Larian lead has a little 'crash out on main' over Baldur's Gate 3 show announce, but big boss Swen Vincke says HBO is in touch about the writing, so now I don't know what to think
HBO is cooking up a Baldur's Gate TV show helmed by Chernobyl and The Last of Us (the show) creator Craig Mazin, and boy you better believe that people have feelings about that. With Larian decisively moved on from Dungeons and Dragons and the new series likely featuring a whole new adventuring party anyway, can it rightly be called a Baldur's Gate game? And if it can, can HBO and Mazin be trusted to do it justice?
Well, depends who you ask. For instance, if you ask Larian CEO Swen Vincke, the future seems pretty bright, all things considered. In a post on X, Vincke said that "The endings of BG3 were created so they could serve as narrative soil for new adventures," so a series that builds on them makes perfect sense.
Even more promising, despite Larian having no official involvement with the series, Mazin and co are apparently in touch with the studio: "Craig did reach out to ask if he could come over to the studio to speak with us," wrote Vincke. "From the conversation we had, I think he truly is a big fan which gives me hope."
Hooray! Perhaps the Baldur's Gate show will be… good? Well, here's me dropping the other shoe: at least one Larian honcho is less keen. Publishing lead and serial tweeter Michael Douse reacted to news of the series thusly, "I've spent the last eight to 10 years of my life with the writers & creators of Baldur's Gate 3 and they're the most incredible storytellers & creators in the space… I genuinely don't think anyone can trump our writers."
To be clear, Douse isn't out here declaring the show is going to suck. Or at least, not directly. He certainly is retweeting quite a lot of people saying they won't watch the show (I don't believe that for a second) and reacting to news of the show with (one hopes) jokes about suicide. So, you know, not really an endorsement.
But amid threats to "crash out on main," Douse pitches himself as, well, maybe not a cautious optimist, but not a full-blown doomsayer either. "Don't abandon hope, but do expect the world. That's the job."
So where does that leave us? You do you, my friends, but personally the news that Mazin and his team are at least in touch with Larian gives me a little bit of optimism. I'm not quite in a space to start posting Gomer Pyle gifs over the show's announcement. And if it sucks? We'll always have the game.
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