GTA Scenes Left On The Cutting Room Floor
Ever since "Grand Theft Auto 3" introduced open-world gameplay to its franchise, Rockstar Games' flagship series has prided itself on transporting gamers into some of the most larger-than-life stories in gaming. These twist-filled tales are only matched in their scope by the sprawling cities in which each game is set. It truly feels like the sky is the limit in "Grand Theft Auto," but the developers actually had so much more planned that didn't get added to the final product. For every thrilling "GTA" gameplay mechanic, there are multiple elements that were dropped before Rockstar called it a day.
Thanks to a series of leaks, fans of "GTA 5" have learned that there were multiple alternate endings planned for the game that were never animated or voiced, but "GTA 5" is not alone in this. A number of scenes and missions have been cut from "GTA" games over the years, with fans only discovering traces of them in the time since their release. From rescue missions to brutal and unexpected deaths, here are some interesting scenes that didn't make it into "GTA" games.
Michael kills the janitor
As part of the "GTA 5" mission "Cleaning Out the Bureau," Michael De Santa has to steal a janitor's clothes and accessories in order to infiltrate the headquarters of the FIB (the "GTA" version of the real-world FBI). Harvey the janitor is hilariously on board with Michael's plan from the jump, accepting a bribe in exchange for his overalls and ID. Still, Michael makes sure to threaten the janitor on his way out the door, saying, "[If] you don't play ball, I'll be forced to do something I really don't want to do."
As seen in clips that have been mined from the game's code, Michael originally took a very different tactic in this scene. Rather than attempt to talk to Harvey peacefully, Michael waited until Harvey sat down on his couch to watch TV, then snuck up behind the janitor and injected him with some kind of poison. The scene was never fully animated, and it's easy to see why: Though Michael never shies away from taking out his enemies over the course of the "GTA 5" campaign, this is a surprisingly mean and bloodthirsty move on his part. Charming the janitor into standing aside and letting him do his job is much more in line with Michael's characterization elsewhere in the game.
Darkel's phone calls
"Grand Theft Auto 3" isn't exactly lacking in weirdo NPCs, but one deleted figure would have taken the cake. Remnants of Darkel's scenes are still present in the game's files, including a character model of Darkel himself: a drifter wearing a long brown poncho and bandages over his eyes. In each of Darkel's scenes, he would have called the protagonist on a payphone and asked Claude to kill a number of civilians for an unknown purpose. He also would have apparently had a Deadpool-style awareness of the fictional world of the game, which no doubt would have led to some hilarious interactions.
According to an official game design document for "GTA 3," Darkel was intended to be the kind of character who kept players on their toes. Everything about him was designed to be just slightly off, from his behavior to the ways in which he rewarded a job well done. The game would play with the idea that he might have been pretending to be blind, while "Darkel's rewards may range from a jar of stinky mixture or a flattened cat, to special weapons, defences or access to special areas of the city." In other words, every encounter with Darkel would have been supremely unnerving. Rockstar ultimately cut Darkel's scenes from the game when it was decided that he was just too weird to fit into the rest of the story. Considering this is "Grand Theft Auto" we're talking about, that's really saying something.
Billy Bob's new Jeep
Billy Bob Bean was the boss of the Rednecks gang in "Grand Theft Auto 2," though most fans probably recognize him more as "that guy who looked like Elvis for some reason," rather than by name. Contrary to what his manner of speech would suggest, Billy Bob is a bit of Machiavellian genius, sending protagonist Claude Speed on missions such as starting a prison riot to covertly kill specific targets inside the jail and orchestrating a gang war between rival factions. It seems there was more planned for Billy Bob Bean, at least judging from a screenshot of a deleted scene that has survived on the internet.
Not much is known about the mission, other than the fact that Billy Bob would have been seeking revenge for the destruction of several of his prized vehicles. In the deleted scene, Billy Bob tells Claude that one of his enemies has bought a new Jeep, and this doesn't sit right with him at all. "Find me another Jeep jus' like it so we can have ourselves a party!" Billy Bob yells. In other words, this mission would have taken a similar shape to many of the others in "GTA 2," with Claude stealing a car or three for his current boss. Still, it's interesting to know that of all the characters in the game, Rockstar apparently had more planned for Billy Bob Bean.
The Truth Is Out There
The Truth is one of the more mysterious characters in "GTA" lore. By all appearances, he's your average hippie living off the grid and away from the bustle of San Andreas. However, he also seems to know a heck of a lot about government conspiracies, to the point where some fans think he's either an ex-agent or an alien himself. Whatever the case, he's a pretty persuasive boss, getting "GTA: San Andreas" protagonist Carl Johnson to do a series of increasingly dangerous jobs, including stealing a mysterious green substance from a government train.
Another mission was meant to follow this goo heist, but was ultimately cut from the game. Here, CJ would have had to help fend off federal agents who were trying to capture The Truth. Bits of the script for this mission still survive, including a hilarious phone call from The Truth explaining how he'd tried to ease the tension of the situation: "I'm in Bayside. Whole town is crawling with dudes in black suits. I need your help, CJ! I've done some mushrooms, but it hasn't calmed me down at all. CJ! They're after me!" It's unclear if this was meant to be The Truth's original send-off, but it sounds like CJ's skills would have been really tested by these Men in Black.