Dota 2 will soon have its own animated series based on the game's lore - amazing! The Netflix series will revolve around Davion, the dragon knight, and other heroes from the popular MOBA. Here's everything we know about it!
Yesterday, Netflix shocked the world with the unexpected announcement of a Dota 2 animated series - DOTA: Dragon's Blood. While nobody was asking for it, we're sure everyone's happy with the reveal. Dragon's Blood will have a total of eight episodes and it's coming out on March 25. Davion, the dragon knight is the main character, and we'll also see Mirana. Here's the official press release regarding the series:
DOTA Dragon’s Blood: The Plot
The sweeping fantasy series tells the story of Davion, a renowned Dragon Knight devoted to wiping the scourge from the face of the world. Following encounters with a powerful, ancient eldwurm as well as the noble Princess Mirana on a secret mission of her own, Davion becomes embroiled in events much larger than he could have ever imagined.
The "Following encounters with a powerful, ancient eldwurm" is basically a guarantee that Davion will be just a regular knight at the beginning of the series. The ancient eldwurm is probably Slyrak, a dragon that's mentioned in the hero's in-game lore.
After years on the trail of a legendary Eldwurm, the skilled dragon-slayer found himself facing a disappointing foe: the dreaded Slyrak had grown ancient and frail, its wings tattered, its few remaining scales stricken with scale-rot, its fangs ground to nubs, and its fire-gouts no more threatening than a pack of wet matchsticks. Seeing no honor to be gained in dragon-murder, the young knight prepared to turn away and leave his old foe to die in peace. But a voice crept into his thoughts, and Slyrak gave a whispered plea that the knight might honor him with death in combat. The knight agreed, and found himself rewarded beyond expectation for his act of mercy: As he sank his blade in Slyrak's breast, the dragon sank a claw into his throat. As their blood mingled, Slyrak sent his power out along the Blood Route, offering all its strength and centuries of wisdom to the knight. The dragon's death sealed their bond, and Dragon Knight was born. The ancient power slumbers in the knight, waking when he calls it; or perhaps it is the Dragon that calls the Knight...
So far so good, but what's next? Well, from Dota Underlords we know that Davion was training at the Dragonhold, a supposed academy that trains dragonslayers. Our boy Davion was one of the best pupils there and the grandmaster of the academy, Kaden, spoke highly of him. The latter becomes clear from one of the Underlords spell descriptions.
Kaden spoke highly of you, let's hope his praise was well earned. - Wren, Friend to Dragon Hold
We can only guess that after acquiring the power to transform into a dragon, Davion will be having some serious moral conflict.
We'll also probably see more of Davion's backstory and how or why he became a dragon knight (slayer)/ mercenary.
DOTA Dragon’s Blood: Other Characters
In the official press release, Netflix made it clear that Mirana the Princess of the Moon will be making an appearance. Will she be the official sidekick? Probably.
Mirana is guaranteed, but who else will make the cut? Looking at the official in-game release schedule it's probably going to be Invoker.
Invoker was confirmed by the latest teaser trailer for the series which also included Luna.
With a title like Dragon's Blood we were pretty certain that the story will revolve around that - dragons. A new hidden teaser trailer reveals that's not the case as Terrorblade will also be making an appearance in the animated show.
It's probably safe to assume that other Dota 2 dragon heroes, those related to dragons or fellow knights might also make an appearance:
- Jakiro
- Winter Wyvern
- Lina
- Rogue Knight
- Chaos Knight
DOTA Dragon’s Blood: Potential Foes
So, besides Mirana, who else can we expect to see? If we're correct and Davion initially goes on a journey to slay some dragons we might get some battles with eldwurms that were mentioned in Dota 2 items so potential foes might be:
- The Time-Dragon Uldorak
Many years before his fateful encounter with the Eldwurm, the Dragon Knight battled with and slew the Time-Dragon Uldorak. The much relieved and newly crowned King Tansis XIII ordered this helm forged as a gift and reward.
- Grand dragon Vyxia
Constructed from the scales and teeth of grand dragon Vyxia, her fiery blood still stains and heats the edge.
- Drakinds
Said to be forged from the iron that once chained the last of the great Drakinds, this helm is most coveted among dragon slayers.
Interesting Facts About Dota's Anime Series
Famous Actors
Some really famous voice actors were part of the production.
