It's safe to say that the announcement last month about an HBO Baldur's Gate 3 TV series didn't exactly thrill every fan of the game. The show, which will reportedly pick up where Larian's beloved RPG left off and feature characters from the game, has sparked mixed reactions. Craig Mazin, the creative force behind HBO hits like Chernobyl and The Last of Us, is on board as showrunner, with Chris Perkins, former longtime Head of Story at Wizards of the Coast—the Hasbro subsidiary that owns the Dungeons & Dragons universe—serving as a consultant.
Many players are puzzled by the decision to continue the story beyond Baldur's Gate 3, given its multiple endings, varied world states, and the dramatically different fates of characters like Astarion, Karlach, and Shadowheart. Adding to the concern is the fact that Larian Studios, the developer behind the game, isn't directly consulting on the series. Larian's boss Swen Vincke confirmed this in a tweet, though he noted that Mazin had reached out for a chat, saying, 'From the conversation we had, I think he truly is a big fan which gives me hope.'
Now, Neil Newbon, the actor who brought Astarion to life, is calling on fans to give HBO a chance and avoid jumping to conclusions before seeing anything. In an interview with FRVR, Newbon expressed, 'I really hope people give them space to make the show that they want to make. It's really important that artistic endeavors are left to cook. What they'll do with it, who knows? But he's [Mazin] an amazing writer. I think he's a great showrunner as well. I think Chernobyl is a great example of how good his writing is, man. You have to see that this is the vision of people of the best story they can do with the material that they have.'
He continued, 'Let them cook, man. Let them do their thing and enjoy it. I think the worry about the internet at the moment, sometimes, is that people really pile on a lot, and they really get worried and upset. And I understand that comes from a place of love, often they're very worried about things, but nothing's happened yet, you know what I mean?' Newbon added that it's healthier to watch the show first and then react, noting that 'sometimes people get very affected by stuff they don't know.'
HBO and Wizards of the Coast's approach to Baldur's Gate 3 stands in stark contrast to Amazon and Bethesda's strategy with Fallout. With Todd Howard at the helm, Bethesda is deeply involved in the creation of the smash-hit Fallout TV series, which fans have praised for capturing the universe's tone and aesthetic. Unlike Baldur's Gate 3's plan, the Fallout show avoids retelling game stories or featuring main characters from the games; instead, it's set after all the Fallout events, introducing new characters and stories while revisiting fan-favorite locations like New Vegas.
Casting choices for Baldur's Gate 3 will undoubtedly face intense scrutiny. The game's characters have become cultural icons, instantly recognizable online, with their actors gaining high-profile status. The thought of someone other than Neil Newbon playing Astarion, for instance, seems almost unthinkable. Newbon himself told FRVR, 'I'd love to keep playing [Astarion] if I could,' adding, 'He's not one of those characters that I've sort of [gone], 'great, done my job, done.' He is something that's still very much exciting to me.'
In related news, Hasbro also has plans for a video game follow-up to Baldur's Gate 3, though it's unclear whether that will be a direct sequel like Baldur's Gate 4 or something entirely different.
