A new first-story trailer for DOTA: Dragon's Blood has been released just two weeks after collaborators Netflix and Valve dropped a teaser for the animated series. The two-minute video explores the story of Davion, the melee-strength hero known as 'Dragon Knight' from the popular PC game.
According to previous reports, Davion will become "embroiled in events much larger than he could have ever imagined" while on his ongoing quest to slay dragons. In the trailer, we see him on a mission with Princess Mirana to collect the magical lotuses of Selemene, the moon goddess they plan to resurrect. The scenes appear to hint at Selemene's eventual resurrection; however, it also shows Davion's suspicions of the goddess' true nature, which may not be as pure as he initially had thought.
The trailer also shows sneak peeks of new characters, as well as an ultimate showdown between two dragons, which fans of the game can surely get excited over. With a tagline that reads "Do you know whom you serve," it can be expected that the series will feature a bunch of unexpected twists and turns in classic anime fashion. Even more exciting is the secret clip that fans found after piecing together parts of a QR code hidden in the corners of four Netflix posters for the series. The fully-formed QR code ultimately leads to an unlisted teaser for DOTA: Dragon's Blood, which was shared by Twitter user @wykrhm:
DOTA: Dragon's Blood will reportedly run for eight episodes and have a global rollout on Netflix. Yuri Lowenthal, who is known for his vocal work in Ben 10 and Naruto, will lend his voice to Davion. Additionally, Ashley Edward Miller of X-Men: First Class will serve as showrunner and executive producer, while Studio MIR, which has produced hit shows like The Legend of Korra and Netflix's Voltron: Legendary Defender, will animate the series.
DOTA 2 was released by Valve in 2013 as a sequel to the first DOTA (Defense of the Ancients). The multiplayer online battle arena has since amassed an impressive following of over 11 million players and remains to be one of the world's top online games, with record-breaking stats in the realm of e-sports. Just last month, the game peaked at over 691,000 concurrent players, making it one of the most played games on the Steam platform.
DOTA 2 isn't the only MOBA that is receiving the small screen treatment - Riot Games' League of Legends, one of its top competitors, is also joining the animation train with its own adaptation called Arcane. The original release date of Arcane was delayed from 2020 due to COVID-19, but production is reportedly on schedule (thanks to the efforts of Riot Games' creative partner Fortiche) and it is set to debut sometime this year.
Book 1 of DOTA: Dragon's Blood will premiere on Netflix on March 25.
Source: Netflix|YouTube