Picture Credit: Wonderstorm
As promised, the team behind The Dragon Prince, one of Netflix’s longest-running animated series of all time, delivered an update on the show’s future and the universe with a brand-new “standalone story” in development. While many thought we’d be getting potential news about a season 8 at Netflix, we’re getting a new story altogether that will be away from Netflix. Here’s what was just unveiled at San Diego Comic Con and what it means for the future of The Dragon Prince on Netflix.
For quick context, The Dragon Prince is a long-running series that ran on Netflix for six years, between 2018 and 2024. It concluded with its seventh, and at one point, was supposed to be its final season in December 2024. The creators weren’t done with the universe, though. Ahead of those final seasons airing, creators Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond detailed plans to go beyond their seven seasons with an additional story arc. However, it became pretty obvious early on that Netflix wasn’t necessarily in the loop or backing it. Back in December, the creators promised an update at SDCC, and although we received a minor update in between with the cast teasing their involvement again, things have been quiet since then.
That changed today at SDCC because plans were indeed revealed, but it doesn’t look like Netflix is necessarily on board. As detailed on the official The Dragon Prince website operated by the company Wonderstorm, their plan for the future of the franchise involves a new sequel continuation series titled The Dragon King, which will essentially serve as Arc Three of the show.
“Set in the world of The Dragon Prince,” the official synopsis reads, “The Dragon King is a brand-new fantasy epic filled with legendary battles, ancient rivalries, and complex conflicts that will shape the fate of Xadia. It’s a standalone story for new fans—and a thrilling continuation for those who’ve journeyed with us from the beginning.”
With much of the main cast and original team behind this new project, it’s a pretty exciting prospect. However, as many fans predicted, Netflix is not involved in the project. Instead, the team behind the show is “inviting you to help build the story with us,” with a Kickstarter campaign which they hope will fund the development of the show. The page also mentions that a distribution partner would need to be found in addition to being fully funded on Kickstarter. Part of The Plan reads, “A strong demonstration of support here on Kickstarter will give us the ability to find the right partners who can meet all the funding needs to bring a world-class series to life.”
Among those attached to return are Jack De Sena and Dante Basco, plus the introduction of Liam O’Brien.
YouTuber Reel James has become the go-to resource for the show in recent years, and we had to get his opinions on the future direction of the franchise. Here’s what he told us:
“As a big fan of “The Dragon Prince” for the past seven seasons, the description for Arc Three got me incredibly excited. And then you couple that with a teaser trailer announcement? It made me hopeful for the future of the franchise! The subsequent announcement of a Kickstarter, fan-funded campaign did raise a few concerns in my mind, only because now it might not be another two, three, or even four years until we see season eight. I’m hopeful the fandom will come together to back this project. But I definitely understand the reservations for it being a Kickstarter campaign. I’m looking forward to seeing the news that comes out over the next few weeks to get even more clarity on the future of what is now “The Dragon King.”
While on the subject of Netflix, we should also note that Netflix currently holds the indefinite rights to the show, meaning you won’t be seeing it leave anytime soon (unlike the game, although that’s a separate story).
You can follow the project’s Kickstarter page using this link, which will eventually allow you to back or invest in the project.
We have reached out to Netflix for comment.
Are you excited for the future of The Dragon Prince? Do you think Netflix should pick it up, or are you glad it’s going independent? Let us know in the comments down below.
