“Baldur’s Gate 3” Becoming An HBO Series
It’s looking likely that the upcoming third season of HBO’s “The Last of Us,” the most acclaimed TV adaptation of a video game to date, will indeed be its last as showrunner Craig Mazin is moving to another series based on a Game of the Year winner.
Deadline reports that Mazin is set to turn Larian Studios’ 2023 Game Awards Game of the Year winner “Baldur’s Gate 3” into a TV series for HBO with Mazin attached to create, write, executive produce and showrun the series.
Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor and Hasbro Entertainment’s Gabriel Marano will also executive produce, while Chris Perkins will serve as a consultant as the franchise is set within the “Dungeons and Dragons” universe. Larian Studios, the game’s original developer, will not be involved.
One key difference here is the story. Whereas “The Last of Us” TV series is a direct adaptation of the two games, the “Baldur’s Gate” series will be a continuation, with events taking place immediately after the third game and deals with the ramifications of the events that happened in it.
Another difference is length. Mazin made it clear during the first season press for “The Last of Us” that the plan was to adapt the two “The Last of Us” games, and that’s it, no further stories set in that world – only a question as to whether three or four seasons would be needed.
“Baldur’s Gate”, on the other hand, is being designed to be ongoing and continue with different kinds of stories within the sprawling world of the game. The title will stick heavily to the third game, not the first two, and under the agreement with Wizards of the Coast, Mazin will draw elements of Dungeons & Dragons lore.
Mazin is a Dungeon Master who has played “Dungeons and Dragons” weekly for 15 years, and completed the “Baldur’s Gate 3” game on ‘challenging honor’ mode, saying in a statement he has put “nearly 1000 hours” into that game.
The series will feature both existing characters from the game and new ones and Mazin plans to reach out to voice cast members of the game with ideas for them to participate in the TV adaptation, if possible.
The show will also be designed to co-exist alongside “The Forgotten Realms” live-action “Dungeons & Dragons” series Hasbro Entertainment has set up at Netflix with Shawn Levy producing.
“Baldur’s Gate 3” launched to massive critical and commercial success with over 15 million lifetime players and 34 industry award wins – also becoming the first game to win all five major Game of the Year awards.
Source: Deadline