One of Travis Willingham‘s top-tier wishes is for a “Critical Role” campaign to be adapted into a full-fledged “Dungeons and Dragons” feature film.
“The ‘Critical Role’ world is stacked with stories—there is a huge clamoring for the ‘Exandria Unlimited: Calamity.’ I think every form of distribution is great [but] we have never made a feature before,” Willingham said. “One thing we’ve consistently done at ‘Critical Role’ is we’ve tried to find where the ceiling is. What are we capable of doing? What are our wildest dreams, and are we able to achieve those? I think the desire is there. It might just be a matter of finding the time for everything else, but I think the potential is certainly there.”
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Willingham joined Variety Studio, presented by Google TV at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, to chat all things “The Legend of Vox Machina” Season 3 and teased what fans can come to expect about the season he said is sure to “set the internet on fire.”
The Prime Video animated fantasy series based on the “Dungeons and Dragons” web series “Critical Role,” follows a group of misfit adventurers known as Vox Machina as they embark on epic quests, confront dark forces, and strive to protect the realm of Tal’Dorei.
The show’s third season is slated for an Oct. 3 release on the streamer.
Willingham spoke about the unique challenge that always comes with distilling hundreds of hours worth of campaign content into 12 30-minute-long episodes—reflecting on having had over 400 hours worth of content when they were creating Seasons 1 and 2 and having to trim it down into just six hours.
With Season 3, Willingham noted how he was glad to be able to use this arc to set up the larger aspects of Exandria as a world, saying, “We’re getting to stretch the breadth of what the story encompasses. So we have a little sneak peek of our heroes hitting a new continent this season, a few more after that, and rounding out the sort of villains they’re starting to see. But it’s going to set up the larger picture in terms of what Exandria holds for both of these series.”
He continued: “One of the amazing things about ‘Vox Machina’ is it sort of set the base for where the universe was built, and both series will, in our minds, be connected by those little red chaos strings that we like to do in our writer’s room. We always set up little easter eggs and things for our audience to find. But we do it because we know they’re expecting it.”
Willingham also reflected on the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes, in which actors—specifically video game voice actors—have hit the picket lines as gaming companies refuse to meet their demands on artificial intelligence.
Though he noted that AI can have a place in businesses, companies need to exercise caution regarding the potential to replicate and re-utilize a performer’s likeness to recreate past performances for future projects.
“Anything that could take the place of someone that’s a writer, that’s an actor, that’s using their voice, using any kind of expression, stunts, motion capture, that’s a sticky place to be. Frankly for me, it’s an overreach if a company says, ‘We’re going to hire you to do this thing, but we’re also going to capture your likeness. We’re going to be able to use it as much as we want to, and that’s something that we’ve agreed to,'” he said.
“There is enough of a voice from SAG to say, ‘Listen, this is a concern of our members. We’ve been talking to you guys for 20 plus months, and there hasn’t been any movement on this. We really love to offer this sort of protection for our performers, and it just hasn’t been heard,'” he said. “It’s unfortunate that these things have to happen, but I think they also have to recognize that this us what the best of the best is asking for and it helps just protect this kind of industry.”
He concluded by saying: “I hope there is a quick resolution to it, but, you know, we stand strong behind SAG absolutely.”
Willingham also jokingly referenced actors he’d “love” could appear in future seasons of “The Legend of Vox Machine.” Though he found it difficult to limit his shopping cart, he asked about Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Andy Serkis and the Hobbits’ availability.
Watch the full interview above to learn more about how “Critical Role” plans to celebrate its 10th anniversary and what easter eggs fans can expect from “The Legend of Vox Machine” Season 3.
FAQs
Last year, Critical Role released the first season of an animated series adaptation called The Legend of Vox Machina. The show is a retelling of the group's first campaign, and is shockingly accurate to the original livestream in many ways.
Why is Critical Role called Vox Machina? ›
However, they decided to rename themselves to something more professional when in game they were meeting with nobles. They eventually decided on "Vox Machina", which is Latin for "Voice Machine" and a nod to their roles as voice actors. None of the cast expected the show to last more than a few episodes.
