Ubisoft Confirms That Fans Were Right About This Far Cry Villain
While most of the attention directed at the "Far Cry" series these days is focused on the upcoming "Far Cry 6" and its villain, Caribbean dictator Anton Castillo, a developer recently verified a longtime fan theory about a previous enemy. The antagonist of "Far Cry 2," The Jackal, may have a bigger connection to the first game than some might have guessed, according to Clint Hocking, a creative director for Ubisoft with deep ties to the series.
The villains of "Far Cry" have often taken a central role in the series' advertising, serving as a defining part of the experience for individual games. The impact and remarkable presence of foes like Vaas from "Far Cry 3" and Pagan Min from "Far Cry 4" have become iconic in their own right. While The Jackal, an arms dealer playing the opposing factions in "Far Cry 2" against one another, may not be as well known as some of his counterparts from later titles, he remains a memorable opponent in the game that established the franchise's open-world formula.
While there is no official in-game connection between the events and characters in "Far Cry 2" and those in the original entry, fans on Reddit have long theorized that The Jackal is the player's character from "Far Cry," Jack Carver. In a recent interview, Hocking indicated that this is, in fact, the case.
The Jackal is Jack Carver '10 years later'
In an IGN feature tracing the evolution of the many memorable villains of the "Far Cry" universe, Clint Hocking, creative director for "Far Cry 2," finally confirmed what fans have long suspected – Jack Carver and The Jackal are the same person.
Hocking ended speculation regarding the characters' shared identity definitively, explaining, "The Jackal is actually supposed to be Jack Carver from the original 'Far Cry.'" He continued, "The idea was [the Jackal] is just him, 10 years later or something, after he's seen whatever he saw on this island [during the events of 'Far Cry']." The connection also explains the discovery that popularized the theory. After "Far Cry 2" released, fans digging in the game's texture files discovered that assets for The Jackal had the name Jack Carver attached to them.
Having the previous player character serve as a villain with shifting morality also gives some interesting context to one of the other leading theories about the identity of The Jackal. As explained on Reddit, some fans felt that The Jackal's eventual remorse around the atrocities both he and the player were involved in may have indicated that he was not a separate person but instead a manifestation of the player's split personality.
Hocking didn't comment on this reading of "Far Cry 2," but his statements provided some fascinating insight into The Jackal's development and place in the game's universe.