'Dungeon Crawler Carl' Series Targets 2027 Shoot, No Lead Cast Yet

Peacock's live-action "Dungeon Crawler Carl" series will begin principal photography in 2027, Universal Global Television scripted series chief Kelsey Balance said at New York Comic Con on Saturday.

The adaptation of Matt Dinniman's best-selling LitRPG novels remains in early development. "We are starting to see drafts and outlines, and we've gotten the whole series pitch, which is really exciting, but it's continued to evolve," Balance said during a panel hosted by Dinniman.

What does "early development" actually mean here?

The team is hiring department heads, line producers, production designers, directors and casting directors in parallel with writing scripts. Balance called the approach "building the ship, or building the plane, as we fly."

What's locked in

• Network: Peacock
• Showrunners / executive producers: Chris Yost, Eric Heisserer
• Executive producers: Seth MacFarlane, Erica Huggins, Rachel Hargreaves-Heald (Fuzzy Door)
• Co-executive producer: Dinniman
• Production company: Universal Global Television
• Method: all scripts written before production starts; shooting in 2027

What's not locked in

• The lead. Carl has not been cast. No actor has been publicly named.
• Premiere date. None given.
• Episode count, budget, shooting locations.

How the cast is shaping up

Dinniman described his casting priorities for Carl directly: "I want Carl to be played by someone who embodies the role and someone who can be both goofy and give off that really, really scary vibe. When Carl's upset, he's a very scary person."

The only cast member confirmed is audiobook narrator Jeff Hays, who will voice Princess Donut. The talking cat is Carl's partner in the official logline: "An alien invasion has wiped out most of humanity, and any survivors are forced to fight for their lives on a sadist intergalactic game show." Carl, a Coast Guard veteran, is "stuck with his ex-girlfriend's award-winning show cat" as they survive "the end of the world."

How credible is the 2027 timeline?

Balance was candid about how provisional things remain. The team had hoped to "announce something today" at NYCC, she said, but the project is "just in the middle of the chaos of the storm." She promised further details "very soon, within the next few weeks."

"That's happening, and that drives everything," Balance said of the soft prep. "At the same time, we're into soft prep. So we're hiring HODs. We're finding great line producers, production designers, directors, casting — all of it is kind of happening right now, which is fun."

The panelists also included Jordan Moblo, EVP of Creative Acquisitions & IP Management at Universal Studio Group, and Vivian Cannon, EVP of Drama Development at Universal Television. The session was framed as a behind-the-scenes look at how Universal identifies IP and shepherds adaptations.

Balance closed with a roadmap: "We're going to be locking in all of those key things, which will be fun to share with you guys. Then we'll start actual real prep in the new year and shooting next year."

What does this change for fans of the books?

For readers, it confirms a longer runway than most adaptations. A 2027 start pushes any plausible premiere into 2028 at the earliest, after post-production. For Peacock, it offers a genre property with a built-in audience: the novels have sold consistently since the first installment in 2020. The scripts-first pitch is reassuring on paper; whether it survives contact with the calendar will become clearer in the weeks ahead — which is also when Universal has promised its next update.