Dungeon Crawler Carl is heading to the streaming screen, and the two people who know Carl and Princess Donut more than anyone want fans to know one thing: the tone isn't changing. At San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026, author Matt Dinniman and audiobook narrator Jeff Hays sat down for a roundtable interview with a group of press outlets, including The Direct, to discuss Peacock's upcoming live-action adaptation of Dinniman's bestselling LitRPG series.
During the chat, Dinniman and Hays made clear that staying faithful to the books' characters and tone is taking precedence with the new series.
Dinniman said the show's "most untouchable element" is "the tone, the underlying horror of it," warning that a slapstick version of the story would mean "we know we've failed." Hays, for his part, was adamant that Princess Donut keep her edge, hoping the show doesn't "dumb her down and make her into comic relief."
Both also used the time to sound off on artificial intelligence's growing footprint in publishing, with Dinniman arguing that AI narration is "devaluing human creative art."
Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl book series follows Carl and Princess Donut, a tiara-wearing cat who belonged to Carl's ex-girlfriend, Beatrice, after an alien invasion forces humanity's survivors into Dungeon Crawler World, a deadly intergalactic game show buried beneath Earth's surface.
The series has sold more than 14 million copies since it debuted in 2020, and the audiobooks, narrated by Hays, have racked up over 140 million listening hours on Audible. The eighth book, A Parade of Horribles, was released in May.
Peacock ordered the live-action adaptation to series this summer, with Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door Productions producing alongside Universal Global Television and writer Chris Yost attached as showrunner. Hays' casting as the voice of Princess Donut was announced just before this roundtable, during Penguin Random House's "Spotlight on Matt Dinniman" panel at SDCC.
Dinniman and Hays spoke with The Direct and other reporters about what has to survive the jump to TV, Hays' new role, and their frustrations with AI.
Keeping The Show's Underlying Horror Intact
The Bond Between Carl and Donut is Tantamount..."
- Question: "What elements of the books are untouchable in the TV adaptation, and what might need to be reinvented for the screen?"
Matt Dinniman: Well, the most untouchable element, I think, is the tone, the underlying horror of it. I don't want it to turn into some slapstick comedy, because if that happens, then we know we've failed.
The bond between Carl and Donut is tantamount to the success of the story. There's lots of 'this scene, or that scene, or this scene' some of it has to go, it's impossible to film it all.
Each book alone would be multiple seasons if we did everything, so some things will have to go, some things will have to change, and in the end, that doesn't matter that much, as long as the tone and the story stay the same.
And I think those two characters, especially Carl and Donut, need to be as closely written to the book as possible, in order for it to maintain its popularity amongst existing fans.
Why Princess Donut Can't Become Comic Relief
"She's Also Plotting Behind The Scenes..."
- Question: "What's one quality of Princess Donut you hope carries over for new TV viewers?"
Jeff Hays: I think that it's very important for them to maintain how clever she is. She's very much about appearance, right? But somehow that's seamless with her ability to engage Carl and to be emotionally intelligent when it counts.
Yeah, she's dismissive of him, and she gives him shit, and she's totally willing to humiliate him. But I think that's because she knows him well enough to know that he can take it, and it's fine.
And she's also plotting behind the scenes through the entire book there's always these hints, but the hints don't come from her. The hints come from the comment sections and the way things unfold. So hopefully they don't dumb her down and make her into comic relief or whatever.*
When another reporter suggested that Donut, not Carl, is really running the operation, Dinniman chimed in: "She's the brains of the operation."
Peacock's TV Show Production Update
"It Was Really Close To Us Not Being Able To Even Announce That..."
- The Direct: "Any production or release updates on the TV series?"
Matt Dinniman: We don't have any information beyond what we said at the panel on Thursday, and it was really close to us not being able to even announce that.
- The Direct: "You've now been confirmed to bring Princess Donut's voice to Peacock's live-action series. What was that moment like, and will you be wearing any hats while recording?"
Jeff Hays: You know, a tiara would obviously be appropriate. It does get tangled in my hair, though, so I do have to be careful, especially on long hair days. But yeah, when I got the call from my rep, Matt Sugarman, I was very busy with other things, and I just kind of put it in the back of my mind to celebrate for later.
I tend not to take news heavily as soon as I get it; I kind of have to compartmentalize it and make room in my brain and my emotions to actually figure out how I feel about it. But I've allowed it to get me excited over the past few weeks.
AI Encroaching on Audiobooks
"You're Devaluing Human Creative Art in Order to Save Money."
- Question: "Soundbooth Theater is committed to full voice casts for the audiobooks. What are the challenges of competing against AI?"
Hays: I mean, personally, when I think of merchandise, when I think of fully capitalizing an IP, I think what we should learn from the past is that we should be patient, not in a rush, and focused on quality... making sure that we're not just selling junk products to people. I think that when people do that, they're taking their audience for granted, and they're thinking too short-term.
Dinniman: From a professional point of view, as a creator, I'm not threatened by AI at all. It doesn't affect me at all. But from a consumer's point of view, it fills every space that there is space, and it's annoying.
On Amazon, I saw a statistic I don't know how true it is, but the number of books published per day has tripled since ChatGPT became a thing. And nobody's reading these books; they're not competing with other people's books. My partners, Amazon and Audible, have virtual voice available for audiobooks, and nobody listens to them. I wish they would remain focused on human narrators.
And even if it gets to the point where it's the best quality, what is the point? You're devaluing human creative art in order to save money. But from a consumer point of view, it's the same thing; none of it is good.
It's homogenized, it's wrapped in bubble wrap, and presented in the cheapest possible way. And why do we want the cheapest possible thing when we're consuming art?
