Critical Role’s Mighty Nein Show Revealed At SDCC

When The Legend of Vox Machina returns to Amazon Prime, it won’t be alone. Critical Role has been working on a separate animated series adapting their second major Actual Play campaign, The Mighty Nein, for several years now. It’s almost ready and the results of that work were shown publicly for the first time at SDCC.

The Mighty Nein follows a group of fugitives and outcasts, bound by secrets and scars. But when a powerful arcane relic known as The Beacon falls into dangerous hands, they must learn to work together to save the realm and stop reality itself from unraveling.

Who’s starring? Well…the same folks. It sprung from a liveplay series performed by voice actors — why change anything? Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Liam O’Brien, Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel and Travis Willingham are all back, just sounding a bit differently.

• BEAU (Marisha Ray): Beau is a Cobalt Soul monk with attitude. Part MMA fighter, part kickass detective, she’s on a secret mission to root out corruption within her own organization and abroad.
• CALEB (Liam O’Brien): Caleb is a disheveled – some might say filthy – wizard with a penchant for fire magic. He’s on the run from his past that continues to haunt him.
• FJORD (Travis Willingham): Fjord is an orphan sailor. After his ship blew up in a deadly scheme, Fjord washed ashore without a scratch and with magic powers. But he’s still trying to figure out if the powers are a gift or a curse.
• JESTER (Laura Bailey): Jester is a loveable chaotic prankster who was born and raised in an upscale brothel. After pranking a powerful politician with no sense of humor, she’s forced to go on the run with her best friend, an invisible god named the Traveler.
• MOLLY (Taliesin Jaffe): Molly is the flamboyant tarot reader for a traveling carnival. His endearing wit is a stark contrast to his mysterious ability to manipulate blood to his will.
• NOTT (Sam Riegel) : Nott the Brave is a foul-mouthed alcoholic goblin girl and a master of stealth and crossbow. She drinks to hide from her painful past, which she hopes her new friend, Caleb, can help her solve.
• YASHA (Ashley Johnson): Yasha is a barbarian woman from the wastes of Xhorhas in the Kryn Dynasty. Her roving mercenary work has earned her the harrowing moniker: “The Orphan Maker.”
• ESSEK (Matthew Mercer): Essek Thelyss is a Kryn elf and elite spy for the Dynasty. He will stop at nothing to protect the ones he loves.

The guest stars will be numerous! The revealed list includes Alan Cumming, Mark Strong, Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and the Frog(, Ming-Na Wen (Mulan, Agents Of SHIELD, Book Of Boba Fett), Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek TNG) and, for some reason, Tim McGraw.

I haven’t seen the original Mighty Nein series (nor have I seen the original Vox Machina series), but I am told it takes place in the same world of Exandria, just 20 years later. It’s supposed to be “darker and grittier,” though not by too much — Critical Role didn’t dip its toe into full-on horror until some recent one-shots. The Mighty Nein premieres November 19; Season 4 of Vox Machina will arrive sometime in 2026 (with a fifth and final season planned after that).