s coming from a creative mind with a whiplash action pedigree.

John Wick creator and screenwriter Derek Kolstad is reportedly rolling the 20-sided dice as the newly-recruited writer for a live-action D&D series from Hasbro & eOne, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Kolstad, who helped propel Keanu Reeves to new levels of action stardom as the mind behind John Wick’s fast-paced brand of slick secret-society infighting, will reportedly write and develop a pitch for the as-yet unnamed D&D series.

Even as Kolstad becomes Dungeon Master of his own small-screen spinoff, Paramount is teaming with Hasbro to bring a previously-announced Dungeons & Dragons adaptation to the big screen. That project already has scored a big-name casting win by lassoing Wonder Woman star Chris Pine, and is set to begin filming later this year, via the report.

The Kolstad-led TV project isn’t the only one eOne reportedly has in the works, with the company actively pursuing “multiple writers to develop various projects” framed within D&D’s lore-rich world of gnomes, elves, orcs, and humans. We don’t know if Stranger Things’ famously fond affection for the old-school tabletop rite of passage is partially to thank, but interest in all things D&D has seen a recent surge in fan interest, with THR citing Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner’s recent earnings report that the franchise has enjoyed a sales increase of 20 percent since 2019.

Kolstad’s writing work is also showing up on the small screen in some other pretty high-profile places, including Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier for Disney+, which is set to debut on Mar. 19. He also co-created the Die Hart comedy action series for the now-defunct Quibi platform, pairing the unlikely comedic duo of Kevin Hart and John Travolta. Die Hart had already been renewed for a second season at the time of Quibi’s demise; streaming stick maker Roku has since picked up the rights to Quibi’s library of 70+ short-form shows.

There’s no early word on which platform Kolstad’s live-action D&D series could land, nor on a proper title, casting, or a premiere date. In the meantime, we’ll stay in the basement with candles lit — while doing our narrative best to stay away from the Demogorgon.