Bringing Dungeons & Dragons to the small screen
Fans of Baldur’s Gate 3 have reason to celebrate: HBO has officially commissioned a live-action television adaptation of the blockbuster Dungeons & Dragons video game, with The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin leading the project as showrunner, writer and executive producer.
Set to continue the story immediately after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, the series won’t simply retell the game’s narrative but expand its world with both familiar faces and entirely new characters. While casting announcements are still to come, Mazin has expressed interest in reaching out to members of the game’s voice cast to explore potential returns in the show.
The adaptation is a co-production between HBO and Hasbro Entertainment, the latter overseeing the Dungeons & Dragons-based franchise through its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast – the owners of the Baldur’s Gate intellectual property. Industry veteran Gabriel Marano (Hasbro Entertainment) and executive producers Jacqueline Lesko and Cecil O’Connor are also attached to the project.
Notably, Baldur’s Gate 3’s original developer, Larian Studios, is not directly involved in the TV series’ production – a decision that has generated mixed reactions among the game’s passionate community. Chris Perkins, former Head of Story at Wizards of the Coast and a long-time D&D contributor, has signed on as a lore consultant to help steward the adaptation’s narrative authenticity.
Mazin, whose credits include HBO’s acclaimed Chernobyl and the successful The Last of Us adaptation, has long been a fan of Dungeons & Dragons and reportedly logged nearly 1,000 hours playing Baldur’s Gate 3! His deep love for the source material has been central to securing this project.
No release date has been announced yet, but development is now officially underway – marking one of the year’s most anticipated video game-to-television adaptations.