The Witcher‘s time is coming to an end, but the next big high-fantasy event can achieve so much more than the Netflix series ever managed. While there is certainly a lot of praise to give The Witcher, it’s hard to deny that the show didn’t live up to the expectations of a rather large group. The TV series didn’t align well with the canon established by either the video game franchise or Andrzej Sapkowski’s books, and it’s difficult for any project to survive the recasting of its primary role. It’s a shame, but there’s no going back.
Season 5 of this fantasy series is expected to premiere sometime in 2027, marking the definitive end of Netflix’s version of the story. Said and done, there’s a good chance we’ll look back on The Witcher TV show more fondly. It all depends on how season 5 plays out and how well the overarching story ages. Regardless, however, the time has come to look ahead to what video game adaptations lie ahead.
Lucky for us, a project with even more potential is on the way. HBO is currently developing a live-action Baldur’s Gate TV series, created by The Last of Us‘ Craig Mazin. Baldur’s Gate is another massively popular fantasy video game franchise, which means, just like with The Witcher, there is bound to be a lot of interest within the gaming community as HBO’s new show approaches. Thankfully, it’s a lot less likely this time that everything will fall to hell.
Baldur’s Gate Can Succeed Where The Witcher Failed
HBO’s Baldur’s Gate TV show has a lot going for it that The Witcher did not. First and foremost, there is Mazin. This creator has done a spectacular job with The Last of Us, which is a rare example of a video game adaptation done right. Mazin has shown immense respect for the source material, going so far as to bring in original voice actors to establish nostalgic connective tissue. He has also chosen to make his new fantasy series a sequel to Baldur’s Gate 3 rather than a direct adaptation.
The Witcher aimed to retell the canon of Sapkowski’s books and the video game franchise (both of which have their own contradictions), which set the project up for failure. Faithful adaptations are nearly impossible to come by, especially when screenwriters can hardly resist taking their own creative liberties. By setting out to create a sequel, Mazin has provided himself with that creative freedom. HBO’s show will follow a new group of heroes navigating a world set after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3.
It’s also worth noting that canon and continuity mean something very different for Baldur’s Gate than they do for The Witcher. The former video game franchise depends heavily on players’ choices. There is a wide variety of storylines to follow, with dozens of variations depending on how the game is played. In a way, this makes Baldur’s Gate the perfect video game franchise to bring to the screen.
HBO Still Has To Be Careful With Baldur’s Gate
Of course, just because Baldur’s Gate leaves some room for creativity doesn’t mean that Mazin and HBO can do whatever they want. As previously stated, this new series must show the sort of respect for the source that The Witcher wasn’t able to. There may not be a single canon storyline here, but this is still a high-fantasy world with a specific structure and set of mechanics. This is the Dungeons & Dragons universe, which means there are decades of development involved here. This world is designed for customization, but that has required some rigid boundaries as well.
While the story of this TV show can get away with a lot, it’s still important that audiences get the full sense of being immersed in Baldur’s Gate and Dungeons & Dragons. The world must be familiar, and any characters from Baldur’s Gate 3 that appear (there are supposed to be some) must align with how they were portrayed in the game. Thankfully, it appears that Mazin is already taking this into account by involving Chris Perkins (former Head of Story at Wizards of the Coast) in the creative process.
So, while The Witcher didn’t quite live up to its potential, we have every reason to feel rather confident in HBO’s Baldur’s Gate TV show. There are still about a million ways this project could go wrong, but from what we can see now, the show is on the right path. All we can do is finish up The Witcher, lay that adaptation to bed, and look forward to an exciting future in the high fantasy genre.
Baldur’s Gate
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