When Indiana Jones and the Great Circle releases on Xbox and PC later this year, the game will feature the voice talents of Troy Baker. Baker is stepping into the role made famous by Harrison Ford, but executive producer Todd Howard was not initially planning to cast him as the game’s lead. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Howard confirmed that he initially declined Baker for the role. Over the years, Baker has become big and recognizable to players. Given that, and the time period in which the game takes place, Howard wanted to “cast a pretty wide net,” rather than choosing someone the audience would find familiar.
As a result, Bethesda ended up auditioning hundreds of people to play the role of Indiana Jones. Inevitably, the developers realized that Baker truly was the right person to take on the role. On a follow-up Zoom call, Howard revealed to Baker how they came to the decision.
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“I’ll have you know, we did a blind taste test, and people chose you every time,” Howard told Baker.
Baker has become one of the video game industry’s biggest voice actors, having voiced characters like Joel Miller in The Last of Us, Sam Drake in the Uncharted games, and Batman in LEGO Dimensions. The actor’s versatility has made him an industry staple, but that can be a double-edged sword; given how familiar gamers have become with Baker’s work, it’s not surprising that Howard might have had reservations about casting the actor. Indiana Jones isn’t a character like Batman, where there have been countless actors playing the role across decades; this is a role that has been associated almost exclusively with one prolific person. There’s a lot of pressure to get it right, and in addition to the voice, there’s also the motion capture aspects. Fans can be assured that this is something that Baker took very seriously.
“I better know how to ride a motorcycle, ride a horse, crack a whip,” Baker told Rolling Stone. “Because if you don’t believe me when I’m just standing there holding the whip, you’re probably not going to believe it when you’re actually the one cracking the whip.”
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It remains to be seen how audiences will feel about Baker’s work as Indiana Jones when all is said and done. From our hands-off preview with the game earlier this year, it certainly seems like Baker has been able to channel Ford’s voice and mannerisms. We’ll have a better idea of how he sounds in the game soon, as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set to be released on December 9th. It can’t be easy taking on a role so closely associated with a single actor, but hopefully Baker can prove up to the task.
Are you looking forward to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle? Do you think Troy Baker was the right pick for the role? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
