Netflix Develops Live-Action Ravenloft Series with Alfonso Cuarón and John August

Netflix is developing a live-action series based on Ravenloft, the gothic horror setting of Dungeons & Dragons, with writer John August and Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón attached as executive producers. The project comes from Hasbro Entertainment and marks Cuarón's return to the streamer eight years after his film Roma premiered there. Deadline

The series will follow the making of the vampire Darklord Strahd von Zarovich, charting his journey from tragic antihero to one of the most notorious villains in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. Ravenloft is one of the game's oldest and most beloved settings, introduced in 1983 by Tracy and Laura Hickman.

August serves as writer and executive producer. His credits include five Tim Burton films: Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Dark Shadows, and Frankenweenie. He executive produces alongside Gabriel Marano for Hasbro, and Cuarón, Richard Schwartz, and Gaby Rodriguez for Cuarón's production company Esperanto Filmoj.

Cuarón brings serious awards pedigree to the project. Roma received 10 Oscar nominations, including Netflix's first-ever Best Picture nod, and won three: Best International Film, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. He also won Oscars for directing and editing Gravity.

Ravenloft is a separate project from another D&D series Netflix had in development. In early 2025, the streamer put The Forgotten Realms into development with Drew Crevello writing and Shawn Levy executive producing — a straight-to-series order, meaning no pilot episode is shot first. That project is no longer in development at Netflix. Ravenloft is unrelated to it.

Hasbro has spent the past five years trying to get a live-action D&D series off the ground, alongside the 2023 film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Dungeons & Dragons is produced by Wizards of the Coast and ranks among Hasbro's top brands.

A separate D&D drama from Rawson Marshall Thurber and Drew Crevello did receive a straight-to-series order at Paramount+, meaning the franchise's television ambitions extend across more than one platform.

For fans, the Ravenloft reference may ring a bell beyond the tabletop. Ravenloft and Strahd were name-checked in the series finale of Netflix's Stranger Things, connecting the gothic setting to a show that has its own deep ties to D&D lore.

No episode count, release window, or cast has been announced.