They've said before that Descent into Avernus was a 'prequel' to BG3 but there was also something called Murder in Baldur's Gate which I know almost nothing about, that supposedly deals with "Gorion's Ward" and his death. Descent into Avernus on the other hand I haven't played but know about it from Justin Alexander's blog thealexandrian, who says it has some lazy design choices and is rife with continuity errors, which is why I'm expecting Larian to change it a lot.
As for the companions, I'm right with you, they've all but confirmed Minsc will be returning, I hope it's more than just fanservice, and 100 years is not very long for elves and gnomes, so I'm hoping for some involvement there. Not to mention Imoen.
I'm a little worried how central the city Baldur's Gate has become to a series of games that it previously only appeared in the last half of one game. I'm probably not the only one that when thinking of a city in the Baldur's Gate games, thinks of Athkatla.
