Critical Role turned Dungeons & Dragons into a spectator sport. The Legend of Vox Machina, the animated series based on their first live-streamed campaign, turned it into a writer’s room. Now, the future for the ragtag group of voice actors turned media moguls is even brighter. Vox Machina Season 2 is now streaming, Season 3 is underway, and a new campaign is going to get the animation treatment.
Variety reports that Critical Role has signed a multi-year exclusive overall TV and first-look film deal with Prime Video, starting with an animated series based on The Mighty Nein, the second campaign Critical Role live-streamed. It will be animated by Titmouse, the same studio that brought Vox Machina to life, so all parties are banking on a continuation of that success.
In fact, this new series has the potential to be even more popular. As The Mighty Nein was their second campaign, the folks at Critical Role were able to learn from their first effort. With new characters and a new setting in the same universe, that campaign marked the point when Critical Role went from a D&D game that was live-streamed to a livestream that featured a D&D game.
Check out Prime Video’s announcement below:
The Mighty Nein campaign features Laura Bailey as delightful Tiefling cleric Jester Lavorre, Marisha Ray as snarky monk Beauregard “Beau” Lionett, Liam O’Brien as sorcerer with a dark past Caleb Widogast, Sam Riegel as Caleb’s Cockney goblin rogue companion Nott the Brave, Travis Willingham as pirate half-orc Fjord, Ashley Johnson as quiet-but-tough Barbarian Yasha Nydoorin, and Taliesin Jaffe as the ultimate charismatic trickster Mollymauk Tealeaf.
Presiding over them, of course, is dungeon master Matt Mercer, who brings a cast of characters to light. The cast is generally more memorable than in their first installment, and fans will get the chance to see how popular characters like Pumat Sol and Kiri are brought to life.
The Legend of Vox Machina may have introduced a new segment of animation fans to the thrills of Critical Role, but the Mighty Nein campaign introduced a whole new audience to the thrills of Dungeons & Dragons. It was the first campaign with the scope and perspective to prove that the Critical Role endeavor wasn’t just a fluke, but a media empire.
In moving to an animated series, the Critical Role fandom can relive all the action, from the tragic losses, the multiple metamorphoses, and the epic highs and humbling lows of table-top-based conflict. If you’re a fan of Vox Machina, now’s the perfect time to start watching the 500+ hours of the Mighty Nein campaign. If you don’t want to make that massive commitment, try to avoid spoilers. There are some truly shocking moments in the saga that are tailor-made for television, and now that’s just how they’re going to be viewed.
The Legend of Vox Machina is now streaming on Prime Video.
