Naughty Dog’s next game is still steeped in mystery, but another tease has been plucked from the ether. Troy Baker, one of the best-known faces in video game acting following his performance as Joel across The Last of Us Part I and II, is on deck to appear in director Neil Druckmann’s next project.
The Last of Us director confirmed as much to British GQ in a new profile of Baker. Very little is known about the game other than that it’s been in development since 2020, suggesting it could be out as early as 2026. Another project at the studio, The Last of Us Online, was cancelled a year ago. “In a heartbeat I would always work with Troy,” Druckmann said.
From Pagan Min in Far Cry 4 to the Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins, Baker has appeared as some of gaming’s most iconic characters across its biggest franchises. This year he was in both Batman: Arkham Shadow and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Next year, he’ll return as the peacocking Higgs Monaghan in Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and is also set to appear in Ken Levine’s Bioshock spiritual successor, Judas.
That popularity actually worked against him when it came to landing his latest gig as Harrison Ford’s virtual doppelganger in Indiana Jones. Todd Howard, known for directing Fallout 3 and 4 and many Elder Scrolls games, as well as last year’s sci-fi epic Starfield, reiterated his concerns about hiring gaming’s best-known actor for MachineGames’ latest Nazi-punching adventure. “It sounds clichéd,” Howard said of the casting to British GQ, and he seemingly didn’t want to just do what was expected because it was expected. The result was months of calls, blind audio tests, and even comparisons of the audition recordings to the sound waves of Harrison Ford’s original performances from the movies.
“I did not want you for this,” he reportedly told Baker during his final audition, “but you won every time. Don’t mess this up.” We’ll see if the actor cleared that hurdle in just a few weeks. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle comes to Xbox Series X/S and PC starting on December 6, with a PlayStation 5 port already announced for early in 2025.
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