Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: critical role, Critical Role: Mighty Nein

Critical Role: Mighty Nein Writer on Franchise Appeal, Waititi & More

Writer Shakira Pressley (Devil May Cry) spoke with us about the success of Critical Role, writing Mighty Nein, Taika Waititi, and much more.

To say writer Shakira Pressley is living the dream would be an understatement. Growing up on anime, fantasy, science fiction, and video games, she's worked on several universes, including DC for Warner Bros with Bat Family. While promoting her latest Netflix animated series Devil May Cry, the writer spoke to Bleeding Cool about her involvement in the roleplaying franchise world of Critical Role and their latest animated series Mighty Nein, why Critical Role succeeded where mainstream Hollywood has largely failed in fantasy storytelling in the realm of Dungeons and Dragons, and working with Taika Waititi on his adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Shakira Pressley Breaks Down the Success of Critical Role and Audience's Growing Acceptance of 'D&D'

Bleeding Cool: Given your work on Critical Role: Mighty Nein, what do you think has been the brand's secret to maintaining success in the narrative of D&D in the way that perhaps mainstream Hollywood may not have adequately captured or perhaps may not have resonated with mainstream audiences?

Honestly, I think it's [Critical Role's] community. They have such a loyal fan base who absolutely adore every member of their group, as well as anyone new that they bring in for the ride. Also, it doesn't hurt how they've interacted with their fan base, bringing them in, and making them feel like they're close friends and family when they're playing a D&D game in their studio. Everyone feels like they're there with them in a cozy living room in someone's basement. It's so personable, charming, and genuine, and their fans can feel that.

A lot of that closeness, you don't get to have with the big Hollywood spectacle of things at a studio. You're not bringing the reach of feeling like, "Oh yeah, I'm personable." [Critical Role] is cozy, it's for everyone, and an all-inclusive space. Everyone loves their authenticity, and that's how they continue to build. They're open to everyone, and fun people to be around. They're comical to watch, and it's easy to be swept up into how amazing storytellers and voice actors they are. People are attracted to those who are good at what they do. That's the two mixes of being really talented, with having a great community and building that community.

Do you think the community is being built more organically now with so many different things available? We have Critical Role's animated series, Vox Machina, on Prime Video. Some mainstream talent, such as Todd Stashwick, Deborah Ann Woll, Vin Diesel, and Joe Manganiello, have opened their embrace for roleplaying. Do you think those celebrities are making it more possible to bridge and expand that audience?

Oh, yeah, without a doubt, [Critical Role] having the series and expanding, doing the live shows, like even I have gone and seen some of their shows here in LA, where it's like, "Come and watch the show with your family!" You could not know anything about what's currently happening in the session, but we have so many different ways to get people invested in our story, including 'D&D' as well.

I feel there are so many avenues to be able to pull in new fan base, but we're also at a point where they've inspired people to start doing their own podcasts about 'D&D.' They work with so many others like the people from 'Dimension 20' bringing them on their show and fusing those worlds together. Anyone who they might not have been able to pull in yet gets pulled in with this other group of D&D podcasters, and it's the best of both worlds. They keep expanding it that way.

I'm even seeing the success of the 20-Sided Tavern in New York that's hosting regular shows with special guests, and seeing that it's amazing how people have that option around. My final question: You're working with Taika Waititi on the adaptation of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. What's it been like working with him and helping make that adaptation a reality?

Taika is one of my heroes, and I've studied so many of his scripts. When it was time to finally be in a room with him, I was completely nervous, because it's always the story of "Don't meet your heroes. They might be terrible," but he was quite the opposite. He was amazing and way funnier than you'd expect. I love the way he gets inside of characters' minds, especially the young characters. He always has something poignant to say and wants to make sure the themes and the message of the story is coming clear with every scene.

[Taika's] so good at thinking about where a character's growth needs to come from and what their journey is. It was amazing being in the room with him and learning about how to run a room and how to get to the point of what we're trying to say. It was super exciting because this is an IP that people have heard of before. How do you make that new and interesting? The way he was able to tell the same story that people enjoyed, but in a take that showed what he wanted to say, his vision was really inspiring. I've been wanting that feeling, the rush of being in a room with him again, and hearing him dissect the characters' wants and needs and their core beliefs again. I've been putting that into my work ever since.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!