"GTA V's" Michael De Santa is a ride or die champion of the series' new heroine – and he doesn't care what you think about it. We've got all the glorious details as actor Ned Luke passes the baton.
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00:00GTA 5's Michael DeSanto is a ride-or-die champion of the series' new heroine,
00:05and he doesn't care what you think about it. We've got all the glorious details
00:09as voice actor Ned Luke passes the baton.
00:11You took it! Give it to me! Give it to me now!
00:14Grand Theft Auto is full of fascinating characters, from the aspiring criminals at the heart of each
00:19story to the weirdos and randoms who hang out on the outskirts of each game's open world.
00:24These characters are all brought to life by talented voice actors, many of whom hold the
00:28series near and dear to their hearts. One such actor is Ned Luke, who memorably portrayed
00:33co-protagonist Michael DeSanto in Grand Theft Auto 5.
00:36Are you some kind of pure morally justifiable a**hole?
00:40What, because you're totally psychotic, somehow it's okay?
00:43As longtime fans are no doubt aware, Luke continues to champion the series on social
00:48media and his Twitch channel, often weighing in on the series' latest developments. In a
00:52recent interview, Ned Luke not only revealed how he feels about Lucia, the franchise's new
00:57female lead, but he also took some time to speak frankly about the trolls who have criticized the
01:02next installment for allegedly going woke. Luke sat down with IGN's Akeem Lawanson as part of
01:08the outlet's ongoing GTFM series, which takes a deep dive into Grand Theft Auto news and rumors.
01:14The conversation quickly pivoted to the hype surrounding the first trailer
01:17for Grand Theft Auto 6, at which point Ned Luke made it perfectly clear that he's here
01:22for Lucia in the next game. Lawanson remarked upon the impressive reveal of the series' newest
01:26protagonist, quipping to Luke that they could bump Michael down a few pegs in terms of popularity.
01:31Though Ned Luke brushed this off, he did note that he was also excited to see what Lucia has in store.
01:36"'Lucia's hard, man. I loved her. And the trailer? Yeah, she looked good."
01:40Ned Luke continued to explain why he was impressed by Lucia in the debut GTA 6 trailer,
01:45explaining that she looks to have all of the qualities that gamers look for in a proper
01:49Grand Theft Auto protagonist. He noted that she is clearly the driving force in the robbery scene at
01:54the very end of the trailer, as she's the one who kicks the door open and draws her gun first.
01:58Jason is clearly following her lead in this job, which puts her in a position of power.
02:03"'Like, she looked like a badass to me.'"
02:06While he doesn't seem to think Lucia is going to usurp the popularity of Michael,
02:10Trevor, and Franklin from GTA 5 anytime soon,
02:13Ned Luke is definitely impressed by what he's seen so far. Luke also made sure to
02:17weigh in on the criticisms that have sprung up surrounding Grand Theft Auto 6
02:20and its use of a female protagonist. Over the last couple of years,
02:24Rockstar has made a concerted effort to clean up the GTA series act,
02:27including removing jokes aimed at marginalized communities and striving to include greater
02:32female representation in its games going forward. The series has seen a bit of backlash from some
02:37vocal parts of the gaming community, with some accusing Rockstar Games of virtue-signaling
02:42with its newest project. Ned Luke's not going in for any of that,
02:46pointing to Rockstar's past and its future potential as proof.
02:50"'You get a lot of these clowns out here going, oh, Rockstar's going woke. First of all,
02:54there's been other female protagonists, you know, in the past, but obviously not in something as
03:01huge as this.'"
03:02Ned Luke makes a solid point regarding the history of female protagonists. Beyond heavy
03:06hitters like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider and Samus Aran from Metroid, the Grand Theft Auto
03:11series itself has also utilized female playable characters in previous entries. Granted,
03:16these were essentially just interchangeable avatars in the earliest entries of the franchise,
03:20so Lucia definitely represents something new for the series in terms of writing and
03:24characterization. This was another point that Ned Luke seemed to be very interested in.
03:28The actor predicts that Grand Theft Auto 6 might be a lot darker and more serious than the entry
03:33he starred in. While Luke is clearly still unsure about the direction the game is taking as a whole,
03:38he still seemed comfortable with giving the new stars some advice.
03:41Get ready. I mean, dude, I mean, they know — I don't know if they really have any idea
03:46what they're in for."
03:47He noted that the graphics of the new game have come so far
03:50that there's no way fans won't recognize these actors out in public,
03:53so the actors need to be prepared for that. Considering the fact that Ned Luke has been
03:57swatted multiple times while streaming GTA gameplay, it makes perfect sense that he'd
04:01want to gently prepare his successors in the Grand Theft Auto universe. Despite that,
04:06and despite the resentment some of his co-stars feel towards the series,
04:09it sounds like Ned Luke wouldn't change a single part of his career or his relationship with his fans.