Netflix Is Developing a Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft Series — Strahd Origin Story, Alfonso Cuarón and What Happened to Forgotten Realms

Netflix is developing a live-action Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft series centered on the origin of vampire Darklord Strahd von Zarovich. The project has not been ordered to series — Deadline, which broke the story, describes it as officially in the works at Netflix, with John August writing and executive producing and Alfonso Cuarón attached as an executive producer. No cast, director, production start date or release window has been announced. Separately, Netflix’s earlier live-action D&D project built around the Forgotten Realms setting is no longer in development.

What Netflix Is Actually Developing

Per Hasbro’s own description of the project, Ravenloft is billed as a prestige fantasy series where adventure collides with gothic horror and tragic romance. At its center is Strahd’s transformation: his story of power, love, obsession and undead transformation, charting his path from tragic antihero to one of Dungeons & Dragons’ most notorious villains. That’s a specific creative angle — an origin story — rather than the more familiar campaign structure of adventurers traveling into Strahd’s domain to confront him.

Being “in development” means Netflix has commissioned scripts and attached creative talent, not that the show has a production start date or a series order. Projects at this stage can and do stall before filming ever begins.

Who Strahd Is in D&D Canon

Strahd von Zarovich is D&D’s original and most enduring Darklord — a vampire ruler bound to Castle Ravenloft in the demiplane of Barovia. He was introduced in the classic I6 Ravenloft adventure module, published in 1983 and created by Tracy and Laura Hickman. The comparison to Dracula is understandable given the gothic setting and vampiric premise, but Strahd’s specific identity is tied to Ravenloft’s own mechanics: Darklords are villains magically trapped within domains shaped by their own sins, unable to leave. That’s the framework the new series is drawing from, not a generic vampire-lord archetype borrowed from elsewhere.

Is This a Curse of Strahd Adaptation?

Not confirmed as one. Curse of Strahd is the major 2016 fifth-edition D&D adventure that brought players back to Barovia and Castle Ravenloft, developed by Wizards of the Coast in collaboration with the Hickmans, the original creators. It’s the most prominent recent Strahd material and the version many current D&D fans know best, which is exactly why it’s worth being precise here: Netflix and Hasbro have described the show’s focus as Strahd’s origin, not a direct adaptation of Curse of Strahd, I, Strahd, or any specific novel. The series can draw on decades of Ravenloft lore without being a screen version of one particular product.

John August and Alfonso Cuarón’s Actual Roles

John August is writing the series and executive producing. His credits lean gothic and fantastical — he’s written or co-written five Tim Burton films, including Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie, giving him a track record with exactly this kind of tone.

Alfonso Cuarón is attached as an executive producer through his Esperanto Filmoj banner, alongside Richard Schwartz and Gaby Rodriguez. He has not been announced as director, showrunner or writer on the project. Gabriel Marano executive produces for Hasbro Entertainment. Cuarón’s involvement is genuinely notable — this marks his first project with Netflix since Roma streamed on the platform in 2018 — but his current credit is producer, not filmmaker, unless Netflix says otherwise.

What Happened to Forgotten Realms?

Netflix had a separate live-action D&D project in development since 2025 built around the Forgotten Realms setting, with Drew Crevello writing and Shawn Levy executive producing. That project is no longer in development at Netflix, per Deadline. It’s worth being clear about what that does and doesn’t mean: Ravenloft is a new project with different creative talent attached, not a retitled or restructured version of the Forgotten Realms show. Netflix simply moved on from one D&D project while beginning development on a different one built around a different campaign setting.

Is It Connected to Honor Among Thieves?

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the 2023 film, is set in the Forgotten Realms and is a separate screen adaptation entirely. Nothing currently confirms Ravenloft shares continuity, characters or a shared screen universe with that film — sharing the same tabletop publisher doesn’t mean sharing the same story. For broader context, HBO also has a Baldur’s Gate series in early development from Craig Mazin, though that’s a distinct project as well; the throughline across all of these is Hasbro licensing different corners of the D&D multiverse to different studios, not one connected screen franchise.

What Netflix Hasn’t Announced

There’s no cast attached, no confirmed director, no production start date, no episode count and no release window. Until Netflix moves the project further along, the accurate framing stays simple: Ravenloft is in development, built around Strahd’s origin, with August writing and Cuarón producing — and everything past that is still to be determined.