Craig Mazin, showrunner on HBO’s award-winning The Last of Us adaptation, has confirmed he’s giving Baldur’s Gate 3 the TV treatment next, with the new show set to continue the story of the acclaimed fantasy RPG – although developer Larian seemingly won’t be directly involved.
As per Variety, HBO is developing the Baldur’s Gate 3 TV adaptation, hot of the success of its live-action The Last of Us series, with Mazin serving as both as showrunner and executive producer on the new project.
In a statement accompanying the news, Mazin claimed he’d put “nearly 1000 hours” into the video game version of Baldur’s Gate 3. “It is a dream come true to be able to continue the story that Larian and Wizards of The Coast created,” he said. “I am a devoted fan of D&D and the brilliant way that Swen Vincke and his gifted team adapted it. I can’t wait to help bring Baldur’s Gate and all of its incredible characters to life with as much respect and love as we can.”
Francesca Orsi, HBO’s executive vice president and head of drama, added that Mazin’s “deep and long-standing passion for the source material paired with his remarkable talent for building immersive worlds filled with rich, compelling characters promises groundbreaking results.”
After news of the adaptation broken, The Games Awards’ Geoff Keighley took to social media, claiming Larian had told him directly the studio – which officially wrapped up work on Baldur’s Gate 3 last year, moving away from D&D – has “no involvement in the series.” Larian boss Swen Vincke later confirmed no Larian writers were consulting on the adaptation ‘to his knowledge’, but did note Mazin had reached out “to ask if he could come over to the studio to speak with us. From the conversation we had, I think he truly is a big fan which gives me hope.”
“We worked incredibly hard on making Baldur’s Gate 3 worthy of its legacy,” Vincke wrote in a separate social media post. “Its characters and narratives are the result of many teams working together and I think I can speak for them all in saying that they’ll think this is cool and hope that what comes next will enjoy the same level of passion.”
“The endings of BG3 were created so they could serve as narrative soil for new adventure,” he continued. “There’s plenty of directions they could go. I’m eager to find out which ones Craig and his team will pick. He’s reached out for a chat so we’ll have the opportunity to tell him our thoughts.”
Larian director of publishing Michael Douse also shared his thoughts, writing, “I’ve spent the last eight to 10 years of my life with the writers and creators of Baldur’s Gate 3 and they’re the most incredible storytellers and creators in the space. Only hope is that they get both the credit deserved and the characters are represented at the same level as the game.
“Our stories are built by fierce comeraderie and resolve,” Douse added. “I have watched them write and write and write and through respect for audience and material come up with some of the finest shit I have ever played. I hope TV allows for the same thoroughness.”
There’s no word on when HBO might be looking to bring its Baldur’s Gate 3 adaptation to air, but Mazin will be tied up with his The Last of Us show for a little while longer at least. While Mazin had previously confirmed a four-season plan for his post-apocalyptic series, insisting there was “no way” its story could be wrapped up sooner, HBO boss Casey Bloys recently indicated season three will be its last. “It certainly seems that way,” he told Deadline, “but on decisions like that, we will defer to the showrunners.”
