Dexerto caught up with Stephen A. Chang, who you may recognize as Jesse in The Last of Us Part 2. The actor has just begun filming for Naughty Dog’s next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and while details are scarce, even for him, we gleaned a bit of insight about the new IP.
It’s been 12 years since Naughty Dog established a new franchise with The Last of Us. As such, the announcement of Intergalactic was big news. Something entirely fresh is in the works at PlayStation’s most renowned studio.
Since its surprise reveal at The Game Awards 2024, lips have been sealed. There’s no telling when we might see the project again, let alone when it may hit store shelves. As it turns out, details aren’t only hard to come by for avid fans, but even those working on the game are intentionally being kept in the dark to a degree.
We recently sat down with actor Stephen A. Chang, who not only portrayed Jesse in Naughty Dog’s last game, but also has a yet-to-be-revealed role in their upcoming game too. While it’s too early to talk specifics, we did get some insight as to how the production is tracking, as well as his individual take on what we can expect.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet actor talks production on Naughty Dog’s next game
At the top of the chat, Chang mentioned how his specific work on Intergalactic had only just kicked off. “Last week, I started doing some work for the next Naughty Dog game,” he confirmed.
This time around, the studio is looking to keep things “very close to the chest,” as Chang put it, following the infamous leaks ahead of The Last of Us Part 2’s launch. Red tape is naturally everywhere on a gig like this, but it turns out, crucial information is being restricted even from those working on the game.
“What I know about it is probably as much as you guys, which I think is intentional.
“I saw the trailer, maybe a week before they released it. I didn’t really know what to expect. I have a friend who’s working on the game too. She’s like ‘Is this Last of Us Part 3 that we’re doing?’ So we didn’t even really know what we were getting into.”
Chang beamed with confidence when talking around the loose details he does know, however, teasing that “it’s going to be the next big thing.”
Rather than being handed full scripts, painting the picture from start to finish, Chang explained how certain actors on the project are only given snippets. “This was how The Last of Us Part 2 was filmed as well,” he said.
“You’d film in sections. You’d get pieces of the script. Sometimes it’s not even chronological.”
Amusingly, Chang was even unsure of the protagonist’s name at first, perhaps implying he hasn’t filmed any scenes directly with Tati Gabriell’s Jordan A. Mun yet, though that’s merely speculation on our part.
“I’m excited. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting another script and seeing where it goes. I’m trying to put the pieces together just like everyone else.”
Chang (right) is seemingly part of The Five Aces, a criminal group being tracked down by Jordan in Intergalactic.
While there’s no word on the nature of his role just yet, sifting through frames of the reveal trailer does give a bit of perspective. Chang’s unnamed character can be seen sitting at a table with four others. If we’re to believe the headline of a news snippet pinned just below, this is a group of criminals known as the Five Aces.
Among them is a character known as Colin Graves, portrayed by Kumail Nanjiani, as well as Tony Dalton of Better Call Saul fame, and Ashley Scott, who played Maria in The Last of Us games.
“When I was on set for my little thing, I was like ‘Oh sh**, this is kind of a big deal, I’m the small fish here,’” Chang said with a laugh.
Source link
