Joe Manganiello to Direct “Dungeons & Dragons” Documentary
Joe Manganiello, the actor who moonlights as an official ambassador for Dungeons & Dragons, is slated to co-direct a documentary about the popular tabletop role-playing game with Kyle Newman. The film, backed by Hasbro and eOne, is billed as “the definitive documentary feature about the world’s greatest roleplaying game” and is timed to the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons in 2024.
The documentary is being backed by Wizards of the Coast’s parent company, Hasbro, and eOne. As such, it’s being called “the definitive documentary feature about the world’s greatest roleplaying game.” Manganiello and his brother, Nick Manganiello, and their production partners Newman and Adam F. Goldberg, have reportedly secured access to over “400 hours of archived, never-before-seen Dungeons & Dragons footage from the game’s creation in the early 1970s.”
“I couldn’t be more proud and excited to get back behind the camera for another documentary, this time with the D&D dream team of Jon [Peterson], Kyle, and my brother and producing partner Nick,” said Manganiello in a statement. “I lived through the rise and fall and rise again of this legacy brand that has not only meant so much to me but has served as the fountainhead of creativity for an entire generation of writers, artists, and creative minds, influencing so much of our culture. None of this would have been possible without Nathan Stewart at Wizards of the Coast and my eternally supportive boss from the HBO/True Blood days, Michael Lombardo and the fantastic team at eOne.”
The documentary will incorporate more than 400 hours of archived, never-before-seen Dungeons & Dragons footage from the game’s creation in the early 1970s. It will include a variety of interviews with celebrity fans of the game. We already know that Manganiello hosts games for celebrities including Vince Vaughn, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, and “Game of Thrones” co-creator D.B. Weiss, not to mention the success of live-play series like Critical Role which has hosted numerous celebrity guests.
