Seth MacFarlane's Dungeon Crawler Carl series gets a tip on casting from a major franchise star.
Matt Dinniman's fantasy novel franchise centers on the exploits of the titular US Coast Guard veteran and his ex-girlfriend's cast, Princess Donut, as they venture through the fantastical setting known as the World Dungeon to escape Earth's destruction. In the midst of its rising viral popularity, Universal and MacFarlane acquired the rights for a Dungeon Crawler Carl live-action series, with The Mandalorian's Christopher Yost and Shadow and Bone's Eric Heisserer set as showrunners and Peacock attached to distribute.
Now, in a recent interview with The Nerdist, Jeff Hays was asked about the casting plans for MacFarlane's Dungeon Crawler Carl live-action series, particularly for the titular character. Hays, who is confirmed to be reprising his role of the talking cat Princess Donut for the series, pointed to Carl being the character he is the most excited to see brought to life, though also acknowledged it will be "the most difficult" one to cast for the creative team:
Jeff Hays: He is the most challenging character to voice. He is the most complex, I would say, and nuanced. And we get more of his character than anybody else, obviously. You know, he is the first-person narration. So, he's going to be a really tricky character to cast. I do not envy their job in having to do that.
Hays has been a notable part of the Dungeon Crawler Carl franchise since it made the leap to audiobooks in 2021, both producing them through his Soundbooth Theater banner and serving as the narrator for all eight books, therefore voicing every character, including Carl himself. The producer/star memorably began his work as Carl's voice modeled after Patrick Warburton, who he envisioned for the part based on Luciano Fleitas's cover art, before molding it into his own and welcoming the voice actor as a guest actor on the adaptation of Book 6, "The Eye of the Bedlam Bride."
Hays' confirmed casting for the Dungeon Crawler Carl series came from Dinniman himself during his San Diego Comic-Con panel this past July. The author explained that the decision came from both a desire to stay true to his source material's tone and story, but to also assure longtime fans that the show's creative team is listening to their feedback and biggest hopes for the series.
It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that Hays doesn't have any direct updates on Carl's potential casting in the live-action Dungeon Crawler Carl series based on Dinniman's other updates on the series at SDCC 2026, where he confirmed an actor choice hadn't yet been made, and indicated auditions hadn't begun. Universal Global Television exec Kelsey Balance similarly stated that they were only in "soft prep" for the series, still being in the scripting process while also putting together their roster of line producers, production designers and directors.
In the time since the show's announcement, franchise fans have shared a wide variety of thoughts on who could bring Carl to life for MacFarlane's Dungeon Crawler Carl adaptation, naming everyone from Heated Rivalry breakout Connor Storrie to Will Poulter, Tom Hopper and Gabriel Basso, among others. Given how deep in development the series is, and its plans to begin filming in 2027, a casting decision is sure to be made soon, and give readers an indication of what to expect from the live-action series.