Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Director Talks Working With Idris Elba

We got to sit down and talk with Cyberpunk 2077 director Gabe Abatangelo about working with Idris Elba in the game's upcoming expansion, Phantom Liberty. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the biggest games of the last decade for a lot of different reasons. It was pretty infamous for having a bad, broken launch that plagued the game for many months after release, sparking mass refunds from retailers. However, it was a game that many still enjoyed once the smoke cleared. One of the biggest elements of the game is acclaimed actor Keanu Reeves has a starring role in the game and is with you for the vast majority of the story and he will join you in the upcoming expansion as well. 

The news that Cyberpunk 2077 secured a big A-list actor for its cast was pretty big, but that cast is expanding with another renowned actor. The Suicide Squad star Idris Elba was confirmed to be in Phantom Liberty last year and CD Projekt Red is really leaning on that in the marketing for the DLC. ComicBook.com got to speak with director Gabe Abatangelo and asked him if it was exciting to work with him and what led to his casting.

"It has, it has," said Abatangelo. "And so when we think about the Cyberpunk universe and we think about the potential stories when we're in the kind of ideation phase, there are certain actors out there that we're like, 'This person would be cool, they would fit in.' And so you kind of always have that in mind.

"We approached him and, as I understand it, Idris was like, 'Yeah, hell yeah, let's do this.' And then when we got him in the booth, it was kind of like, 'Okay, so this is what Solomon Reed's about.' And obviously, we fleshed him out more knowing that Idris was in this role. It was like a collaboration offline. And then when we got him in the booth, it was a collaboration online, so to speak. He just jumped right into it. He's so pro. And it grew as he was in the sessions in the booth and it's perfect. It's perfect."

ComicBook also got to go hands-on with Phantom Liberty, but was ultimately left feeling a bit let down by the experience: "I've only seen a small glimpse of what Phantom Liberty will be comprised of in Cyberpunk 2077, but it doesn't seem like this is going to be a game-changing expansion by any means. Instead, CDPR merely looks to be giving players more Cyberpunk content to chew on until the eventual sequel releases many years down the road. In some ways, that's about all that you can ask for and surely won't lead to disappointment from those who already love the base game. As someone who's still been trying to find a reason to play the entirety of Cyberpunk 2077, though, what I have seen of Phantom Liberty has yet to convince me to finally take the plunge."

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will release on September 26th. Are you excited for the DLC? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.