D&D: Weis, Hickman, And Manganiello Spark ‘Dragonlance’ Stir At WotC – “We’re Back”

A new post featuring Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Joe Manganiello, and D&D’s head of Franchise, Dan Ayoub, sparks Dragonlance hope.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Joe Manganiello loves Dragonlance. He’s one of the franchise’s biggest fans. The saga of Krynn and its Wars of the Lance has captured the actor’s heart. So much so that one of his personal D&D characters has ties to that world. And yet, it is also a truth universally acknowledged that WotC has said it was no longer interested in developing Dragonlance, after a rocky launch of an adventure and accompanying board game.

But if there’s one thing I know about Dragonlance, it’s that there’s always room for more. Heroes never say die. And neither, apparently, does the franchise. At least according to rumors that have sparked in the wake of some social media posts by series creators Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, as well as Manganiello himself, who said, “We’re back!“

Dragonlance Stirs At WotC Once More – Despite It All

Here’s the thing. Change is the only constant. Well, change and people arguing about their niche hobby interests. That’s how we’re still around in spite of it all, I assume. But change seems to be in the air faster than normal, because it was just last February (if such a time ever existed) that Manganiello’s vision for Dragonlance, a live-action TV series, was reportedly dead in the water.

And not just in the sense of ‘this project is getting canceled’ but in the sense of ‘people at WotC aren’t interested.’ As Manganiello put it, a big part of the problem with the idea, throughout its development, was WotC, to the point where he offered to buy the rights just to get it made on his own:

“I didn’t write a script that was terrible. Calls were made to say this is what you should be making, this is what you should be doing, but currently it is to no avail. I offered to buy Dragonlance. I was talking to people with money just to get it and separate it so that I could get the option and take it out on the town.”

But as Manganiello stated, there was no luck. In fact, he said it would take something like the company changing hands before anything could happen with the property again.

“Maybe somewhere down the line, someone comes back or the company switches hands and somebody sees the value.”

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Well. As it luck would have it, that is exactly what has happened. The company has switched hands, and as a post on Margaret Weis’ Facebook page reveals, maybe someone does see the value of Dragonlance.

WotC Changes Hands

Here’s where we get a little ironic because it wasn’t long after that that we started to see some pretty substantive turnover at WotC. Not long after that post (in April 2024) then-president Cynthia Williams announced that her last day was coming at the end of the month. And a few months later, in July, WotC welcomed aboard a new president, hailing from work on World of Warcraft, John Hight.

From there, things, quietly changed as the new edition rolled out. Then, earlier this year we saw some pretty sizable turnover at WotC. For one, two of its most public-facing heads – Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins – stepped down, retiring from the company.

Not long after, the two surfaced at Darrington Press. But at WotC, a new role, “Head of Franchise” emerged, held by Dan Ayoub, who had worked on the Halo franchise. Which brings us to Margaret Weis’ Facebook page, and a post that hows an even bigger picture than the one featured on Joe Manganiello’s Instagram page.

Two things about this picture. For one, if you’re not familiar that’s at WotC headquarters in Seattle. And two, the other folks in the picture hold some hefty significance. As Weis states in her post:

“Puttin’ the band back together.

Let me introduce you to people. Left to right: Laura Hickman, me, Joe Manganiello, Tracy Hickman, and Dan Ayoub, the new head of D&D at WotC. I can’t say much more than that, but that might give you a clue.”

All of which points to Dragonlance being back at the table, so to speak. And that’s not just me saying that, the first response on Manganiello’s instagram post is from the official WotC D&D account, saying “welcome back to the table” with some dragon emojis. Now of course, this doesn’t mean anything yet.

Projects take a long time to finish, and as we’ve seen, it’s a miracle anything ever gets made. If there’s one thing studios love to do it’s cancel projects. But, after a year and change of thinking Dragonlance was dead in the water, it seems that hope stirs once again at WotC. Keep your eyes peeled, more info as the story develops.

Krynn just can’t stay gone!

Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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