Is Vox Machina based on anything? ›
Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins is a comic series, published by Dark Horse Comics, based on the American Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role. The comics act as a prequel story and covers how the characters became the adventuring party known as Vox Machina before the events of the web series.
Is Travis Willingham still in Critical Role? ›
As the CEO of Critical Role, Travis serves as the north star of the company, helping grow the brand internationally and elevating it into the massive media company it is today.
Why is Vox Machina R rated? ›
There's some strong innuendo, including crude language and references to having sex and sex acts. Nudity (bare breasts/buttocks) is visible.
Was Vox Machina an actual campaign? ›
Campaign One, or The Campaign of Vox Machina, is the first campaign of Critical Role. It follows a group of adventurers, Vox Machina, first in their adventures across the continent of Tal'Dorei and eventually the larger world of Exandria and other Planes of Existence.
What does Vox Machina mean in English? ›
The group name "Vox Machina" is a reference to the fact that all of the players are voice actors. The phrase translates from Latin as "voice machine." Helpful•220. 1.
What species is grog? ›
Grog, being a goliath, is grey-skinned with tattoos all over his upper body and his bald head. He weighs upward of 645 pounds and stands at 8 feet, 7 inches tall. After having a phylactery removed from his body, a scar formed on his chest which remains a mark of the lingering darkness within him.
What does vox ex machina mean in Latin? ›
It's Latin, translating to “voice machine." And it's not really a commonly used phrase. It is often confused with the more common "deus ex machina,” or "god from the machine,” which was a highly popular trope in classical theater.
Is Vox Machina set in D&D? ›
The series is set on Exandria, a fictional world created by Matthew Mercer in 2012 for his personal Dungeons & Dragons campaign, which then launched as the actual play web series Critical Role in 2015.
He was originally part of the roaming tribes of the Herd of Storms but was exiled and forced to live a life alone, where he became successful with the former mentioned Vox Machina. In his later life after Vox Machina, retired Grog became further renowned as a great sailor of the seas.
What species are Vox Machina? ›
A band of misfits on a mission to fund their drinking habits — gunslinger Percival de Rolo III (Jaffe), gnome cleric Pike Trickfoot (Johnson), barbarian Grog Strongjaw (Willingham), gnome bard Scanlan Shorthalt (Riegel), half-elf druid Keyleth (Ray), half-elf rogue Vax'ildan (O'Brien), and half-elf ranger Vex'ahlia ( ...
Who was removed from Vox Machina? ›
Orion Acaba left Critical Role 27 episodes into the show's very first campaign, which obviously led to his character Tiberius Stormwind, a Dragonborn Sorceror, exiting the party, Vox Machina.
Why did someone leave Critical Role? ›
Following his departure, Acaba revealed in a series of videos, since taken down, that he had suffered from health problems. In Critical Role's announcement, Mercer himself asked fans not to speculate and to respect Acaba and the team's decision to part ways.
Has Brian left Critical Role? ›
However, the final episode of Talks Machina in May 2021 marked the beginning of the end of his time with the company. In August 2021, Critical Role shared an official statement on its Twitter announcing Brian Foster would be leaving to pursue other projects.
Does The Legend of Vox Machina follow Critical Role? ›
The Legend of Vox Machina is an American adult animated fantasy action television series produced by Metapigeon, Titmouse, Inc., and Amazon Studios, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 28, 2022. The series is based on the first campaign of the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role.
Do the Critical Role players voice Vox Machina? ›
Luckily for fans of Critical Role the entire cast are returning to reprise their roles in The Legends of Vox Machina, and Mercer will be portraying lead villain Sylas Briarwood as well as lending his voice to a number of characters.
Is Mighty Nein in the same world as Vox Machina? ›
Campaign two
The story is set on the continent of Wildemount, which was briefly visited during the Vox Machina campaign. The Mighty Nein campaign is set about 20 years after Vox Machina's final battle against Vecna and takes place in a time where tensions between two of Wildemount's mightiest nations are very high.
Why isn't Tiberius in the Vox Machina show? ›
Orion Acaba's Departure Meant Critical Role Killed Off Tiberius. Since Orion Acaba officially left the party, it meant that Tiberius Stormwind had to be killed off in Critical Role. Tiberius left Vox Machina during the journey to Whitestone.
