Willem Dafoe Rumored for Supporting Role in Quantic Dream’s ‘Beyond: Two Souls’

Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain was one of the first games to receive a 5/5 review here at Game Rant. Admittedly, the game was plagued with bugs and some bizarre story beats but, overall, the David Cage and company crafted an especially unique experience – where players could connect with their on-screen counterparts in wholly original ways. That said, not everyone loved the game – as many dismissed the title as little-more than an interactive movie (an interactive movie with a lot of plotholes).

Following the eye-popping tech demo/short film Kara, Quantic Dream showed up at E3 2012 with an all-new game, Beyond: Two Souls, that looks to hoist the interactive narrative bar further and features an incredibly lifelike performance from Academy Award nominee, Ellen Page. However, Page isn’t the only fan-favorite thespian set to take to the virtual Beyond: Two Souls stage as Spider-Man alum Willem Dafoe is now rumored for a major role in the ambitious project.

According to a report over at Bro Gamer, Dafoe will appear alongside Page in the game (which had, for some time, been rumored to feature both a high profile Hollywood actress and actor pairing). That said, neither Sony nor Quantic Dream have confirmed the report – meaning that, at this point, gamers might need to take this one with a grain of salt, at least until more official information is available.

It doesn’t help that much of the Beyond: Two Souls storyline (and gameplay for that matter) is still under lock and key – with only a cutscene-heavy E3 teaser trailer and 22 minutes of demo gameplay footage to go on. Eager gamers might be quick to assume that Dafoe will, once again, add to his law enforcement repertoire (as he did in American Psycho as well as Inside Man) and play a refashioned version of the S.W.A.T leader character shown during the E3 media briefing – but that part looks to be pretty limited (too small for such a high profile name).

Other speculation surrounds the possibility that Dafoe will voice the disembodied, but playable, character Aiden (i.e. the “other” soul that is coupled with Page’s Jodi); though, it’s much more likely that the iconic actor will actually portray a larger antagonist – such as Jodi’s yet-to-be revealed pursuer (possibly an affluent mad scientist – much like Norman Osborne in Spider-Man).

As mentioned, we’ll have to wait for official confirmation on Dafoe’s role but, regardless, Beyond: Two Souls already has big name acting talent attached – which should be especially exciting for fans of character and narrative in the industry. As the “Are Video Games Art?” debate continues to rage on amongst non-gamers and passionate industry supporters, it’s encouraging to see outsiders (as well as the critical community) looking to game design as a legitimate medium to tell stories and explore characters.