Baldur’s Gate 3 Gets New Official Sequel Series on HBO

Baldur’s Gate 3 remains one of the most enduring Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games of all time. Players still praise its memorable characters, branching story and deep player choice, along with the extremely generous support from developer Larian Studios. Larian isn’t working on the next Baldur’s Gate game. The studio is focused on a different project, Divinity. Even so, the story of Baldur’s Gate 3 will continue across several new formats.

The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin has partnered with Hasbro Entertainment on a TV series for HBO based on Baldur’s Gate 3. The show is simply titled Baldur’s Gate. Mazin is co-creator, writer, executive producer and showrunner. The story will pick up where Baldur’s Gate 3 left off.

The series will include both new characters and familiar faces. No details have been released about which characters will appear or who will play them. Baldur’s Gate 4 is not officially in development, so Mazin will likely have a fair amount of freedom with the story. Former D&D head of creative Chris Perkins will serve as a consultant on set to keep the series true to its D&D roots.

Mazin is a fan of the game. In a statement to Deadline earlier this year, he said he put “nearly 1,000 hours into the incredible world of Baldur’s Gate 3.” He is thrilled to be working on the series.

Baldur’s Gate TV series creator comments on show’s future

“It is a dream come true to be able to continue the story that Larian and Wizards of The Coast created,” Mazin 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, and I’m deeply grateful to [Hasbro head of television and co-executive producer] Gabe Marano and his team at Hasbro for entrusting me with this incredibly important property.”

HBO head of drama programming Francesca Orsi also commented. “We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Craig Mazin on Baldur’s Gate,” she said. “His 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.”

Hasbro’s Gabriel Marano said, “The fans have been eagerly awaiting an adaptation of Baldur’s Gate, and we could not ask for better partners than HBO and the incomparable Craig Mazin to build this world with.”

Who’s making the Baldur’s Gate TV show

Before co-creating The Last of Us adaptation, Mazin co-wrote the films Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4 and The Hangover Part 3. He is perhaps best known as the creator of the Emmy-winning miniseries Chernobyl. After that, he teamed up with Neil Druckmann, co-creator of the The Last of Us game, to adapt Naughty Dog’s PlayStation hit for TV.

The first season stuck fairly close to its source material. The second season deviated somewhat, and fans received it with mixed reactions. Druckmann exited the show after season two. Remarks from HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys suggest the show itself could wrap after the third season.

With Baldur’s Gate, Mazin has more of a creative blank slate. He will still work within a framework that is almost certain to spark controversy. Whatever story the show tells, it will canonize one of Baldur’s Gate 3‘s various endings.

HBO’s series will pick up immediately after Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian Studios says it’s not directly involved in the development of the show.

Related reading: Astarion’s new Baldur’s Gate 3 prequel story was doomed from the start. Polygon’s review says author T. Kingfisher does her best and mostly succeeds.

Source: Polygon