Good lord, my cast. I'll have much more to say in the next few days but for now let me drop some names on you... @YuriLowenthal @larapulver @TonyTodd54 @TroyBakerVA @AustralianFreya @AlixWiltonRegan @KariWahlgren @sjacobsen22 @ansonmount ... their acting on DOTA is just phenomenal. pic.twitter.com/SoB885HEnd
— Ashley Edward Miller (@ashmasterzero) February 17, 2021
Some of the more interesting names on that list are:
- Yuri Lowenthal - Sasuke in Naruto
- Tony Todd - Death in Final Destination/ Candyman in Candyman
- Troy Baker - Joel in The Last of Us/ Arkham Knight in Batman: Arkham Knight/ Booker DeWitt in Bioshock Infinite
- Kari Wahlgren - Jessica in Rick & Morty
The Series Was in Production for 2.5 Years
This is what I did on my summer vacation... for two and half years... I couldn't be prouder of this show, my team and my collaborators from @StudioMir2010. Truly, they are the best in the world at what they do. https://t.co/I4zZgxkOPz
— Ashley Edward Miller (@ashmasterzero) February 17, 2021
Fans will love how we’ve imagined the DOTA 2 universe and woven together an epic, emotional, and adult-oriented story about some of their favorite characters. The cinematic animation, acting and music are simply next level and I’m grateful to Valve for supporting our creative ambitions.
It'll Introduce a New Hero
That's right, remember when Valve said they planned to release a new hero in 2021? We do. The time is right and we believe that the next hero will be released around the same time as the animated series - March 25.
It'll be voiced in 12 languages
It's no surprise that the animated series will be widely available in different languages. After all, Dota 2 is a game that attracts players from all over the world.
DOTA: Dragon's Blood will be voiced in 12 languages* English* Russian* Japanese* Filipino* Thai* Indonesian* Brazilian Portuguese* Spanish (Neutral)* Spanish (Castilian)* French* German* ItalianAdditionally, subtitles will be available in 30 languages. pic.twitter.com/USoGEXvsVE
— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) February 23, 2021
Dragon's Blood will be R-rated and have 24 episodes
Dota 2 players are on average older than let's say those in League of Legends or Fortnite. Naturally, the series will be more adult-oriented and gets an R-rating. Additionally, it was also revealed that the show will have 24 episodes (at least). All of this was made clear by Robert Meyer Burnett who's the animation editor for the show.
The actors love it!
In a recent podcast on Friday, most of the voice actors involved with the show discussed various topics.
By the looks of it, Invoker and Selemene (the goddes of the moon) will be playing major roles in the show as well as, well dragons. It's not called Dragon's Blood for no reason, right?
March 2 Update
The official trailer is out!
The big trailer we've all been waiting for was finally released. It sheds some light on the moon goddess Selemene and her potential role in the series. She just might be the villain of the piece. Who'll be the new hero though? Selemene? A dragon? One of the companions?
Marc 12 Update
Netflix revealed that Jake "SirActionSlacks" Kanner was on board for the past few months and even released a short intro that'll bring fans and new players up to speed. Check out the video below for more info on DOTA: Dragon's Blood and some footage that we haven't seen before!
YES i can FINALLY TALK ABOUT THIS! So honored and EXCITED to announce for the last few months I have been working with @netflix to bring you some LORE! OUR TIME IS NOW @DOTA2 FANS! Dont miss the anime in a few weeks, many more of these to come! https://t.co/34uQqNqWoI
— SirActionSlacks (@SirActionSlacks) March 12, 2021
Slacks is a huge fan of the Dota 2 lore, so much that he created his own series that delves deeper into it.
March 16 Update
Another video was released by Netflix, this time giving us more info about the heroes and their lore. SirActionSlacks is once again there to guide you through the world that's about to unfold in less than 10 days.
Could Kaden be the latest hero in Dota 2?
March 19 Update
Netflix released yet another update featuring SirActionSlacks as the narrator and this time it's all about the world of DOTA: Dragon's Blood. Beware though this one might contain some minor spoilers for the series. Depending on your understanding of what a spoiler is.
While no major plot details are revealed in the video you'll get a good idea of the world alogn with the different fractions and locations that you should expect.
DOTA: Dragon's Blood has us hyped and we really hope it's as next level as everyone thinks. Are you excited about Dragon's Blood? Tell us on Facebook or Discord!
- READ MORE: Dota 2: How to Properly Learn From Replays
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