Netflix Is Making a Live-Action Dungeons & Dragons Series About Darklord Strahd Von Zarovich's Origin Story
Netflix is cooking up a live-action Dungeons & Dragons TV show based on the tabletop RPG’s gothic-horror campaign, Ravenloft, and its vampire villain, Darklord Strahd von Zarovich.
The spooky series is penned as an origin story that dives into the events that turned Zarovitch into the vicious vampire count we all know and love today.
As told by Variety, Netflix’s Ravenloft show is described as a “prestige fantasy series where adventure collides with gothic horror and tragic romance.”
“Ravenloft and its Domains of Dread redefine adventure through character-driven stories of dark magic and supernatural intrigue. At the heart of the series, Ravenloft follows the making of the vampire Darklord Strahd von Zarovich, whose story of power, love, obsession, and undead transformation charts his origins from tragic antihero to one of Dungeons & Dragons’ most notorious villains,” the description reads.
The series is created by John August (co-host of scriptwriting podcast Scriptnotes, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and is being executive produced by Alfonso Cuarón, Hasbro’s Gabriel Marano, Richard Schwartz, and Esperanto Filmoj’s Gaby Rodriguez.
Strahd von Zarovich is very much a Dracula-inspired character; formerly a prince and warlord, he got anxious in his middle age and made a pact with the Dark Powers to gain immortality. Part of that pact involved killing his own brother so he might marry his wife (Zarovich’s sister-in-law). However, it’s safe to say that she was not into her brother-in-law, as she literally flung herself off of a cliff to get away from him, killing herself and leaving Zarovich heartbroken.
This isn’t the only exciting news for D&D fans; a new game from the franchise was shown off at gamescom this year called Dungeons & Dragons: Warlock, starring Tricia Helfer as Kaatri, a warlock, and Maggie Robertson (Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu) as Tasha, a powerful witch-queen and Kaatri’s patron.
News of Netflix’s forthcoming show follows Wizards of the Coast’s April 2026 release of Ravenloft: The Horrors Within expansion, which gave players an updated version of the original story as part of Dungeons & Dragons’ Season of Horror event.
On the flip side, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are still holding out hope for a sequel after Paramount passed on the project due to “financial” reasons. While it wasn’t a box office hit at the time, fans have come to love the fantasy flick in the years since then, and with Netflix cooking up a live-action show, the D&D universe is looking like an exciting brand for studios to back.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.