The Lord of the Rings Fans Will Love Critical Role’s New D&D Movie

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Recently, live-action fantasy shows and movies haven’t been doing well – many have lost money or received negative reviews. But animated fantasy is thriving, as seen with the popular Prime Video series The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein. These shows are based on campaigns from the popular Dungeons & Dragons web series, and voice actor Sam Riegel suggests a movie adaptation could be coming soon.

During Emerald City Comic Con in 2026, Travis Riegel announced that he and the rest of the Critical Role team were developing a movie pitch. He suggested the film would be based on Exandria Unlimited: Calamity, a short campaign they ran in 2022, by asking fans if they’d be interested in an animated Calamity movie. Riegel believes the story of the Calamity is especially well-suited for a film adaptation, as it could fill a gap in epic fantasy cinema not seen since Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Lord of the Rings Was an Enthralling Fantasy Epic

One of the most impressive things about The Lord of the Rings was its epic scope. This was especially evident in The Fellowship of the Ring, which depicted the massive War of the Last Alliance – a huge battle between armies of Men, Elves, and Orcs that determined the fate of Middle-earth. The subsequent films continued this trend, each featuring at least one large-scale battle, like the fights at Helm’s Deep and the Black Gate.

The central conflict in The Lord of the Rings wasn’t just a simple war between kingdoms. It involved Sauron, a powerful, almost angelic being, and his attempt to use the One Ring to bring ruin and hopelessness to the world. The godlike Valar fought against him by sending five Wizards, known as the Istari, to stop Sauron’s return.

While Peter Jackson’s film trilogy didn’t have time to explore every detail of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novels, it successfully captured the epic and mythical feeling that made the story’s conflicts so powerful and important to audiences.

Contemporary fantasy stories are often more focused and intimate in scope. For instance, many follow a single adventurer or small group taking on challenges for personal gain. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t quite capture the epic feeling of a story like The Lord of the Rings. While the main campaigns of Critical Role usually center on groups of unlikely heroes becoming more powerful together, their Exandria Unlimited: Calamity campaign took a different approach.

The Calamity Was Unlike Critical Role’s Other Storylines

Exandria Unlimited: Calamity took place in Exandria, the world featured in the first three Critical Role campaigns, and explored a significant event often referenced in the game’s history. This event was a war that occurred at the end of the Age of Arcanum, fought between the most powerful gods and those who had turned against them.

The Calamity, a legendary war between the gods, brought unimaginable destruction. It wiped out two-thirds of the world’s people, plunged society back into a dark age, and caused the gods to withdraw from the human world. The heroes in this story were incredibly powerful, and their choices changed the course of history.

Background details from the world of Critical Role took center stage in Exandria Unlimited: Calamity, even changing the fundamental rules of the setting’s universe. With its epic scope, high stakes, and mythical feel, this campaign felt more like The Lord of the Rings than previous Critical Role stories. Because it’s shorter than the main campaigns, Exandria Unlimited: Calamity would work better as a movie instead of another streaming series.

While a Critical Role movie could face challenges matching the success of The Lord of the Rings, the upcoming Calamity film appears to be aimed at adult viewers, based on the mature content of The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein.

Generally, animated fantasy movies don’t do as well at the box office as live-action ones. Kenji Kamiyama’s The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, even with many of the features fans enjoyed in Peter Jackson’s films, might face this challenge. However, Critical Role has a dedicated and excited fanbase, and its recent adaptations have been very successful, giving it a boost.

Most TV shows don’t last long, but “three” has been renewed for two additional seasons. If the creators get the green light and funding they need, a movie based on Exandria Unlimited: Calamity has the potential to be the next great fantasy film, similar to The Lord of the Rings.

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2026-03-12 16:12