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Baldur's Gate to be turned into TV series – without the game's developers
Larian
The award-winning fantasy game series Baldur's Gate is being turned into a TV series – and it's being made by the man behind HBO's PlayStation adaptation The Last of Us.
Baldur's Gate 3 launched to monumental critical and commercial acclaim in 2023, selling over 20 million copies and becoming the first game ever to win all five major Game of the Year awards.
The show will be headed up by Craig Mazin, who also made 2019 hit Chernobyl, and will continue where the game series left off.
But while he worked with The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann for his last adaptation, Baldur's Gate developers Larian Studios will not be directly involved in this – leaving some fans worried.
As reported by Deadline, the TV show is set to take place immediately after the events of the last game in the series, drawing from the lore of the world but following fresh storylines, as characters old and new come to terms with what has happened.
No spoilers here, though it would be hard to come up with one – Baldur's Gate 3 is believed to have nearly 17,000 different variations of its endings.
Mazin, who called himself a "devoted D&D fan" – the game series is based on the world of Dungeons and Dragons – said he decided to adapt the show after putting "nearly 1000 hours" into the latest game.
"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," he said.
Mazin said he plans to reach out to the original cast members of Baldur's Gate 3 with ideas for how they can participate in the adaptation.
'Worthy of its legacy'
The Baldur's Gate franchise is owned by US firm Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, which Larian licensed the intellectual property from to make Baldur's Gate 3.
In other words, the adaptation can be made without the game developer's involvement.
Following the news, Larian founder Swen Vincke posted on X the team had all worked "incredibly hard" on making Baldur's Gate 3 "worthy of its legacy".
"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," he said.
He said Mazin had "reached out for a chat" so the team would have some opportunity to give their input to the series.
But some fans were quick to question whether Mazin, who has attracted some criticism for directions he took in the second series of The Last of Us, was the right person for the role – and whether Larian's lack of involvement could mean it felt like "a familiar face with a stranger's heart".
"Not sure if I trust anyone other than Larian with those characters," one posted on X.
"No involvement from Larian and Craig Mazin is crazy," said another.
Eurogamer journalist Vikki Blake told the BBC fans could show some cautious optimism due to Mazin's passion and experience – even though previous successful adaptations like Fallout and The Last of Us did bring people over from their development teams.
"As a proud D&D Dungeon Master, you'd think that someone like Mazin – who's already brought a game to (real) life – wouldn't take this on unless he was confident that he understood and respected the world of Baldur's Gate 3," she said.
Original aticle here: BBC
