Summary
Indiana Jones and the Great Circlehas already proven it can work wonders with Harrison Ford’s likeness and an imitation of his voice, and both could’ve veered into uncanny valley territory or been slightly off if not executed perfectly. Instead, while it’s clear that Harrison Ford isn’t voicing the character inGreat Circlethe impression is close enough that it isn’t alarming; once it’s been made aware that it’s in factTroy Baker voicing Indythis time around, it’s much easier to hear the actor’s own subtle spin on the iconic archaeologist.
Plus, the great caveat of having first-person gameplay is that players won’t be able to spin the camera around and look at idle facial animations for Indy, meaning the facial capture and animations can be somewhat perfected in pre-rendered cutscenes. Knowing this is the approach Bethesda has gone with, it would be exciting for MachineGames to branch out intoa relatively unseen chapter in Indy’s storythrough post-launch DLC, though one hurdle might impede it.
Bethesda’s Indiana Jones Needs a Young Indy DLC
The Last Crusade’s Prologue is One of Indiana Jones’ Most Epic Sequences
The prologue toIndiana Jones and the Last Crusadeis perhaps one of the more memorable and exciting moments of the entire original trilogy, and arguably one of the best sequences franchise-wide. River Phoenix does a lot to make this prologue successful with an exceptional performance, portraying Henry Jones Jr. as a youthful, idealistic boy scout experiencing many of theiconicIndiana Jonestropesfor the first time, such as lashing a whip or falling into a crate full of snakes catalyzing his ophidiophobia.
This prologue is relatively brief but it succinctly depicts Indy and why he seeks justice for the proper preservation of relics and artifacts, and another similar prologue story would be well-suited to anIndiana Jones and the Great Circleprequel DLC. It wouldn’t be expected for a prequel DLC to adaptLast Crusade’s prologue since the game isn’t an adaptation of any of the movies, either, but an original story taking place sometime after that prologue’s events would be incredibly exciting.
It would be interesting to see what adventures Indy went on after receiving Fedora’s hat, similar towhat anotherUnchartedprequel would look likewith a young, emboldened Nathan Drake.
River Phoenix’s Likeness May Be an Obstacle for a Young Indy DLC
The one obstruction to such a DLC that springs forth is being able to procure the rights to River Phoenix’s likeness. Such an effort might not even be worthwhile for a DLC alone, seeing as how Bethesda would probably need to make arrangements with the actor’s family for acceptance. Having anyone but River Phoenix as the likeness now would create dissonance since Bethesda already splurged for Harrison Ford’s likeness, so not having who portrayed him as a boy would definitely create a discrepancy between the movies and these game adaptations.
Of course, Bethesda could compromise and have this prequel DLC only be in first-person with no third-person cutscenes in order to not show young Indy, but that might also be off-putting since cutscenes seem to play a big role inhowIndiana Jones and the Great Circle’s storytelling is achieved. Either way, a prequel DLC may not be necessary anymore considering how wellLast Crusade’s prologue tells the story of Indy’s origins, but it’s something for MachineGames and Bethesda to consider, if for no other reason than to add another layer to Indiana Jones’ rich mythology from before the character’s three most iconic movies.
Indiana Jones and The Great Circlewill arrive sometime in 2024 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
