With the arrival of Rockstar’s first trailer for GTA 6, gamers worldwide will take a look at what the game is all about. After all the rumors, leaks, and speculations, we will finally get to know more about the highly anticipated game, including the characters it will be about.
Considering that the game is most likely set in Vice City, many fans are speculating if Rockstar will bring back a beloved character from a previous entry in the Grand Theft Auto series. More specifically, another look at Tommy Vercetti, played by the legendary Ray Liotta.
Ray Liotta’s passing could have a big impact on the character’s return in GTA 6
Last year in May, the 67-year-old actor passed away due to natural causes. Ray Liotta’s iconic role as Tommy Vercetti has remained memorable and the return of Vice City in GTA 6 might bring about a tribute to his exceptional performance. However, the question remains, in what form might we actually get to witness his return?
Around two years ago, Ray Liotta was spotted visiting the Rockstar offices. This could have been for anything, but if there’s a slight chance that he was involved in the recording/shooting of GTA 6, there might be some work done around Tommy Vercetti’s character.
Then again, all of this is purely speculative. On one hand, we do know that Rockstar tweeted in honor of Ray Liotta’s iconic work in the gaming and Hollywood industry. If his return is indeed happening, we might see an easter egg or two in honor of Ray Liotta.
On the other hand, Tommy Vercetti might just return for a moment or two as a wiser, much older kingpin who has a hand in much of Vice City’s criminal activities. The same goes for quite a few characters who might make a return based on their legacy in older games.
A Reddit post discussing the same indicates how fans are expecting some kind of reference to Ray Liotta’s role in GTA Vice City. One of the top comments by user UriGeller06 humbly puts down a guess:
Maybe a tombstone with Tommy’s name
As far as easter eggs go, GTA games have a reputation for putting quite a few shoutouts and easter eggs in their games, sometimes through tangible objects and places, and sometimes through NPC voice lines or missions. Furthermore, fans have even suggested that they would like to see Tommy in the form of a ‘quest giver’ or simply Ray Liotta’s older recordings for GTA 6.
Developers have recently made use of AI to recreate voiceovers for actors who are no longer with us
In Cyberpunk 2077, there’s a character players befriend at an early stage in the game. He’s called Viktor Vektor and is played by actor Milogost Reczek in the Polish version of the game. Unfortunately, Milogost passed away in 2021, and the developers were disheartened after losing the talented actor. However, thanks to technology, his voice would still contribute to CDPR’s future work.
In the Phantom Liberty DLC for the game, Viktor was brought back to life by using an AI voice cloning tool. This was done with the actor’s family’s consent. CDPR teamed up with Respeecheer, a voice tech organization based out of Ukraine.
With GTA 6, Rockstar is making use of the best technology in order to bring out the game’s tiniest details to life. And this stays true for the voice talent. While there’s no word about what kind of tech we can expect from a similar narrative, perhaps Ray Liotta’s voice can truly be re-enacted in the game with proper consent and creative measures.
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