I already feel preemptively sorry for whatever studio ends up making Baldur’s Gate 4. Imagine watching Larian put out an RPG as massive, impressive, and flexible as Baldur’s Gate 3, and having the license holder Hasbro say "another one of those, please!". Now, as if following in the footsteps of one of the greatest games of all time wasn’t challenging enough, that unfortunate studio may also have to contend with the wrath of one of its lead actors.
Said actor is Neil Newbon, aka Baldur’s Gate 3’s devilishly charming vampire Astarion. Newbon attended the video game BAFTAs earlier this week, where he was asked by TheGamer what he thought about Astarion being potentially recast should Baldur’s Gate 4 become a reality. To this, Newbon playfully responded that he would "have to be dead" in order for that to happen. And as for the developer that recast him, he’d "hunt them down and gut them like a fish".
Newbon was obviously joking, but he did follow this up with a proper answer, stating that in such a scenario, he’d mainly wish the actor in question did justice to the character. "I have no control over that, so, ultimately, if somebody played him in something else, I'd just hope that they'd come at it the same way I did, in terms of looking at the core character and their life story and their history and their backstory, and honor that story as much as possible, and not run to a trope."
We still don’t know for certain whether Baldur’s Gate 4 will be a thing. Larian very nearly committed to it, and had it partially playable at one point. But ultimately the studio decided to pursue its own projects, one of which is codenamed Excalibur. That said, Hasbro is definitely keen for more Baldur’s Gate to exist. In March, Hasbro’s Dan Ayoub said the company has "a lot of people very interested in Baldur’s Gate" and that "In pretty short order, we’re going to have some stuff to talk about around that."
If Baldur’s Gate 4 does currently exist in some form, Newbon seemingly knows nothing about it at present, stating. "I don't know what's going to happen." But he does sincerely desire to return to playing Astarion, adding "I hope I get to play him again."
