What you need to know
- We interviewed Diablo lead, Rod Fergusson all about the franchise.
- In chatting about popular video game adaptations like Fallout and Edgerunners, we asked about the potential for a Diablo show on Netflix or other streaming service.
- Fergusson had nothing to confirm at the moment, but thinks the relatable theme of the Diablo IP could work well as a show.
- There's been rumor of a Diablo Netflix show in the works since 2018, in since deleted tweets, and it's not known if plans were scrapped or it's still on the table.
Video games are bleeding into television and movies in the best way lately, the most recent roaring success being the Fallout series on Amazon Prime which has been so well received that it's already been renewed for Season 2. Fallout follows in the steps of Last of Us, Arcane, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher to mention a few IPs we've had the pleasure of on our TV screens in the last couple of years. Even Halo has enjoyed a better Season 2.
But what about Diablo fans? Diablo 4 treats us to some of the best cinematics in the business, but could the Diablo franchise also be adapted to a successful Netflix or Prime show? Recently I sat down with Rod Fergusson, lead of the Diablo franchise and asked this very question. Here's what he had to say:
"Yeah I definitely think it could work. That's one of the things I really liked about Diablo as an IP, is that it's got very relatable themes because it's The High Heavens versus The Burning Hells, and that idea of Good versus Evil. I think that's something that could translate very well to something like that. You know, I wish I had something I could talk to you about today. But in terms of just the general idea, do I think it could work? I definitely do.
Edgerunners was actually one of the ones that got me, the Cyberpunk [2077] anime. That one got me going back to Cyberpunk for sure. There's been a lot of great shows recently."
Diablo adaptations rumors have swirled the community for 6 years now
I didn't ask this question out of pure curiosity. It's hard to imagine a time when the landscape was void of Diablo news, but in 2018, prior to the Blizzcon announcement of Diablo Immortal, Diablo fans had slim pickings when it came to new content to discuss. Though something, or rather someone started rumors of a Diablo Netflix show. If you are to try and dig up information on it now, you'll find a trail of deleted Reddit threads and tweets, but some of us remember. Our memories cannot be deleted so easily!
Netflix Series Based on Blizzard's Diablo Confirmed from r/netflix
It all started with the infamous hint in a Youtube video from the community manager at the time, Brandy Camel aka 'Nevalistis' that hinted heavily that Blizzard had multiple Diablo media projects in the works. This was a time previous to our knowledge of Diablo 2: Resurected, Diablo Immortal and Diablo 4 existing.
The video was barely a minute long, but the community was hungry. The community took this tease to mean not just games, but possibly a Netflix adaptation, and boy did we run with it. Our suspicions seemed to be confirmed not long after, as Andy Cosby, writer of the Hellboy reboot took to Twitter with this:
“I guess I can confirm I am indeed in final talks to write and show-run the new Diablo animated series for Activision and Netflix. It's very exciting and I hope to the High Heavens it all works out.”
It's no use looking for that tweet now, it was deleted as quickly as it was posted. We've heard nothing since. Like I said, it was a different time, there's been much movement in the Diablo franchise since 2018 and indeed with Activision Blizzard. These rumors pre-date the acquisition of ABK by Microsoft, and predate the pandemic, and plans do of course change. Perhaps the initial plans never got off the ground, perhaps they were cancelled? Or perhaps, one day we will get a show. Only time will tell. I certainly didn't expect Rod to answer this question directly for PR purposes, but it's comforting to know that he believed the Diablo IP could work as a Netflix adaptation, and it can't have escaped Blizzard's attention that all Fallout games are experiencing unprecedented numbers of interest now the show has breathed new life into the franchise.
We already have a new horde of Diablo 4 players from Xbox Game Pass, imagine the gates of Hell opening to TV fans too?
