With the news that beloved RPG Baldur's Gate 3 is being turned into a HBO TV show with The Last of Us co-showrunner Craig Mazin at the helm, fans of the hit game are voicing their doubts.
For one thing, Larian is not involved in the adaptation, and, for another, the game ends with multiple possible endings – both for the main narrative and then for each individual character, including your own. As the HBO show is picking up after the game, that means certain choices are going to be unavoidably sealed as canon, which could prove unpopular.
"This is going to be so bad that it'll make Game of Thrones season 8 seem good," says one fan.
"'Baldur’s Gate 3 developers Larian have no involvement with the show. Are they insane? The best adaptations all have the developers involved," argues another person.
"I gotta say, it's going to be incredibly difficult to please game fans with this one. I'll definitely watch it, but planning for just a fun DnD show with dragons, magic and monsters and shit," says someone else.
"Why do they have to follow up on anything. Can't they just make a completely new story in a different time or something. It's going to reek of cheap fanservice cash grab," says another person.
"I don't have any faith that certain characters won't be flanderized or dumb plot points won't be 'canonized' in this, lmao," says another concerned fan.
"Why not just, I don't know, do an original, self-contained story in the same setting?" asks someone else.
"Reeeaaally hope they don’t screw over the characters and decide to canonize the worst set of choices to maintain the lore…" is another person's fears.
"I don't want to be negative, but I am very skeptical of this recent trend of making TV adaptations of every game and frankly, BG3, a game where role-playing and making choices, forming bonds etc. is a fundamental aspect of the game, I don't think translates well to a tv show," is the verdict of another fan.
Still, The Last of Us season 1 is widely considered one of the best video game adaptations of all time, so we shouldn't write off the Baldur's Gate 3 show just yet.
"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 said in a statement. "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."
The show doesn't yet have a release date, and Mazin has his hands full with The Last of Us season 3 for the time being.
While you wait for more news, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming TV shows of 2026.
