HBO Developing Baldur’s Gate TV Series with Last of Us Creator

HBO has started work on a TV series based on the Baldur's Gate video game series from Hasbro. The project comes from Craig Mazin, the writer and showrunner behind HBO's The Last of Us. It will pick up the story right after the events of Baldur's Gate 3, the popular role-playing game from Larian Studios. Hasbro Entertainment is partnering with HBO on this live-action drama set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe.

Background

Baldur's Gate games have been around for more than 25 years. They started with titles from BioWare in the late 1990s and early 2000s. These games follow heroes in a fantasy world full of magic, monsters, and quests based on Dungeons & Dragons rules. The latest one, Baldur's Gate 3, came out in 2023. It sold millions of copies and won every major game of the year award. Over 15 million people have played it. Players control a group of adventurers fighting a threat called the Absolute. The game lets people make choices that change the story, much like a tabletop Dungeons & Dragons session.

Larian Studios made Baldur's Gate 3 after getting the rights from Wizards of the Coast, which owns Dungeons & Dragons. The game became a huge hit for its deep story, characters, and gameplay. It brought new fans to the Forgotten Realms setting, a key part of Dungeons & Dragons lore. Now, with no Baldur's Gate 4 planned from Larian, HBO sees a chance to extend the tale on screen. Hasbro, which owns Wizards of the Coast, wants to build on the game's success by moving the story to television.

Craig Mazin knows how to turn video games into TV shows. His work on The Last of Us earned praise for staying true to the game's emotion and world. That series brought in big audiences and awards. Mazin also created the Chernobyl miniseries in 2019, which looked at a real disaster with care and detail. He has a long history with Dungeons & Dragons. He has played it weekly for 15 years and run games as a Dungeon Master. Reports say he spent nearly 1,000 hours on Baldur's Gate 3, even finishing it on the hardest mode.

Key Details

Mazin will write, showrun, and executive produce the series. He joins forces with Jacqueline Lesko and Cecil O’Connor as executive producers. Gabriel Marano from Hasbro Entertainment is also producing. Chris Perkins from Wizards of the Coast will consult to keep the story true to Dungeons & Dragons rules.

Story and Characters

The show will not retell Baldur's Gate 3. Instead, it starts after the game's ending. It follows a new group of adventurers who start weak but grow stronger through quests. They will meet famous characters from Baldur's Gate 3, now seen as legends in the world. This matches the Dungeons & Dragons style of fresh heroes on a journey. Mazin plans to contact voice actors from the game, like those who played Astarion or Shadowheart, for possible roles. The story draws mostly from Baldur's Gate 3 but pulls from the full series and wider Dungeons & Dragons lore.

"It is a dream come true to be able to continue the story that Larian and Wizards of the Coast created. I can’t wait to help bring Baldur’s Gate and all of its incredible characters to life." – Craig Mazin

The series fits into a larger push for Dungeons & Dragons on TV. HBO's project will share the same Forgotten Realms world as a separate D&D series on Netflix. This means events could connect across shows. No release date is set yet. Production details remain under wraps as the team builds the pilot and scripts.

Hasbro sees this as a big step. Baldur's Gate 3 put the franchise back on the map. It won 34 awards and drew in players who love turn-based combat, romance options, and moral choices. The TV version aims to capture that mix of action, drama, and fantasy.

What This Means

This series could bring Baldur's Gate to a wider audience beyond gamers. Fans of The Last of Us on HBO already trust Mazin to handle tough stories with heart. The show's focus on new characters opens the door for fresh tales while nodding to game favorites. It gives creators freedom since no new game follows Baldur's Gate 3. Larian has shifted to its own projects, leaving room for HBO to explore.

For Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, success here means more adaptations. The Forgotten Realms setting has endless stories from dragons to gods. A hit show could lead to spin-offs or tie-ins with future games. Viewers might see magic spells, epic fights, and party banter much like the game. Mazin's fan background suggests he will honor the source material.

Gabriel Marano from Hasbro spoke about the partnership.

"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." – Gabriel Marano

The project faces challenges. Adapting open-world games to linear TV means picking one path from many player choices. But Mazin's track record points to smart choices. HBO's investment shows belief in fantasy TV after hits like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us. This could mark the start of a new era for Dungeons & Dragons on screen, blending game legacy with broadcast reach.