Joe Manganiello’s New 8-Part Fantasy Series Is Dungeons & Dragons Brought To Life

March 30, 2026

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Joe Manganiello has recently starred in an eight-part fantasy series, one that is like Dungeons & Dragons come to life. Dungeons & Dragons movies have been common in the modern era, thanks to the potential found within the vast worlds of the eponymous role-playing game.

The most recent of these was Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which brought that potential to life. Now, the world of TV is getting in on the action. Netflix is developing a Dungeons & Dragons show, and many agree that one key actor should be involved: Joe Manganiello. Manganiello is a huge D&D fan and has long made his passion and love for the game clear.

Whether Manganiello becomes part of the cast of Netflix’s Dungeons & Dragons remains to be seen, but that has not stopped the actor from getting involved in similar projects. Aside from once being tapped to write a D&D movie, Manganiello has recently had a big part in a popular fantasy series.

Although the series in question is not set within the Dungeons & Dragons world, it is the RPG come to life.

The Live-Action One Piece Is Like A Dungeons & Dragons Campaign

That series is Netflix’s live-action One Piece. One Piece season 2 was released on Netflix in March 2026, based on the beloved manga of the same name. Manganiello played the show’s primary antagonist, Mr. Crocodile, in One Piece season 2’s cast, a role he will reprise in the upcoming season 3.

In many ways, the world of One Piece is a lot like Dungeons & Dragons, which the live-action Netflix show proves. The show is about a ragtag group of individuals coming together to form a crew, or party, each with their own unique skills, abilities, and roles. One Piece‘s main character, Monkey D. Luffy, is the captain of his crew and possesses the abilities of a Devil Fruit that allow him to stretch his body like rubber.

Roronoa Zoro, a master swordsman, is Luffy’s first mate and the muscle of the group, akin to a barbarian or fighter from D&D. Then there is Nami, the ship’s navigator, Usopp, the marksman, and Sanji, the chef. One Piece season 2 then introduced Tony Tony Chopper, the ship’s medic.

This group travels around, using their unique abilities and powers to fight monsters and other enemies, free towns, and explore new islands, all on their way to a main, overarching quest. In One Piece‘s case, that quest is finding the titular treasure. All of this is essentially identical to how a Dungeons & Dragons campaign goes, something that One Piece‘s Manganiello knows all too well.

One Piece Will Only Continue To Emulate D&D

The Straw Hat crew looking astonished in One Piece season 2

Going forward into One Piece season 3 and beyond, the show will only continue to feel like its own Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Based on how the story of the original manga went, future One Piece seasons will adapt different arcs, each forming its own self-contained story.

The manga is over 1000 chapters long as of 2026, with Luffy yet to find the One Piece. This just goes to show how much like D&D the live-action show will be, given that campaigns in the role-playing game can last hundreds of hours and take years to complete before the story concludes.

One Piece will only continue introducing more main characters with their own dedicated roles in the crew, as well as side characters reminiscent of D&D‘s non-player characters. Eventually, the “campaign” of One Piece will finish, if the show lasts long enough to adapt the manga.

One Piece Makes Netflix’s Dungeons & Dragons Future More Exciting

Luffy tipping his hat to Gold Roger's platform in One Piece season 2 — Luffy tipping his hat to Gold Roger’s platform in One Piece season 2

One Piece being so good is great for fans of the show, but it also makes the future of Dungeons & Dragons more exciting. The former proves that the format and style of the latter can truly work in live-action TV. This bodes well for the aforementioned Dungeons & Dragons show that is currently in development at Netflix.

One Piece is beloved by fans of the manga, yes, but its popularity proves how the format can resonate with general audiences, too. If Dungeons & Dragons can replicate that, only set in a more well-known setting of the original game, like the Forgotten Realms, audiences will find a new fantasy series to love.

If this was not enough, HBO is also creating a Baldur’s Gate series, set in the world of a Dungeons & Dragons video game series. Evidently, the future of Dungeons & Dragons in live-action TV is promising. Once, this promise would be met with an equal amount of skepticism, given the lack of enjoyable D&D adaptations. Now, thanks to more successful movies based on the game and emulators like the live-action One Piece, that skepticism is slowly fading away.