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Critical Role is already planning for a future beyond its original cast

Critters were surprised when the Critical Role Campaign 4 cast was revealed to include six new players. But the way Ed Lopez and Ben Van Der Fluit tell it, they shouldn't be surprised if something like that happens again

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Wed Dec 31 2025

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Three months and ten episodes in, Critical Role Campaign 4 has been unlike anything the cast of D&D actual players has produced yet. And in part, that's because there's... well, a new cast of D&D actual players. Six new(ish) faces joined the tables for the show's fourth campaign, shocking and exciting longtime Critters the moment such an expansion was announced. Well here's the thing, Popverse reader - if the minds behind CR's business side are telling the truth, this won't be the last time new faces join the CR table.

The story comes from a recent Business Insider interview with Ed Lopez and Ben Van Der Fluit, Critical Role's chief operating officer and senior vice president of business and content development, respectively. What began as a conversation about the storied history of the webseries turned media empire eventually shifted into a discussion of its future - and even more specifically, the future of its cast.

Confirming that Critters should expect to see new faces on the stream to "continue the legacy" of the series, Lopez says that in order to continue, the team have to be thinking beyond the eight founding Critical Role members.

"It is my job and Ben's job and Travis [Willingham, OG cast member and current CEO]'s job to kind of figure out, 'Hey, we can't do this forever, and we have to figure out how to give this business longevity.'"

To be clear (and because I know you already know, Critters), Campaign 4 is not the first time that Critical Role has welcomed other GMs and players into the fantasy world of Exandria or, as of this most recent campaign Aramán (check the show's specials and Exandria Unlimited for previous examples). However, it was the first time that the cast added so many new faces to a core campaign, and if what Lopez and Van Der Fluit are pushing is true, it seemingly won't be the last.

Critical Role Campaign 4 is streaming now on the group's Beacon, YouTube, and Twitch channels.

From the lands of Exandria to your very own smartscreens, Popverse has everything you need to know about the TTRPG phenomenon that is Critical Role. Here you'll find:

...and more. Roll initiative, player. Adventure awaits.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.