Summary
- Ahead of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet’s reveal, Neil Druckmann worked with lead actor Tati Gabrielle to prepare for the inevitable backlash.
- Naughty Dog is all too aware of what its actors go through, as Laura Bailey, who played Abby, was sent death threats for playing the role.
- Gabrielle was told to ignore the backlash and be proud of what they’re doing, and they’ve taken that to heart, sharing their unashamed excitement for the project on social media.
The anticipation for Naughty Dog’s new game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, was almost immediately drowned out after its announcement by angry commenters decrying that the game was ‘woke’ and doomed to fail. It was unflatteringly compared to the misguided live-service hero shooter Concord; the trailer was flooded with dislikes in protest; and protagonist Jordan (played by Tati Gabrielle) was the target of vicious insults, most of which boiled down to calling her ‘ugly’.
Unfortunately, this is all too common in the industry. The Witcher 4 came under heavy scrutiny from a vocal corner of the internet for supposedly making Ciri less attractive, and Ghost of Yotei was chastised for casting genderfluid and queer actor Erika Ishii in the lead, with Asmongold infamously asking, ‘Do I have to play as a girl?’
Naughty Dog is keenly aware of these hate campaigns, as Laura Bailey was berated for playing Abby in The Last of Us Part 2. Many took out their frustration at Joel’s death on her, sending her threats of violence every time she opened social media, and even death threats against her newborn son.
Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie in The Last of Us HBO series, is undergoing similar online abuse right now.
In the wake of what Bailey went through, Naughty Dog is now taking more measured steps to prepare actors while these hate campaigns are in their infancy. “Neil’s been bootcamp-ing me,” Gabrielle revealed in an interview with EW. “I know Troy [Baker’s] experience, I know Ashley [Johnson’s] experience… I know Laura Bailey’s experience.”
“Neil Was Like, ‘Ignore It.'”
After the bootcamp-ing came the trailer and unceasing wall of angry comments, with viral social media posts and YouTube clips declaring that the game is “COOKED”, all because it cast Gabrielle. It’s hard to imagine what being on the receiving end of such vitriol must feel like, but Druckmann had some sage advice. Just put down the phone.
“I got a lot of love, but there was a lot of hate over me being a woman, me being a woman of colour, me having my head shaved, all these things that I didn’t even actually initially see – I’m out of the social media zeitgeist for that reason,” Gabrielle said. “But once I did, Niel was like, ‘Ignore it. No matter what, me and you, we’re going to make something beautiful. We’re going to make something we’re proud of.'”
That passion is clearly something that Gabrielle shares, as, even in the face of so much hatred, she was unashamedly excited about the opportunity to take the centre stage in a flagship Naughty Dog release, posting on Instagram, “I’M GONNA BE IN A VIDEO GAME Y’ALL! Ah! Never could I have imagined that when I booked [the] Uncharted [movie] that I was opening a door that my childhood brain would blow on the other side of. Let’s FXCKIN GOOOOO.”