She’s the new Lara Croft, but she still lives in fear. Trauma after Perfect Dark changed the actress’ approach to the industry

by

I was shocked to hear the news about Perfect Dark getting cancelled – and honestly, even the main actress playing Joanna Dark was surprised! It really seemed like it had a lot of potential, so it’s a bummer for everyone involved, including her.

Following Microsoft’s recent large-scale layoffs, people working on The Initiative’s project expressed surprise and disappointment about the unexpected cancellation of the planned reboot of the classic first-person shooter game. According to Alix Wilton Regan, even the lead actors who were going to star in the new Perfect Dark were caught off guard by Microsoft’s decision.

The End of Perfect Dark surprised everyone

In an interview with The Gamer, the actress originally slated to voice Joanna Dark, and now playing Lara Croft, revealed she found out about the cancellation of Perfect Dark at the same time as everyone else – through Microsoft’s announcement of layoffs. Regan explained that the game needed to meet certain goals to satisfy the publisher, and she had already recorded dialogue for several complete chapters.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-60951

Regan wasn’t fully aware of how the game was progressing, but everything appeared to be going well from what she could see. That’s why she was so shocked and disappointed to hear the development team had been broken up.

Honestly, when the funding got pulled and the studio shut down, I was totally floored. It came completely out of the blue – I really didn’t see it happening at all. I was completely blindsided, and it was a huge shock.

It was understandably upsetting for her, and for Elias Toufexis, who was also disappointed when Microsoft cancelled Perfect Dark. As Regan pointed out, the developers working on the game were the most affected by the decision.

It was a truly heartbreaking situation. Many people suddenly lost their jobs, and a whole team was let go. We lost a vibrant and collaborative work environment almost instantly, and it was incredibly challenging for everyone involved.

Lara Croft to the rescue, but fear is still there

Despite their best efforts, The Initiative’s attempts to rescue the game weren’t successful. Regan explained that the team continued working tirelessly until the very end, remaining hopeful they could still complete the project. She also expressed gratitude for the support received from both players and fellow developers.

I wasn’t able to share much information because I knew The Initiative was trying to find a way to continue with Perfect Dark, maybe in a smaller form or with some changes. Everyone involved was working hard to revive the game. However, I later learned from the creative director that the deal fell through, and the project was completely cancelled.

Ultimately, Take-Two Interactive only hired a small number of the creators who had worked on the project, and they weren’t given the rights to Perfect Dark. This was a difficult experience for Regan and Toufexis, damaging their faith in the games industry and showing them that things can unexpectedly fall apart, even when they appear to be going smoothly.

After finishing her work on Perfect Dark, she had already spent a year developing her own vision for the Tomb Raider character. We’ll see this come to life with the release of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis next year. Despite that, Regan still worries she might lose her role, even now.

The full interview with Regan by The Gamer is set to be published in the coming days.

Read More

2025-12-19 17:03