Larian Studios has revealed a new trailer for Baldur’s Gate 3, with a surprising familiar name attached to it.
Joining Baldur’s Gate 3’s voice cast is Jason Isaacs, veteran actor who you love to hate for the villains he plays. Most audiences will recognize him now as the patriarch Malfoy Lucius from the Harry Potter movies. He was also the main bad guy, Colonel Tavington, in Mel Gibson vehicle The Patriot, Michael Steele in Black Hawk Down, and Vasili in Hotel Mumbai.
There isn’t a single likable character in that filmography, but it must be said that they are all quite different characters in their own way. Similarly, Isaacs has had a long career doing voice work as well. His most notable characters in that field include Sinestro in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Ra’as Al Ghul in Batman: Under The Red Hood, Skekso in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and most fittingly of all, Dick Dastardly in the film Scoob!
In Baldur’s Gate 3, he plays another entirely new character, whose introduction hints at villainy but is actually shown proposing an alliance to the player’s main party.
As reported by Noisy Pixel, Jason Isaacs plays Lord Enver Gortash, the current ruler of the city of Baldur’s Gate. He has somehow taken over the city while Duke Ravengard has disappeared.
Lord Gortash has built Steel Watchers, mech like automatons that appear to be knights in armor, but clearly move in ways that are unnatural and inhuman.
Gortash’s trailer dialogue shows that he is trying to convince the heroes to work with him. While he clearly expresses his intent to maintain rule over the city, he also tries to sway them of his good intentions for it.
The trailer ends with the Absolute calling out Gortash’s name, hinting that the heroes may have gotten caught up in the middle of a fight between the two parties. Whatever wrongdoings Gortash is guilty of, it would definitely still be better to side with him, and get his automatons with you, than to join the ranks of the mind flayers. But it’ll be interesting to see where Larian takes this novel character, with the best possible person playing him.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is releasing on August 31, 2023, on PC and PlayStation 5. Larian Studios has confirmed that they are also working on an Xbox Series X|S port, but no date has been confirmed for that platform.