Deus Ex saw a glorious comeback in 2011 with Eidos Montreal and Square Enix’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but that comeback proved to be short-lived. The sequel, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, launched in 2016, and was met with somewhat less enthusiastic reception, with critics and audiences alike criticizing, more than anything else, the way the game seemed to end so abruptly, almost as if it had been cut short so it could launch on schedule.
There’s no knowing when Eidos Montreal will return to the series – with them currently being busy aiding Crystal Dynamics with the development of Marvel’s Avengers, and working on another project that is rumoured to be Guardians of the Galaxy game – or if they will even return to the Adam Jensen storyline even if they do make another Deus Ex game. But as per Elias Toufexis, the actor who played Adam Jensen, if that ever happens, audiences will come to understand why Mankind Divided ended the way it did.
Speaking with VG247, Toufexis talked about a potential Deus Ex sequel, saying that the plans that Eidos Montrel had for it in terms of where it would take the series’ narrative were exciting ones. Toefexis’ hope remains that the studio and Square Enix will come back to that storyline eventually and give Adam Jensen’s arc some closure.
“One big fear with this, is that they go, ‘Well, we’re going to start all over.’ And they don’t finish the Jensen trilogy,” he said. “So I hope they finish it. Personally, it’s not as an actor, about money and things like that, I’m fine, I’m doing other big projects. But as a fan, I want them to finish this game, and I want to bring closure to Jensen. I don’t even care if Jensen becomes a secondary character, as long as they close his story.
“There’s so much to tell, and there’s so much I know about where they were going, that they could change, but I know about where they were going that I want fans to experience. Nothing was set in stone. But what they told me about what was coming was really exciting. More exciting than Mankind Divided’s story. I remember going, ‘Oh man, God, I can’t wait to do that!’ And then, we still haven’t gotten around to doing it, so, hopefully.”
According to Toefexis, the ending of Mankind Divided is one that makes sense, considering he knows how the story for the third game – should it ever get made – is supposed to pan out.
“I’m not disappointed in the ending story-wise, because I know where the story is supposed to go,” he said. “So I look at it and go, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly where it’s supposed to end.’ What I’m disappointed in, is that we haven’t finished it yet. When we move on, if we ever do finish the story, I don’t think Mankind Divided is going to be the sticking point that it is right now. I think people will go, ‘Oh, that makes sense.’ It’s like, imagine they did Infinity War? And then they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, one day we’ll get to Endgame.’ You’re like, ‘Come on!’ That’s kind of how I feel about Mankind Divided. Everyone’s pissed off about it now, and that makes sense, but once we finish it, you’ll see why it ended where it ended. We just have to ****ing get on it.”
If they do ever get to it is, of course, completely up in the air right now. Though both Square Enix and Eidos Montreal have said on multiple occasions that Deus Ex isn’t dead, and it’s franchise that still has a future, that future for now remains murky. With Eidos Montreal currently busy with other projects, it seems unlikely that Adam Jensen will be coming back soon. I hope I’m wrong though.