The initial announcement of an HBO-produced, Craig Mazin-led adaptation of Baldur’s Gate was met with excitement by many, but not all. Notably, a couple of people at Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios weren’t pleased with the announcement.
However, with the dust settling on the announcement, more and more people are beginning to express scepticism about the project. For one, there has been criticism of Mazin for The Last of Us’s second season, which deviates significantly from the source material. Specifically, Mazin has received criticism for his depiction of Ellie, who fans feel is infantilised in the show.
Fans fear that without someone like Neil Druckmann to rein in Mazin’s worst tendencies, the Baldur’s Gate adaptation could fail to match the tone of Baldur’s Gate 3. After all, none of the writers from Larian Studios are involved with the adaptation. Instead, HBO is relying on Dungeons & Dragons veteran Chris Perkins to consult on the lore and setting.
Fans Are Worried
In a recent Reddit thread, a user who shall not be named sparked a discussion about not wanting the show to happen at all, both because it feels like a cash-in from HBO and because of the potential damage it could do to beloved characters.
“I have seen a lot of people talk about the showrunner being controversial, but is there anyone out there who doesn’t want this to happen at all?” they write. “I just feel like it’s another thing on the pile of shit that is companies trying to capitalise on existing IPs, instead of, I dunno, making something new? This doesn’t usually seem to end well. And I love these characters too much to see them played by – anyone really. They’re unique characters no live actor will be able to pull off.”
“I just don’t understand why make specifically a Baldur’s Gate 3 sequel show when you could just make a Dungeons & Dragons show set in the Forgotten Realms with a brand-new story. It wouldn’t feel this gross and would be much more interesting,” writes GrumpiestRobot.
The answer here is obvious. There’s an inherent marketability in the characters of Baldur’s Gate 3, while Hasbro likely doesn’t have the same confidence about the Dungeons & Dragons brand as a whole, given the underperformance of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
As with everything in entertainment, the reception will be positive if the show is good and negative if the show is bad.
Baldur’s Gate 3
5.0/5
- Released
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August 3, 2023
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
