The Dragon King
Credit: Wonderstorm
Wonderstorm, the creators of the hit Netflix animated series, The Dragon Prince, raised nearly $1.1 million during the recent Kickstarter for the sequel series, The Dragon King. That’s over four times the project’s goal of $250,000, making it one of the most successful animation projects ever on Kickstarter (the first being Critical Role’s The Legend Of Vox Machina which raised over $11 million).
Wonderstorm took an interesting approach to the Kickstarter, offering backers roles as “nano-producers” with pledges as high as $25,000 to get an actual seat at the table, including a trip to visit Wonderstorm and have a hand in the creation of the new series.
The Dragon King will be a completely new, stand-alone story that takes place seven years after the events of The Dragon Prince Season 7. The dragon prince, Zym (who will be voiced by Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Prince Zuko, Dante Basco), is a teenager now and much larger (you can see just how much larger in the image at the top of this post). King Ezran is a young man in the new series (requiring a new voice actor who has not yet been cast).
Callum (Jack De Sena) and Rayla (Paula Burrows) are also older, and it appears they have started a family:
Rayla and Callum and baby
Credit: Wonderstorm
Meanwhile, Claudia (Racquel Belmonte) is on her own dark quest as Xadia braces itself for the possible return of the Startouch Elf, Aaravos (Erik Dellums) – the chief antagonist of the The Dragon Prince. Where other characters like Soren (Jesse Inocalla) have ended up remains to be seen. Critical Role’s Liam O’Brien has joined the cast of The Dragon King. O’Brien plays Vax in Vox Machina.
When I spoke with Wonderstorm bosses Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond about the Kickstarter and how The Dragon King will differ from The Dragon Prince, they told me that it’s going to be darker and a little more grown-up. One thing they learned from the reception of later Dragon Prince seasons was that viewers are after a more mature tone – i.e. fewer fart jokes.
Where Will ‘The Dragon King’ Find A Home?
Of course, much depends on where The Dragon King actually lands. As of now, Netflix has not greenlit the show and Wonderstorm is, in effect, a free agent. One of the main goals of the Kickstarter, beyond raising money, is to prove to streamers like Netflix, Amazon and Apple that fans are interested and a built-in audience can make the show a success. It’s part fundraising, part marketing and part sales pitch.
It’s possible that the show could end up at Amazon Prime Video where Critical Role’s shows, The Legend Of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein (which debuts this month) found a streaming home, but that remains up in the air. I’m frankly surprised that Netflix hasn’t greenlit this show already, but it gives streamers like Amazon Prime Video an opening to add another popular fantasy series to their slate.
What Will ‘The Dragon King’ Be About?
The story for The Dragon King remains mostly shrouded in mystery, but the logline reads: “On the cusp of vanishing into legend, the last of the Archdragons— the young Dragon King, Zym—wields his great power to forge a fragile peace in Xadia. But when a forsaken and forgotten Dragon Prince returns from the shadows of exile, Zym uncovers a truth long buried: the throne he inherited may not have been his to claim. And the true heir has come to take it back.”
This is interesting for a few reasons. First, there’s no mention of Aaravos, who was not defeated entirely at the end of Arc 2. It seems Wonderstorm has other ideas for the main thrust of the series for Arc 3, though it’s clear from the teaser trailer below that Aaravos will play a role in Claudia’s story going forward. We also have other mysteries to solve, especially surrounding the whereabouts of the magically-transformed King Harrow (Luc Roderique) who we learned wasn’t killed, after all, but rather had his soul trapped in a bird by the conniving dark mage, Viren (Jason Simpson).
Here’s the first Dragon King trailer:
Ezran looks so much like his father and Zym looks so much like his father, Avizandum, (Chris Metzen) the previous king of the dragons and chief archdragon. It’s really cool to see them so grown up, though I miss baby Zym. He was so adorable.
And here’s the Silver Queen teaser trailer:
This is a pretty big hint at the returning exiled heir: Luna Devorans, son of Luna Tenebris. It looks as though Claudia, now the Silver Queen, gets her own young dragon companion and the two will challenge Ezran and Zym.
Streamers Should Be In A Race To Greenlight ‘The Dragon King’
The success of the Kickstarter proves that fans of The Dragon Prince are still enthusiastic about this franchise and the magical world of Xadia and its humans, elves, dragons and other creatures. The 4th – 7th seasons did receive a lot of pushback from fans, however, who felt that they lacked the tighter pacing and story of Arc 1, and spent too much time on goofy humor (like fart jokes). This is a fair criticism, as I also agree that the first arc was better overall, culminating in a third season that remains one of my favorite animated television seasons of all time.
I’m very bullish on The Dragon King, however. Wonderstorm has a phenomenal world left to explore filled with magic and terrific characters. Aging up these characters will allow the team to explore more mature themes and stories, while still keeping the show in the “family” genre (though aimed at older audiences than the original series). Ehasz and Richmond want the new series to work on its own, without having ever having to watch the first seven seasons at all, which will allow them to do a reset not just with the story but also the tone going forward.
If you missed the Kickstarter, head over to the project’s BackerKit page to back the project late, though this is ending soon, and select from the available tiers (ranging from $25 to $2,500).