SDCC 2026 Interview: “Dungeon Crawler Carl” Matt Dinniman & Jeff Hays

Author Matt Dinniman and Audible audiobook narrator Jeff Hays discuss the rapidly expanding world of the book series Dungeon Crawler Carl.

Stepping into this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Matt Dinniman’s book series Dungeon Crawler Carl was present all over the convention center and beyond. In addition to the wide array of exclusives and merchandise in the exhibit hall, Dinniman and audiobook narrator Jeff Hays held a couple of incredibly popular panels throughout the weekend to discuss the book series, the audiobook series via Audible, and the recently announced series adaptation. The Geekiary sat down with both Dinniman and Hays to learn more about the future of the rapidly expanding world of Carl and Princess Donut.

When asked about all of the collectibles available at the show, Dinniman shared, “The figures are amazing. They have some new things coming along the pipeline that haven’t been shown yet to the public and that’s even more amazing. The toys are awesome. The exclusive one they have with the bloody Carl, it’s every kid’s dream to have an action figure made after something they created. It’s pretty cool.”

As the world of Dungeon Crawler Carl already has video game mechanics folded into its world, it’s no surprise that there is potential for a future video game adaptation. Dinniman said, “There have been discussions, the rights are a little tied up, but there’s been a lot of interest. Hopefully, we will have one eventually. I would love to see some open world big game, like a Fallout style sort of thing.” Hays added, “I think all that matters is you should sell it to Valve. Just give it to Valve, give it to the best, they’ll take six or seven years to put it out, but it’s going to be the best video game ever.”

In regards to what fans should take away from the series, Dinniman said, “I hope they’re having a good time, that’s what I hope they’re taking away from it. I hope they think about, maybe it helps a single person think about how they treat people who are different from themselves. Then maybe the whole thing will be worth it.”

Hays added, “I think the people take the broader message seriously from the series. That we are all going to work together better if we realize how much more we have in common than what we have different from each other. That the bigger entities, the much larger entities in our world, the corporations and the governments, are always trying to pin us against each other to get what they want. So, don’t let them break us.”

With the recent announcement of a television adaptation coming to Peacock, and Hays confirmed to voice Princess Donut in the series, Dinniman admitted that the series is still in the early stages, but has much faith in the additional creative talent behind the show. “I’ve never done this before, but I’m surrounded by people who have, and I’m doing my best to shepherd this story and I made sure that everyone that is working on it is someone that loves this story for the tone and the actual story, not just the surface level things. I’m pretty confident that people will be pretty happy with how it’s adapted.”

On potential dream casting for Carl, Dinniman deadpanned, “We’re not allowed to do casting, but if I could get Audrey Hepburn to play Carl, that would be fantastic.”

The audiobook of Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series, narrated by Hays, is currently available on Audible.

You can keep up with The Geekiary’s San Diego Comic-Con 2026 coverage here.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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