"I hope I get to play him again": Baldur's Gate 3's Astarion would love to play the RPG's beloved vampire in a sequel, joking he'd "have to be dead" before being recast

Neil Newbon, the iconic voice behind Astarion, arguably one of the most popular Baldur's Gate 3 companions, says he'd love to return as the vampire elf in a potential sequel.

Speaking in a recent interview with TheGamer during BAFTA's Games Awards, the Baldur's Gate 3 actor jokes that he'd "have to be dead" before allowing another voice to take over as Astarion in future games. While Newbon jests while saying so, he would seriously like to take on the role of the white-haired companion once again, if possible – and as Hasbro is "talking to lots of partners" about the next Baldur's Gate, it could happen.

"Listen, I have no control over that," explains Newbon, "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." He can't foretell the future, though. "I don't know what's going to happen. I hope I get to play him again."

He's not the only one who'd be willing to act as one of the companions again in a new game, either. Shadowheart actor Jennifer English also previously admitted to having similar thoughts, saying she's "open" to returning for another RPG. As a dedicated Baldur's Gate stan myself, I'd personally love to see some of the original cast make a comeback in Baldur's Gate 4 or whatever's next to release in the fantastical Dungeons & Dragons-inspired universe.

Anything is possible as of now, especially as Hasbro's cooking up the hotly anticipated sequel while working on another shiny new D&D game that stands separately from the series, too. Neither will come from Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios, however, as the company is focusing on its own original titles right now –"two very ambitious RPGs" with one project codenamed Excalibur, as revealed by the studio last year.

The Baldur's Gate 3-arization of Dungeons & Dragons continues as Astarion gets 2 official mentions in the new source books