Netflix is opening the gates to Ravenloft

Netflix is developing a live-action “Ravenloft” series based on the gothic-horror corner of Dungeons & Dragons, with vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich at the center of the story.

John August is writing and executive producing, while Alfonso Cuarón is attached as an executive producer. Hasbro Entertainment is involved in the project as well.

Anyone who has spent time around D&D knows Ravenloft is not your usual cheerful tavern, treasure chest and goblin problem.

The setting is built around the Domains of Dread, nightmare realms ruled by powerful figures known as Darklords. Strahd rules Barovia, a land swallowed by fog where leaving is much harder than arriving. He first appeared in the 1983 adventure module “Ravenloft” and eventually became one of Dungeons & Dragons’ best-known villains.

The Netflix series will reportedly explore Strahd’s transformation from tragic figure into undead monster, with power, love and obsession playing into his fall.

That sounds much closer to gothic tragedy than a standard fantasy quest, which is exactly where Ravenloft should live. Strahd is basically Dracula filtered through tabletop role-playing mythology, complete with a castle, doomed romance, supernatural imprisonment and generations of adventurers discovering that walking into Barovia was a catastrophic planning error.

No cast or premiere date has been announced.

Please do not turn Strahd into a misunderstood hot vampire boyfriend.

He has had centuries to work on himself.