MachineGames' upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set to recapture the same excitement and sense of adventure of the timeless film series, albeit with less Harrison Ford. The lead role is played by famous video game voiceover and acting actor Troy Baker, and as it stands, he sounds like the spitting image of the Indy we know and love.
However, during the recent Golden Joystick Awards 2024, the lead actor told Gamesradar+ that he initially stopped playing Indiana Jones because the role “scared” him and he had doubts he could pull it off. Additionally, one key developer in particular had special doubts that Baker could do it.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle seems like a “direct sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark” – YouTube
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“I originally passed [on the Indiana Jones role] because the truth is that I was very afraid of not being able to achieve it. And fortunately, [voice acting director] “Tom Keegan saw past my insecurities and encouraged me to film myself for this,” Baker said.
Over the last decade, Baker has become one of the most recurring and recognizable actors appearing in video games. His most famous video game roles include Joel in The Last of Us Part 1 and 2, Sam Drake in Uncharted 4, Booker Dewitt in Bioshock Infinite, and The Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins. Still, despite his portfolio of work, the proposal to take on the role of the iconic Indiana Jones, for the character's most realized AAA game to date, required a lot of work, and finding the protagonist took time.
“We looked at over 1,000 people for this position, so not only am I competing with all of these really talented people, but I'm also competing with myself,” he said. “And the nice thing about this is that it's not about 'Can you make a good impression?' It's about 'Can you help us feel like this is a real Indiana Jones?' Because that's the core of this: Does it feel like it's a real Indiana Jones?”
He added that as the process progressed, he was constantly conquered. “And finally, there was a Zoom call with the MachineGames team, and also with Tom Keegan and Todd Howard, and they said 'we want to walk you through the story,' and before that I was nervous and unsure, when they arrived. When they finished explaining it to me story, I was beyond excited. I went from 'I hope I get this job' to 'I really, really wanted it.'”
After recent hands-on time with the game and more gameplay demos showing its range, Baker's performance holds up quite well despite having to fill some huge shoes. However, during initial casting, one key developer in particular wasn't thrilled with Baker in the running, and that was The Great Circle lead producer and head of Bethesda Game Studios, Todd Howard.
“My favorite part of that story is how Todd Howard, when my name was originally mentioned to him, rolled his eyes and said, 'No, I'm not putting Troy Baker in my game.' And I never thought he would be.” [in it either]”.
Fortunately, it looks like Baker won over Howard, and we're now just weeks away from the release of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which will be the most ambitious, large-scale game centered around the explorer and archaeologist we've seen yet. .
Check out our Golden Joystick Awards 2024 recap here, and if you want to learn more about Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, read our extensive game preview.