Joel Miller: The Apocalypse Dad Who Refuses to Fade Away (And Why That’s a Bit Spooky)
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Troy Baker reflects on Joel Miller's enduring legacy and hints that the character will continue to 'iterate' and 'proliferate' across new games, TV, and other media.
Right, so I’ve been sitting here, tinkering with the digital ley lines of the industry, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. You know that feeling when you cast a spell and it works a bit too well? That’s what Naughty Dog did with Joel Miller. We thought we’d seen the end of the road for our favorite gruff smuggler, but it turns out death is just a minor inconvenience when you’re a certified gaming icon.
Troy Baker—the man who first breathed life, soul, and a heavy Texas drawl into Joel—has been chatting with Victoria Phillips Kennedy at Eurogamer, and he’s dropped some breadcrumbs that have me rubbing my chin like a wizard staring at a particularly confusing potion. He reckons we haven’t seen the last of Joel. Now, before you go thinking he’s hinting at a miraculous resurrection (which, let's be fair, would be a bit of a narrative disaster), there’s a much more interesting, and slightly more 'digital wizardry' angle to explore here.
### The Multi-Medium Mirror
First off, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Pedro Pascal. Watching another man step into your shoes—especially shoes as well-worn and muddy as Joel’s—must be a trip. But Baker is surprisingly chuffed about it. He told Eurogamer that he actually 'loves' seeing Pascal take the lead in the HBO adaptation. It’s a bit like seeing a cover band that actually hits the high notes, isn't it?
Baker’s take is delightfully humble. He reckons the TV show is 'vastly larger' with a lower barrier to entry. And he’s spot on, isn't he? There are folks out there who wouldn't touch a DualSense controller if it were dipped in gold, yet they’ll happily binge-watch a season of fungal apocalypse. Baker’s logic is that the story of Joel and Ellie is too important to stay trapped inside a plastic box under your telly. 'Sometimes, you have to bring the mountain to the man,' he says. Fair dinkum, Troy. Fair dinkum.
But here’s where my skeptical wizard hat starts to itch. Baker says he wants to see the character 'proliferated and iterated on' across multiple mediums. Now, 'proliferated' and 'iterated' are the kind of words that make me wonder if he’s been reading the same Web3 whitepapers I have during my late-night scrolls. It sounds a bit like we’re talking about Joel as a brand, an asset, or a digital legacy that exists beyond the confines of a single story.
### The ‘Why’ Behind the Iteration
When a character becomes this big, they stop belonging to a single game and start belonging to the culture. Baker mentioned seeing cosplayers everywhere—the impact is real. But when he talks about seeing Joel in comics, films, and 'more games,' I have to ask: But what does this mean for the soul of the story?
We’ve seen what happens when studios 'iterate' a character into the ground (looking at you, certain caped crusaders and space wizards). There’s a fine line between keeping a legend alive and turning him into a digital marionette. However, I’m feeling cautiously optimistic here. If Naughty Dog—or 'somebody else,' as Baker cryptically put it—finds a way to explore Joel’s past or different facets of his journey without cheapening that brutal ending in *Part II*, then I’m all ears.
Is it possible we’re looking at a future where iconic characters aren't just one-and-done protagonists, but evolving digital entities that we follow across different 'realities'? It sounds a bit like the dream of interoperable IP that the Web3 crowd is always shouting about from the rooftops. Imagine a Joel Miller whose 'essence' is so well-defined that he can jump from a high-budget HBO set to a stylized comic book without losing his spark. It’s a bit like a magical familiar that changes shape but keeps the same spirit.
### The Man Behind the Beard
It’s worth noting that Baker himself is a bit of a wizard when it comes to career management. While he’s reflecting on Joel, he’s also out there being Indiana Jones in *The Great Circle*. He’s jumping from one legendary hat to another. He even mentioned to Eurogamer that playing Joel was 'exhausting'—a sentiment I reckon anyone who’s tried to navigate a basement full of Clickers can relate to.
Following its acclaimed release on Xbox and PC, *Indiana Jones and the Great Circle* is even making its way to the Switch 2 on May 12th. It seems Baker isn’t just 'proliferating' Joel; he’s proliferating himself across the entire gaming landscape. And honestly? Good on him. He’s looking for the 'human story' in the middle of these massive corporate franchises, which is exactly what we should be doing as players.
### The Skeptical Silver Lining
So, do we really need more Joel? My gut says we should let the man rest. That ending in *Part II* (no spoilers, but you know the one) was a punch to the gut that only works if it's final. But the curious gamer in me—the one who’s always tinkering with 'what if'—wonders if there’s a way to see Joel again that feels like a genuine innovation rather than a corporate cash grab.
Maybe it’s a prequel. Maybe it’s a 'lost chapters' comic series. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s something entirely new in the way we interact with digital characters. If Baker is right and we haven’t seen the last of Joel, I just hope whoever holds the 'careful hands' next loves the character as much as he and Pascal do.
At the end of the day, Joel isn't just a collection of pixels and motion-capture data; he’s a reflection of our own messy, protective, and sometimes violent humanity. If we’re going to 'iterate' on that, we’d better make sure we don't lose the heart in the machine.
What do you lot reckon? Are you ready for more Joel, or should we leave the smuggler in the past? Let me know, mate—I’ll be here reading the digital tea leaves until the next big reveal.
Tags: The Last of Us, Troy Baker, Naughty Dog, Gaming Culture, Transmedia
Original article: Eurogamer