June 7th, 2024 
W.R. Miller 
“When is Season Six showing?”
That’s what The Dragon Prince fans want to know. They clamor for it in podcasts, social media and conventions. And no wonder: Season Five ended with many compelling questions. What’s to be done about the sinister Startouch Elf, Aaravos? Will he possess Prince Callum again? Will Callum sacrifice himself to save his friends? Has Lord Viren truly assumed room temperature? Will Claudia get her revenge? What will Stella the Cuddlemonkey do with the items she’s taking? Will Prince Karim’s insurrection succeed against Queen Janai? And if the sun dragon Sol Regem’s eyesight is restored, what havoc will he wreak upon the humans of Xadia?
Stella absconds with a scroll. Could it be she’s literate?
Netflix streamed Season Five beginning July 22, 2023, ten months ago, and counting. Then on October 14, 2023, at the New York Comic Con, Dragon Prince co-creators Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond previewed a portion of Season Six, Episode One: “Stardust.” (Later shown in full at Wondercon, March 30, 2024). And though unannounced, the full season was originally meant to premiere the following month.
Aaron Ehasz
So what’s the holdup? Why the delay? I talked to Ehasz and Richmond about it on May 22.
“They [Netflix] told us we had to be ready to launch and then decided due to a number of factors not to,” Ehasz says. “There was some stuff that might have benefited moving it up early. November felt early for us anyway.
“The point is there’s not any delays in production. It’s really that Netflix is balancing release dates against all these other release dates and other shows. They’re also factoring in–which I think is a good thing–the fact that we’re building The Dragon Prince game with them. And they want the show and the game to draft off of each other, which is awesome, and that’s what our fans should want, too. A lot of it is, just how can you get both of those things out at the optimal moment? Some of it has been outside of our control, but I think it’s all for the purpose of delivering it at the right time for everyone.”
But, because The Dragon Prince is a multimedia franchise, delaying the release date would impact the ancillary products, books and merchandise. Or would it?
In Rex Igneous’s crystal cave, Stella the Cuddlemonkey spots a gem to pilfer.
“Well, I wouldn’t call it a delay,” Ehasz says. “It’s internal scheduling. This is part of why they never want us to announce anything early or hint at anything early because things do shift around with them internally. So has it affected merch and other things? Possibly, maybe only slightly, but the main experiences for the audience are the series and the game, and so they’re well-coordinated now.
“In animation, and in particular, when we’re scheduling for streaming, there are so many things you’re considering. When are you finishing the entire season? Obviously, you can’t ship it until you have it all done. You can’t start shipping episode one or episode three if you don’t have episode nine done. But then you’re figuring out when’s the best time for the fans. When’s the best time to release it versus other things on the Netflix schedule to make sure it has the best possible chance of reaching as many people and new fans as it can possibly reach. It’s challenging. But yes, Season Six has had the dates move on us a few times, but it’s a great season, and when it is coming out is great timing, because we have the season and The Dragon Prince game coming out around the same time, and that’s pretty exciting,” Ehasz says.
Justin Richmond
“We’re still finishing up Season Six and Seven, obviously,” Justin Richmond says. “But the game is in its finishing stages and we’re spending long hours getting that done and all kinds of other fun stuff around the franchise. We’re just getting started, in some ways, even though the writing on the first seven seasons is complete. To me, I’m still in the thick of it (he chuckles), trying to get the stuff done.”
Aaron Ehasz adds, “Production is just localization now of Season Seven. So we are 99% done, from our perspective. The saga is long, and we’re completing the Dragon Prince portion of the saga. I’m really proud of what the team has made and built together. It will feel good for the fans and the people who have been following all along. And I’m hopeful that there are opportunities to tell another part of the story that comes after.”
So when will Season Six be released?
Interviewed via Zoom on May 22, 2024.
The Dragon Prince is currently streaming its fifth season on Netflix, with two more seasons forthcoming.
He has just completed Batman: The Animated Interviews, a five-volume work featuring the executives, producers, directors, writers, actors, designers, storyboard artists and composers involved with the making of Batman: The Animated Series and its spinoffs. BearManor Media is the publisher.
Posted in 
Tags: 
