In news that might at first sound like a parody, developer Naughty Dog has cast The Last of Us lead, Troy Baker, in its untitled next PS5 game. Baker, who famously played grizzled dad Joel Miller in PlayStation's premiere series, was a natural pick, says Naughty Dog chief Neil Druckmann: "In a heartbeat, I would always work with Troy."
The news of the handsome leading man's casting comes to us from GQ, the leading handsome man magazine (thanks, IGN). The article is ostensibly about Baker taking on Harrison Ford's mantle as Indiana Jones, but there are a few brief asides. Having worked closely together for years, and with Baker being one of the video game industry's most prolific talents, it's apparently a natural choice, even if it does seem at odds with Druckmann's pledge not to be "the Last of Us studio" forever.
Are you glad to see Troy Baker return once more to the Dog House, reunited with Neil Druckmann for some emotional storytelling? Party like it's 2013 in the comments section below.
[source gq-magazine.co.uk]
Comments 36
@Michael2008ish Actors often collaborate with directors/writers/etc to shape their characters, dialogue, and even the overall story. That’s creative input, baby!
You can hate or you can create.
@Michael2008ish Voice overs happen very early in development so animators have a reference point. Dubbing is later in development.
Im guessing a TLoU prequel that will show Joel in a very bad light based hints about his past.
I would be suprise if Druckman didn't hired Troy again considering ND games with Troy voices (TloU 1 & 2 and Uncharted 4 & Lost Legacy) did really well.
But i wonder if Druckman gonna hire Nolan North too...
@Michael2008ish That's literally how animation is done. Reference material saves time and labor for developers. That's why they get it early.
@breakneck Nolan is fine, but Troy, God that guy REALLY loves to smell his own farts. I agree though that Nolan and Troy have incredible in their voice that I think some actors could learn from.
@Michael2008ish pretty sure you're taking the mick, but just in case you are being serious, here's quite a good example 😅
https://youtu.be/LH18nGoIUKo?si=GSaiDc2Ci-_Hwgsu
"The Making of TLoU"
The Last of Us Part 3: Joel Returns
@breakneck Bit rich to say Ben Starr has zero range when he’s had far more notable live action acting breakthroughs than Troy Baker. Voice acting is an artform but Ben Starr is a more well-rounded actor outside of just voice acting and that’s plain fact.
Please no more emotional,heart string tugging games. Can't we just have an action driven adventure game. I'd love another uncharted style game set in space with trading elements. Enough of the touchy feely tosh...
Funny. A guy in this thread said that voice actors don’t matter, then went on to name his favorite example of a voice actor.
@Enuo Seriously...there are other actors that can be employed - and let's face it, Troy has enough exposure already. I want to see other VO actors step up.
@Enuo no... it doesn't happen early in development. The game core-engine design/decisions/mechanics/flow is developed first, then the basic story/cut enviornments... they don't worry about the script/VO until they know they've got a game.. that's well into production (Edit: they may start working the script - obviously in narrative-heavy games). Especially as the story is often play-tested using non-VO-voices. The story, VA, lighting/environments are developed towards the back half of the development. Yes, it is necessary for the character animation perspective, but that's also done reasonably late (because it's otherwise there's a lot of risk of wasted effort/expense). So they block out representative dialogue for a lot of it; but it clearly needs to be done once they're doing character motion capture... which is when the story/cut-scenes/set pieces are being sorted out.
@Northern_munkey and less cutscenes and walking simulators. more gameplay , more fiction & less realism please
btw , the disrespect for VAs in some of these comments is crazy .
@nomither6 what disrespect are you talking about? ... oh... ok... first off the rank. My bad. I just read your comment like there must be lots of people having a go.
Dude voiced Kanji Tatsumi from P4. Then again, he also voiced Snow Villiers from FFXIII.
@Vivisapprentice Somehow, Joel returned.
@Michael2008ish
You my friend, are a man of culture...
@BIG3 after Joel killed the doctor he went into hiding and left Ellie with his twin brother John. John pretended to be Joel but was brutally murdered by Abby, Joel is back for revenge
"The Last of Them - Human Extermination" starring Bloater Joel
Followed by a £10 PS5 remaster (cos development started on PS5), work has begun on the £70 PS6 remake. You heard it here first!!!
Michael2008ish wrote:
Hard disagree. Go watch the making of TLOU and you find that Joel and Ellie’s characters were heavily shaped by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. THAT is part of what made those characters so authentic and loved. Creative input back and forth is what elevated that game.
Precisely what we DON’T want is actors just reading lines as a voice over, that’s how you end up with Peter Dinklage dialling it in for Destiny. He was later replaced and all lines were re-recorded by Nolan North who worked WITH the creative team to elevate the role and bring life back to the character.
@breakneck Totally agree North and Baker can adapt their voices to many roles. Several times I’ve seen them in the credits and had no idea. Re: Ben Starr I think it’s FAR too early to be so certain, he’s just at the start of his career, is a bit typecast right now, and has plenty of room to grow more diverse. I think he’s very good already, but I hope he will rise to the challenge.
@Vivisapprentice I really hope that's not the direction they are heading. I would rather have flashbacks where Joel shows up and his past mistakes have implications for how the triology ends.
Is it a Golf Sim?
Whats the problem people have with troy Baker, the interviews I've seen he seems like a likeable chap, his voice work is superb even if sometimes the games are not.
Meh - if he's right for the role, then he's right for the role. Joel was a superbly nuanced character.
This just in, the grass is green.
@themightyant my dreams are still haunted by Dinklebot.
I've always thought of Uncharted before Last of Us when Naughty Dog is mentioned. I am still disappointed in the direction that Druckmann and Straley took with Uncharted 4 when Hennig and Richmond left/were ousted. Thought it was in bad taste to poke fun at the previous three titles mythological/supernatural twists in the late game content. One of the best parts of the Uncharted series were those fun twists. It really felt like playing a fun novel in the vein of James Rollins or other authors like him.
@breakneck
Who does not like them?!?!?!
I honestly thought they were beloved for how talented they are.
@BIG3 could just be The Last of Kart, maybe it's Unkarted?
He always seems like a solid dude. I've always liked him. Love him in Death Stranding. Can't wait for DS2.
Please make it so Joel actually got better, I want everybody to be mad.
What are the odds?! I have two main hobbies - gaming & watching horse racing (my free hobby! I don't gamble & feel you should have at least one hobby that doesn't cost anything but time.). Point is, there're two Troy Bakers in my sphere - the voice actor & the Australian jockey!! 😂
“In news that might at first sound like a parody…” I’m not really sure what would sound parody-like about hiring a VA they’ve worked with for multiple games now. Am I missing something? 🤔
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