As a part of a “month of anniversary surprises,” Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has formally launched us to the “face of Freedom, the voice of Victory, the sunshine of Liberty… John Helldiver.”
In an enchanting (*2*) into the writing and casting of the enduring character, actor Craig Lee Thomas and lead author Russ Nickel mentioned growing the face and voice of the sport that the fandom has dubbed, fairly rightly, John Helldiver.
“Casting was loopy,” stated Russ Nickel, Helldivers 2’s lead author between 2020 and 2022. “I did all of the writing, after which the script went off kind of into the abyss, and I did not hear something for some time. Then I came upon that it was going to shoot in every week.
“They really hadn’t actually carried out any casting. They have been simply going to use this actor who’s primarily based in Sweden, who was completely good, however I used to be like, ‘This goes to be John Helldiver!’ (I did not know that will be his title at the time). We will not simply get somebody who’s good! Like, we want to get the funniest particular person we are able to probably discover!”
“From the preliminary audition, you learn for what you possibly can as an actor, and also you get enthusiastic about so many issues,” added Thomas, admitting: “However this specifically, as quickly as I learn it, I used to be like, ahh, I actually, actually, actually need to do that.” So, with little or no discover, he recorded a fast audition tape and despatched it off. The video contains Thomas’ audition and regardless that his portrayal is rather less amusing than we have come to anticipate, there is not any doubting that it is our John Helldiver.
“Inside a pair days, I had gotten self tapes from Craig Lee Thomas, who performs John Helldiver,” Nickel defined. “He is good. I like that man. He is so good!”
For extra, try the 15-minute featurette on YouTube, full with insights into the recording and mocap course of, and a few ideas from the director of the opening cinematic.
Helldivers 2’s subsequent Warbond ‘Siege Breakers’ will launch tomorrow, February 3. As detailed in a latest put up by Arrowhead’s social media and neighborhood supervisor, this Warbond is for gamers needing “one thing to smash by way of […] towering foe with impenetrable fortifications,“… which I am fairly certain means it is wanted by all of us.
In September, the studio’s CEO confirmed Helldivers 3 just isn’t in any plan developer Arrowhead has proper now, saying that as a substitute it desires Helldivers 2 to preserve going for years and years, like veteran MMO RuneScape. The Helldivers 2 film can also be selecting up steam, and in December, Helldivers 2 obtained its massive 5.0.0 patch in addition to its jungle-themed Python Commandos Warbond, which added a variety of fan-requested weapons, together with a minigun.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, in addition to a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years expertise working with a number of the world’s largest gaming websites and publications. She’s additionally a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually Excessive Chaos. Discover her at BlueSky.