Burn the Tape: Troy Baker's Secret Indiana Jones Audition

"Burn the tape." That was Troy Baker's instruction to casting director Tom Keegan back in December 2021, when Keegan first approached him about playing Indiana Jones in what would become Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Baker would record an audition for Keegan and Keegan alone. If it wasn't good enough, the tape was to be destroyed so nobody would ever see it. That's not the confidence you'd expect from one of the most prolific voice actors in gaming, and I think it says something about how much the role meant to him.

Baker shared the story in a recent interview with Eurogamer, explaining that when Keegan first called, Baker's immediate question was whether MachineGames wanted Harrison Ford. Keegan's answer: "They want 1981 Harrison Ford." Baker even suggested two other actors he thought would be better suited. Keegan wasn't interested in suggestions. He wanted Baker. The audition tape survived, obviously, and Baker got the part.

What came next was arguably harder than landing the role. Baker and the team had to recreate the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, one of the most recognisable sequences in film history, as the game's tutorial. According to Baker, the team brought in director of photography Kyle Klütz, storyboarded everything, and shot with two Arri cameras on jibs and dolly tracks to replicate the look of the original trilogy, which was filmed using Arriflex and Panavision cameras. That tutorial section alone took two weeks to capture. For a relatively small slice of the final game, that's a serious commitment, and it shows in the finished product. The Great Circle's opening is one of those rare moments where a game feels like stepping into a film rather than just imitating one.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is now available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and as of this week, Nintendo Switch 2.