Big-name Hollywood actors playing important roles in games has become an increasingly common occurrence over the years, and CD Projekt RED has been one of the studios at the forefront of that, with Keanu Reeves starring in Cyberpunk 2077 and its expansion Phantom Liberty, and Idris Elba in the latter. So is that something that we can expect to see more of from the Polish company in the future, especially with the inevitable Cyberpunk 2?
According to senior writer Magda Zych, there’s a good chance that it will- as long as it “makes sense for the story” the developer is looking to tell with its games, that is. Speaking in a recent interview with GamingBolt, Zych said that the ultimate goal is for the actors in question to properly embody their roles and contribute to drawing players into the game’s story and world.
“Any talented actor who will help us tell our stories the way we imagined them and at the same time who is able to help us reach new audiences from among their fans is a great opportunity for us; and we will definitely want to continue this as long as it makes sense for the story we want to tell,” Zych said. “What we always pay the greatest attention to is ensuring that an actor is able to convey their character’s personality, that they are convincing in the role, so that the world in our games feels as credible as possible.”
Cyberpunk’s headline-grabbing casting choices have, of course, worked out rather well so far, with both Reeves and Elba having delivered standout performances in their roles, so it’s fair to say that fans of the property will want to see more of the same in the future. How long it’ll be before we see what that future looks like remains to be seen, though earlier this year, it was confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077’s sequel, Project Orion, was in the conceptual design stage.
Meanwhile, in our recent interview, Zych also told us that future Cyberpunk titles don’t necessarily have to be set in Night City. Read more on that through here. Our full interview with Zych will be live soon, so stay tuned for that.