Kyle Newman, director of the cult basic Fanboys, just lately coauthored the ebook Lore and Legends: A Visual Celebration of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game. The ebook chronicles the astounding success of the Dungeons & Dragons fifth Edition ruleset, which launched in 2014.

“This book explores D&D being nearly extinct in the early 2010s, up to now, where you’ve got 50 to 60 million people playing the game and it’s a household name again,” Newman says in Episode 555 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “So how did they go from 2 to 3 million people playing the game to 60?”

The D&D revival is because of a confluence of things, together with ’80s nostalgia, the rise of geek tradition, and digital know-how. “You’ve got D&D on all types of television shows—Community, Big Bang Theory,” Newman says. “There’s actual play, the Critical Role explosion, which contributed. There’s a tremendous ruleset that contributed to it. There’s the ease with which one can learn how to play D&D. You can go online to YouTube and learn how to play, and suddenly this game that seemed so complicated or taboo, it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s just people getting together and telling a story and having fun.’”

An rising variety of celebrities have additionally declared their love for D&D, together with Dwayne Johnson, Steven Colbert, and Drew Barrymore. Newman performs in a star-studded D&D marketing campaign run by True Blood actor Joe Manganiello. “We were a few sessions in and then Tom Morello joined the group,” Newman says, “and then a few more sessions in and Dan Weiss joined—cocreator of Game of Thrones—and then Dave Benioff joined. The Big Show—the WWE wrestler—would fly in from Florida. Vince Vaughn joined the team. It was a very fun and boisterous group of people.”

Newman and Manganiello are additionally arduous at work on an official D&D documentary, which is slated for launch in 2024. “Next year’s the 50th anniversary, and the game is as vibrant and relevant as ever,” Newman says. “It took a family of people, a legacy of people, a lineage, to understand the tradition and continue it. So that’s what we really get into. You understand that this is a game not just made by one man, and it’s survived because of the people who play it and the people who love it.”

Listen to the entire interview with Kyle Newman in Episode 555 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (above). And take a look at some highlights from the dialogue under.

Kyle Newman on The Hollow:

[Writer Hans Rodionoff and producer Mason Novick] referred to as me up one Sunday morning and stated, “What are you doing?” And I used to be like, “Oh, flying home tomorrow,” they usually’re like, “No you’re not. Meet us at Starbucks.” So I am going to the Starbucks on Sunday morning, they usually’re like, “We need you to come to set. Our director has quit. The movie’s fully financed. We need someone to take over and shoot the movie. Let’s go.” And I used to be like, “I need to read it.” And they’re like, “No, no, we’re going to set now.” And certain sufficient, outdoors the door a white van was parked, ready to take me to set.

Kyle Newman on D&D characters:

These characters—Van Richten and Tasha and Xanathar and Mordenkainen and Acererak—they weren’t invented for fifth Edition. These are those who have been of their lexicon of villains and heroes which can be cowl stars once more, they usually’re discovering new methods to make them related for a contemporary viewers. So in the event you’ve by no means performed it, it’s thrilling and also you get into it and be taught concerning the characters, however when you have performed it, then that Xanathar just isn’t a personality that was invented for Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. He’s a personality that has been round for a very long time.

Kyle Newman on Heroes Feast Flavors of the Multiverse:

There’s beautiful images and meals styling, however on prime of that there’s images that captures these locations, that isn’t about meals, and making an attempt to convey to life locations like Shadowfell or the planet Krynn. We bought to shoot at a northern California winery that has a medieval fort on its property, with its personal dungeon and every thing. … Quite a lot of the ebook isn’t just concerning the meals, nevertheless it’s concerning the lore and the traditions surrounding the folks and the meals. So it’s a cookbook, nevertheless it’s additionally a sourcebook of types for the cultures and settings.

Kyle Newman on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves:

The high quality of the film was unimaginable. You have a look at Rotten Tomatoes, critically it’s beloved. Everyone who noticed the film actually loved it. I believe it was simply that the studio made a mistake releasing the film. They pushed it a month and backed it proper as much as Super Mario Bros., which was the most important film of the yr till Barbie. … All of the issues that have been within the management of the filmmakers went properly. They made an excellent film and folks preferred the film. Was it marketed appropriately? Was it launched on the proper time? That’s out of their palms, and that shouldn’t be a determinant in in the event you make a sequel or not.

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