In recent years, Hollywood has stumbled upon the gold mine of video game adaptations. Yes, they found them before, but now they've realised you have to turn out something that isn't the worst TV show or movie of all time to make a quick buck. Hell, maybe that's not even true. A Minecraft Movie was a hit, after all.
In any case, this is all well and good for seeing gaming IPs in different mediums, but Baldur's Gate III actor Aliona Baranova believes Hollywood is missing a massive trick by not casting video game performers in adaptations.
Baranova points to dedicated fandoms in gaming, telling the audience at FanX's Tampa Bay Comic Convention (thanks, Collider) that Jennifer English - the actor who played Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate III - made a short film, posted it on her Instagram story, and 60 people showed up to the premiere in support of her.
Now, Hollywood executives might not be excited by 60 people, but Baranova's point was less about the number, and more about the dedication of video game fans. It baffles her this isn't rewarded through casting. "Why is more of that not happening? Why was Doug Cockle not in the TV series, The Witcher? Why are we not being considered when there's video game adaptations?" she said. "Even animated adaptations like Arcane, we would love to be part of those. We are also theatre-trained. A lot of us are formally trained in the UK... and I think that's something that maybe execs are a bit short-sighted about. They think, 'They just know how to do a video game.'"