Given how successful Red Dead Redemption and its detail-filled follow-up were, it feels like a given that Rockstar Games will circle back to its western franchise once Grand Theft Auto 6 has dominated the sales charts for a few years. With a new entry in the series seeming like a given, then, fans are instead free to speculate on the content of this eventual Red Dead release. And speculate they have, as fans regularly talk about what they want to see from Rockstar’s next take on the era of cowboys and outlaws.
Apart from the setting — many fans want to see the heyday of wild west gangs instead of further exploring the demise of this lifestyle — the most common point of discussion around the next Red Dead Redemption game is who the protagonist could be. While it’s possible for Red Dead Redemption 3 to feature an entirely new protagonist, which would arguably even be for the best given how great Arthur Morgan was as a character, an equally strong case can be made for the next Red Dead game to hone in on an existing character to develop them further. And if this is the approach that ends up being taken, then there isn’t just one, nor are there two, valid options. There are three characters that would really shine as protagonists in Red Dead Redemption 3, those being Jack Marston, Sadie Adler, and Hosea Matthews.
GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption 2 Image Comparison Shows Massive Graphical Upgrade
A side-by-side comparison between Grand Theft Auto 6 and Red Dead Redemption 2 reveals how far Rockstar’s visuals have come in recent years.
Jack Marston and Sadie Adler Remain the Obvious Choices For Red Dead Redemption 3’s Protagonist
While there are plenty of valid options for new lead characters in the Red Dead Redemption series, as indicated by the post above from BestAd6459, the two most common suggestions are the same as they always have been. First, people have suggested a game focused on Jack Marston, picking up where the original Red Dead Redemption left off and focusing on Jack Marston being hunted after he avenged his father. Not everyone loves this idea, to be clear; some feel that the idea of Jack continuing the cycle is enough, with it potentially being boring to see his predictable fate actually play out.
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The other common suggestion is Sadie Adler, the Red Dead Redemption 2 standout and skilled bounty hunter. Grand Theft Auto 6 embracing a female co-lead does make Sadie seem more viable as a protagonist, and focusing on the vengeful widow would allow Rockstar Games to explore some themes about women in the post-wild west era in a more thoughtful way. However, the risk with Sadie would be her lack of ties to classic characters since she made it out unscathed, as for better or worse, she’d be hunting bounties and meeting new characters unrelated to the Van Der Linde gang.
Perhaps one fun option would be to feature both of these characters as Red Dead Redemption 3 protagonists. Through her bounty hunting, Sadie Adler could learn about Jack Marston being hunted for killing Edgar Ross. She could take the bounty to find Jack, obviously trying to save him and help him get away with what he did, risking her own happiness and freedom because she feels a need to help someone she used to run with. Players could switch between Jack and Sadie at will, like in GTA 5 and presumably the upcoming GTA 6, expanding on the way Red Dead Redemption 2 handled its two protagonists.
Hosea is a Dark Horse Candidate for Red Dead Redemption 3’s Protagonist
However, the issue with Sadie and Jack is that they don’t fit with what the most upvoted comments in the Reddit post above want to see in the next game. Some, like CT0292, want a “different gang, different people, different time,” while ProRoyce wants Rockstar to “go back in time a bit” to the “golden age of the Wild West” where their choices matter. And while a new protagonist would be needed for a more meaningful version of the Honor System, as key parts of the Van Der Linde gang’s history are set in stone, going back to the Wild West’s heyday with an existing character would be doable. Specifically, Hosea.
Since Hosea’s death and final moments have already been seen, a different subtitle may be needed, with the word “Redemption” swapped for something else.
Hosea would be a very different protagonist from Arthur and John, but that’s exactly what would make him special. A smooth-talker, the suave Hosea could be a way to introduce dialogue choices and speech checks, adding to the depth of Red Dead Redemption’s mechanics. Additionally, focusing on a young Hosea could allow players to see some big moments they’d likely wondered about, like him meeting a less unhinged Dutch Van Der Linde, seeing the eventual gang leader at his best. A Hosea game would take players back to the peak of the Wild West, and it could even offer an Arthur Morgan epilogue, potentially concluding with his view of what happened in Blackwater. With all of these options being viable, not to mention the many other characters that would work well as protagonists, Rockstar is truly spoiled for choice.
- Released
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October 26, 2018
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
