INTERVIEW: Tasha Huo Talks Adapting ‘The Mighty Nein,’ Live-Action Naruto And Challenges Of Adapting For Screen

Critical Role has introduced a lot of people to Dungeons & Dragons with their campaigns. They're now four campaigns deep, with many one-shots to watch, and now they've got their second animated series, The Mighty Nein, which is adapted from its source material that's available on YouTube to watch.

Nexus Point News got the opportunity to interview Tasha Huo, the showrunner and writer of The Mighty Nein. She previously adapted The Legend of Lara Croft and recently the upcoming Naruto. We got to speak to her about the challenges of adapting for the screen, what brought her onto the project and if there were any Easter eggs for hardcore fans to find.

© Prime Video

Christopher: What was it about Critical Role and The Mighty Nein campaign that drew you to taking on this project?

Tasha Huo: Gosh, I had been a D&D fan before The Mighty Nein. I was drawn to Critical Role because someone said, "Hey, do you want to learn how to play D&D? Go watch Critical Role," and it certainly did teach me to play D&D. So, that has a special place in my heart for that reason. The thing that drew me to The Mighty Nein was just the characters. They created so many amazing characters with so many fascinating, in-depth backstories that just broke your heart, and the roller coaster that they put us on with those characters is really what drove me to The Mighty Nein.

Christopher: There's hundreds of hours of content when it comes to The Mighty Nein. How do you go about adapting a Dungeons & Dragons campaign? And obviously we've got The Legend of Vox Machina, which has two more seasons and is something you can look back on for tips or advice. Have you planned out how long The Mighty Nein could go on for if it had the chance?

Tasha Huo: Yes (laughs), we do have a plan! So, I hope we get to tell all of the story. I mean, obviously the campaign is the campaign, and the endgame they actually have in the show is our endgame as well, so yeah, we do have a plan, and I'm very excited for it. I will, guess, stop there (laughs).

Christopher: That's fair! You've adapted for animation before, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, which is based on the video game, and we now have The Mighty Nein, based on a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. And if I read correctly, you also finished the script for Naruto, which is based on a manga. I wanted to ask for each one of those, I know you can't say much about Naruto, but what were the challenges that came with adapting for a video game, D&D campaign and manga?

© Crunchyroll

Tasha Huo: That's a great question! I'll start with The Mighty Nein. I think one of the biggest obstacles to adapting it to a show was that D&D by nature is not linear. A TV show has to be linear, and it's 600 hours, where many of those hours are spent in a store buying things or going on weird side quests that have nothing to do with anything. So that's part of the challenge of adapting something like that, and also just the number of hours involved in that story.

For Tomb Raider, there were so many challenges, but one of them was certainly taking a very beloved character with a very particular backstory and trying to evolve her in places that the games hadn't already and also to invite people into parts of her life that they have not experienced and you just can't experience in a video game, so trying to give you something new, even though you've seen so much of her.

For Naruto, it was to ground it, to make it feel real and believable in the world of a live-action movie. When you watch it or read it, it's so bonkers. It's so good, but it is so bonkers. The rules you just sort of kind of take for granted because of the medium you're watching it in, but once you translate it to real people saying real lines and needing to convey real plot. Yeah, that was the challenge but also the joy of it because they're just so fun.

Christopher: The campaign originally had callbacks to Vox Machina. Although the Vox Machina show has not ended yet, with two more seasons to go. Are there any little Easter eggs or teasers regarding Vox Machina or the world of Exandria that will keep fans excited?

Tasha Huo: Yeah, absolutely! Not only are there Vox Machina Easter eggs, but I guess look out for Campaign Three Easter eggs. We have the beauty of the cast that's in all of these campaigns, are in the writers' room and are sharing stories and art with us. You'll see a lot of stuff.

Christopher: Thank you so much for your time, Tasha. I can't wait for people to watch The Mighty Nein once it finally comes out. I'm sure it's going to be just as great, maybe even better than what we've gotten with The Legend of Vox Machina. And also congrats for your future projects coming out, with Tomb Raider in December and Naruto in the near future.

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This interview has been edited for clarity.