Dungeon Crawler Carl first caused a hype in book form, now the TV series is supposed to follow. But can that even work? MeinMMO author and fan Max is unsure.
Not long ago, I wrote here about how much the Dungeon Crawler Carl
series is currently captivating me. Author Matt Dinniman has created something special with his work and captivates the reader page by page. I have also picked up the audiobooks of DCC. They have also built a very passionate fanbase – precisely because they are said to be so damn good.
Now the whole thing is being implemented as a series. Matt Dinniman himself is on board as a co-executive producer, while Chris Yoast takes over as writer and executive producer (he worked on Thor: Ragnarok and The Mandalorian) alongside Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, Ted, The Orville).
It’s a moment that triggers two feelings in me: absolute hype, but also horror about what they have actually set out to do. Because: Dungeon Crawler Carl is a book that should be difficult to adapt faithfully. However, to appeal to the passionate fanbase, that is actually a must.
Can that even work?
Why is Dungeon Crawler Carl so difficult?
The book begins with the apocalypse: aliens have taken over the Earth, crushed it, and transformed it into a huge dungeon consisting of numerous levels and even more deadly threats.
One of the few survivors is Carl, a former Coast Guard officer, who stumbles into the dungeon with his ex-girlfriend’s cat named Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk (the cat, not the ex) and fights for survival there. The cat early on gets a significant intelligence and charisma boost, starts to talk and, worthy of a cat princess, begins to rule. Mainly over Carl.
The book and also the eponymous dungeon are structured like an RPG. Carl and Donut level up, improve stats, collect loot and achievements. Their enemies: goblins, gnolls, alien creatures and … basically everything one can imagine. And Matt Dinniman seems to be able to imagine quite a lot.
But that is somehow also the problem that a series adaptation might face.
The challenges: Without giving away too much, one can really only say: The ideas in the book are absolutely outlandish. The talking, laser-shooting cat is just the beginning. The levels couldn’t be more different, and the characters become crazier, bigger, and more fantastic from chapter to chapter. All sorts of characters gradually transform into various fantasy beings, actual humans hardly ever appear, and everyone eventually becomes something new. New abilities arise, there are explosions, and it’s absolutely wild.
An example: The level around which the third book revolves was even introduced by author Dinniman with a hint that one shouldn’t dwell too much on the puzzle of the structure but should simply accept it. The puzzle is for the characters, not for the readers.
And all of that is supposed to be in a series? That’s a question I ask myself and which is currently being discussed in various subreddits by fans. Putting aside how all of this will be visualized, with live-action to boot, not even as an animation: How brutally expensive will this series be if everything is to go as planned? And how long is this going to take? The book series is supposed to eventually number 10 books.
It seems almost impossible. However, there is hope in the names that are involved. On one hand, the author is involved, and on the other, Seth MacFarlane has indeed proven with his previous projects to combine a decent pinch of madness and creativity with more emotional moments. That could actually fit well.
In the end, we will have to wait and see what ultimately comes of it. Just recently, author Dinniman announced that the series has actually been ordered by Peacock. That’s just one of the first steps. When the first castings, trailers, and more come out, a clearer picture will likely emerge. I am definitely excited and can only say: Please, please make it good!
A final thought: It wasn’t that long ago that I thought a source material could hardly work as a live-action adaptation. And yet the creators somehow managed to adapt the anime pirate action of One Piece into a strong variation with real people. That gives hope. If you want to know how One Piece is progressing on Netflix, check it out here.
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