Watch Dogs: Legion Is Missing This Major Character

If you were harboring hopes that the protagonist of Ubisoft's Watch Dogs 2, Marcus Holloway, would make a return in the game Watch Dogs: Legion you might be disappointed to hear that this doesn't look like it's happening — at least not yet. 

Earlier in October, Legion live producer Lathieeshe Thillainathan revealed on a Reddit AMA that the protagonist of the first Watch Dogs game, Aiden Pearce, would become playable in Watch Dogs: Legion through a post-launch DLC package called Bloodline. The character will be fully customizable and treated like any other character in the game. However, he will also be integrated into the single-player campaign and its cinematics. Additionally, you don't have to complete the DLC to play as Aiden. 

The Reddit session also revealed that another previous Watch Dogs character — Wrench from Watch Dogs 2 – will also return. So, what about Marcus Holloway? Aiden Pearce made a brief appearance in Watch Dogs 2, and Wrench and Pearce are both coming back for the third Watch Dogs. Yet, Holloway is missing.

Watch Dogs: Legion takes a slightly different approach than its predecessors. Instead of playing as one named protagonist in the third-person open-world shooter with hactivist tendencies, players can use any character in the game. The subtitle "Legion" refers to the fact that you can take over any Londoner you meet (well, except children). Once you recruit non-player characters to your rebel cause, the city is your playground. 

While some fans may gravitate towards making unassuming grandmas perform parkour along the city streets, others might feel more comfortable taking on Aiden's mobile vigilante-style shoes as he travels around the world wherever injustice is dominant. Additionally, a patch that extended the end of Watch Dogs 2 teased the move to London that has now been proven true, and also made Holloway's story open-ended. 

Despite how Watch Dogs 2 concluded, Ruffin Prentiss, the actor who voiced Marcus Holloway, has confirmed he was not asked back to play him. "I haven't heard from Ubisoft. I would love to reprise the role," said Prentiss. "When Aiden was announced I was like, 'Oh, maybe there's a potential.' [...] And then of course Wrench is in the game as well."

Playing Holloway even just once meant a lot to Prentiss. The role was groundbreaking in a number of ways, which Prentiss elaborated on while speaking to IGN. "Marcus is different because we don't get to see Black characters who are doing something out of the norm for what pop culture says Black people are cool for," highlighted Prentiss. "I had people reach out that were studying coding and programming and say it was so cool to see someone who looks like them, and has a similar interest, be represented in video games."

Since the announcement that Pearce was returning, Prentiss said that many people have reached out to him asking if he'll also be able to come back. While that doesn't seem to be an on the table at present, he made it clear that he would love to return as Holloway. He even revealed playing Holloway was "one of my favorite things that I've ever done."

There's always the possibility that Ubisoft intends to recast the role, but Pearce is being played by the original actor, Noam Jenkins. Wrench is also being played by original actor, Shawn Baichoo. With Prentiss willing to play Holloway again there doesn't seem to be a good reason for a switch like that.

Watch Dogs: Legion just released on Oct. 29 to mostly positive reviews, so there's still plenty of time to bring Prentiss back in future DLC. The game hasn't even come out yet for the next-generation systems, for which it'll be a launch-day title when the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S finally drop in November. In the short term, though, it looks like Marcus Holloway fans are going to be disappointed.

If you want to play as Aiden Pearce, you have to purchase the Season Pass for Watch Dogs: Legion. The Season Pass, which you can also get as part of Watch Dogs: Legion Ultimate Edition and Gold Edition, comes with a major story expansion featuring two episodes, extra Dedsec missions, and four heroes with unique abilities: Aiden Pearce, Wrench, Mina the psychic, and Darcy the assassin will all be customizable. If you purchase the Season Pass separately, it'll cost $39.99 on top of your standard game price of $59.99. However, the Bloodline DLC will not be available until 2021, so you'll have to wait a bit for it.