The video game adaptation niche is getting a little larger. According to a new Deadline report, HBO is currently working with Hasbro Entertainment on a new drama series based on Larian Studios’ Dungeons & Dragons blockbuster, Baldur’s Gate 3. Co-creator of HBO’s award-winning game adaptation, The Last of Us, Craig Mazin, is slated to create, write, executive produce, and showrun the series. Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor and Hasbro Entertainment’s Gabriel Marano will also executive produce the adaptation. Additionally, Wizards of the Coast Story Head Chris Perkins will act as a consultant. Wizards of the Coast, a Hasbro subsidiary, is the brand behind the storied Dungeons & Dragons franchise. D&D’s Baldur’s Gate series first launched in 1998, and the game’s gritty realism has maintained consumer interest for nearly four decades.
HBO’s Baldur’s Gate will not retell the story,; instead, Baldur’s Gate will pick up where players leave off at the end of Larian’s RPG. According to Deadline, fans can expect to see both old and new characters deal with the ramifications of the game’s finale. HBO’s Baldur’s Gate is also intented to co-exist alongside Netflix’s Shawn Levy-led The Forgotten Realms. Both programs will reportedly share D&D’s The Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
Mazin’s Baldur’s Gate 3 playthroughs served as primary inspiration for the adaptation, similarly to his approach to The Last Of Us. Deadline’s report includes a tidbit that’s likely relieving to fans praying for a faithful interpretation: Mazin has “proudly completed the game on the challenging honor mode, and he is also a longtime D&D fan, a Dungeon Master who has been playing the game weekly for the past 15 years.”
“After putting nearly 1000 hours into the incredible world 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,” Mazin told Deadline. “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 Gabe Marano and his team at Hasbro for entrusting me with this incredibly important property.”
Now that Mazin’s deal has closed, the showrunner reportedly plans to connect with Baldur’s Gate 3 cast members with “ideas for them to participate in the TV adaptation.” This wouldn’t be a stretch for Mazin, as The Last of Us featured a number of the game’s performers.
“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Craig Mazin on Baldur’s Gate,” Francesca Orsi, EVP and Head of HBO Drama Programming told Deadline. “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.”
“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,” Hasbro’s Head of Television Gabriel Marano said.
About Baldur’s Gate
Baldur’s Gate 3, the award-winning, record-breaking RPG from Belgian game developer-publisher Larian Studios, released in 2023 to critical and commercial success. The sprawling in-game worlds, cutting-edge visuals, memorable performances, and seemingly infinite in-game possibilities have helped drive game sales to a whopping 20 million as of late last year. Three years following its release, Baldur’s Gate 3 remains one of Steam’s top performers. The studio, led by prominent industry figure Swen Vincke, far predates its Dungeons & Dragons smash. Larian Studios was first founded in 1996 and released its first robust roleplaying adventure, Divine Divinity, back in 2002.
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