A still frame from ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ | Source: Prime Video

The Main Stage of New York Comic Con was full of energy on Friday morning, as the members of Critical Role gave the inside scoop on their long-awaited animated series, Legend of Vox Machina.

It started out feeling like a COVID-19 power-hour as the emcee encouraged fans to lock eyes with strangers and high-five (if comfortable), but all of the problems from the last two years were forgotten the second Matthew Mercer cracked his first joke.

For those unfamiliar, Critical Role is a band of professional voice actors — Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, Liam O’Brien, Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, Travis Willingham, and Sam Reigel — who have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for eight years (well, maybe eight, the team wasn’t too confident in that number) and livestreaming their adventures. Two years ago they launched a Kickstarter to turn their meanderings and beloved storylines into an animated series. It ended up earning more than $11 million and becoming the largest-funded Kickstarter for a film or series in history. Amazon picked it up, and the series is finally coming out next year.

Related: NYCC: Archie Comics Injects More Horror into Riverdale, Sabrina Graphic Novels

The cast discussed their biggest influences for the series — cartoons they grew up within the ’80s and anime – and what’s in store for the first season. The first two episodes will introduce the world to newcomers, and the rest of the season will follow the fan-favorite Briarwood story arch.

In a sneak peek from the series, the cast did a table read of a scene that seems indicative of the whole show: plenty of heart and a lot of chaos. In the scene, a drunken escapade ensues and quickly results in violence. Fans also got a special look at the opening title sequence and an official release date of Feb. 4. Watch both below — and try to contain yourself until next year.

Seeing the world built by Critical Role to come to life is the secret dream of everyone who’s ever rolled a 20-sided die. Critical Role has taken inspiration from eight (eight?) years of story-building, joke-telling, and adventure-seeking and turned it into something beautiful. As one of the cast members stated, it’s a complex story that they accidentally told — and we’re here for it. Find the series on Prime Video next year.

About the author

Nicole Savas

Nicole Savas

As a kid, Nicole either wanted to be a professional toy player-wither or a writer. Somehow, as social media editor for The Toy Insider, The Toy Book, and The Pop Insider, she’s found a career as both. She's grateful to work somewhere that she can fully embrace both her love of teddy bears and her admiration for the Oxford comma. When she's not playing with toys at work, she's playing with her baby girl at home.

archivearrow-chevron-downarrow-chevron-left-greyarrow-chevron-leftarrow-chevron-rightarrow-fatarrow-left-blackarrow-left-whitearrow-right-blackarrow-rightarrow-roundedbookscalendarcaret-downclose-whiteclosedocumenteditorial-archiveeyefacebook-squarefacebookfilesgifthamburgerheadinghearthomeinstagram-squareinstagramlatestlinkedin-squarelinkedinmailmedia-inquiresmessagenewsopen-boxpagination-leftpagination-rightpauseplayprintproduct-archiverecent-productssearchsharesort-filterspotifysunteamtiktoktime_purpletimetrendingtvtwitter-squaretwitteryoutube