Leaker claims new Naughty Dog game will be inspired by 2016's Moonlight, feature black protagonist

Leaker Teases New Game From The Last of Us and Uncharted Developer Naughty Dog

According to rumors, Naughty Dog -- the team behindUncharted and The Last of Us -- is working on a new IP for the PS5 starring a black protagonist. If this is true, it would be the first Naughty Dog game to star a black protagonist. While Naughty Dog games have featured prominent black characters in the past -- such as Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy's Nadine -- they've never been protagonists. Rumors are this will change with its next game, a new IP, which is apparently inspired by the movie Moonlight.

The rumor comes the way of leaker Ralphs over on Twitter, who has made a name for themselves leaking information about next year's Call of Duty. According to the leaker, "Naughty Dog are looking at films like Moonlight" for inspiration for their new game. What exactly this means, isn't clear as Ralphs doesn't provide any further illuminating details.

For those that don't know: Moonlight is an award-winning film from 2016 that shows the protagonist during three stages of life: childhood, adolescence, and early adult life. Again, we don't know, but perhaps this narrative structure is what Ralph is hinting at. A big part of the movie is the exploration of the difficulties the protagonist faces in regards to his sexuality and identity. This could also be what Ralph is getting at.

Unfortunately, for now, all we have is speculation. And of course, the little the rumor does divulge should be taken with a grain of salt because it's only that, a rumor. Not only is the tidbit of information unofficial, but it's also subject to change.

At the moment of publishing, none of the implicated parties have commented on any of this. We don't expect any of the implicated parties to comment on any of this, but if any of them buck this expectation and do provide some type of comment or statement, we will be sure to update the story accordingly. In the meantime, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ to talk all things gaming. What do you want to see next from Naughty Dog?

https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/ps5-restock-buy-target-order-reaction/

My thoughts: 😴

I'm just hoping they do something interesting gameplay wise. I'm less concerned with the story or colour of the protagonist's skin, but I do understand why people might be celebrating a black protagonist in a AAA game, and I certainly don't have a problem with it.

Cool, I may take a look when it launches on Youtube.😎

As long as it's good, like all of their previous games, I'm down for whatever.

Don't care, just stop it with the cutscenes. Can't play the game for more than an hour because you only play the game for about ten minutes.

Meh, not to bothered with ND anymore.

That shit drives me nuts. I am tired of games not wanting to be games. The worst part about it, is that these games are highly praised by gaming journalist. Don't get me started on JRPGs and the plethora of Japanese made games.🤬

I don't understand the modern focus on race. WTF does it matter what their skin color is? Make a compelling story with great gameplay and people will play it.

Modern focus on race is an the acknowledgement of an issue which some folks are taking the strides to address. It is really that simple. If race /skin color doesn't matter to you then what is your issue?

I’m not a huge Naughty Dog fan but I have certainly enjoyed some of their games so am interested in seeing what this could be. Kind of wish that they would revisit Jak and Daxter though instead.

I think they are too far gone design wise to make another Jak and Daxter.

@Pedro: My problem with it doesn't really affect game characters. There have been prominent black characters in gaming throughout the years. Hell, Uncharted Lost Legacy has you play as Chloe, a woman of India heritage, partnered with a black woman, Nadine. It's a great game with a compelling story and great character progression.

My problem is in the real world where companies now hire and openly discriminate based on race. Jobs and promotions should go to those most qualified and race should never enter the equation.

@Pedro: Sadly I think you’re right. 😞

But, maybe Insomniac can take the mantle.😮

@Pedro: I would definitely be down with that. 👍

Lol Naughty Dog. Not slightly interested in their writing (which I think is shit). Would pique my interest if this news was somehow related to the gameplay but it isn't. We'll get another third-person, story-driven garbage most likely.

ND taking inspiration from movies isn’t a good thing… Maybe they should try taking inspiration from a video game for their next video game. Maybe make it fun and engaging.

You are confusing Naughty Dog for a game dev studio.😎

I can't wait to see what they have coming next, I have yet to play a bad naughty dog game and hoping they continue pumping out more great games! Good to see the usual haters in here though 😂

Movie game.

Pass.

I can't wait! Naughty's gonna bring the goods!

This shit's gonna take pretentiousness to the next level. I can't wait for the /v/ threads

I thought they meant inspired by moonlighter the game for a second.. now I realize it's based off moonlight the movie..this sounds like pretentious trash.

ND needs to make a new Jak n daxter something fun and not so drama filled, serious, and lame. ND sucks now and I don't care what the last of us fanboys say. This new formula is boring.

inspired by shitty hollywood movie that won oscar.

movie game.

pass.

Ohhh a black character as the main, hype level 10000!!!!🙄🙄🙄

Cool. Love everything Naughty Dog has done so far. Have no reason to doubt them.

@djoffer123: Because a middle aged white man in games is so original?

I don't give a shit what color he is, but if the center of attention is that the main character is black, i won't be happy. People called TLOU2 as SJW, and i personally wasn't bothered by anything in it, but if the main character is black and i see them making a big deal out of it... GTFO.

Had to google Moonlight since i've never even heard of it. So the main character in that movie is black AND gay? If its the same in their game, do you have any idea how many SJW points this game is gonna get with all the journos? Holy shit! At least +5 points, bro.

is he black because the character is black or is he black because they want him to be black?

If the game is good/fun, the main character can identify as a mountain panda for all I care.

@hardwenzen: I dont believe the rumor now lol, I don't know how they'd make a game outta that movie unless they did an actual movie game like a telltale styled game.

Oh the meltdowns are going to be great.

Sounds like awful woke pretentious crap.

Cows are really going to take a beating this gen.

It's about as relevant as Capcom announcing a game telling everybody it's about a Japanese boy. There would a collective, "Okay, great, but what the hell does that have to do with the game?" response.

To be honest, perfectly honest with you, Casey, these rumors remind me of Metroid Dread. I can tell ND was inspired by your favorite game.

As long as the gameplay from TLoU part 2 is back I am all for it. Such a smooth and satisfying combat system.

@casey-wegner: Nope!

I demand an @eoten opinion on the matter. He is usually into this and 1080p resolutions.

Another movie game confirmed

Some really bad takes in this thread.

@mesome713: why has every comment by you in this thread been about black or gay people?

Jealousy is an ugly thing.

After praising the simple but fun gameplay of Forza Horizon 5 as amazing, It's back to being bitter, angry and jealous for the same anti-playstation group

It's curious seeing xbox and PC fans disparage high rated 1st party Sony studio devs & games because the graphics bar are setting for the industry, so they pretend as if the gameplay isn't also superb when Sony exclusives have better gameplay than any of the AAA titles either PC or xbox provide.

There are zero AAA xbox or PC specific games that have superior gameplay to this.

🤷 Prove me wrong, but I know that's not happening.

I'm not going out of my way to bash other platforms, I'm just putting things in perspective for the users who want to talk about gameplay when they don't have any better alternatives on their platform of choice.

I see people on this board praise Red Dead Redimption 2 as the best AAA they *played* for god sake so I know people trying to bash ND for gameplay are 🧢

I'll let you know this post is offensive and directed at fans and not focused on "systems".

You need to take it down about 10 notches and get a hold of yourself.

I've always wonder about this, but since you're using it I'll just ask you. What does "woke" even mean?