Summary
- Fans eagerly await the next Red Dead game, but where can the narrative go after the Van der Linde gang story?
- GTA 6 may inspire the next Red Dead, drawing from real-life outlaws like Bonnie and Clyde for narrative inspiration.
- Real outlaws like Jesse James could shape the next Red Dead installment, offering new stories and characters.
With almost six years now having passed since the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, some fans are starting to imagine what experiences might eventually come next for the franchise. While a new installment to the Old West franchise will be welcomed with open arms, question marks are already being raised over where the game could logically go narratively, with the tale of the Van der Linde gang essentially now being exhausted.
Of course, any news regarding Red Dead Redemption is likely a long way off thanks to the imminence of the massively anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6, but that is not to say that GTA 6 could provide one big inspiration for a future Red Dead release. Rumors and reports state that the real-world story of Bonnie and Clyde played a huge inspiration in the core narrative of Grand Theft Auto 6, with the two protagonists of the game sharing a similar connection to the infamous criminal pair. With GTA potentially borrowing from historical accounts of famous outlaws, it only seems right that the next Red Dead Redemption should take equal inspiration from the countless famous gunslingers and criminals of the real Old West.
A Jack Marston-Led Red Dead Redemption 3 Would Allow One of Arthur’s Best Traits to Live On
If Red Dead Redemption 3 chooses Jack Marston as its protagonist, it would also provide ample opportunity to honor Arthur Morgan.
The Next Red Dead Redemption Should Lean More On Real Outlaws
The popular December 2023 reveal trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 gave fans early glimpses of the two main protagonists of the upcoming title, a man and woman named Jason and Lucia. The trailer confirmed a lot of longstanding reports around the duo, with the player controlling both characters as they navigate the world of crime and a romantic relationship with each other.
This immediately drew comparisons between Jason and Lucia and Bonnie and Clyde, real-life criminal lovers who wreaked havoc across the United States during the Great Depression. Traveling with a larger gang, Bonnie and Clyde were renowned for large-scale robbery and murder, a theme that is also seemingly echoed within the story of Jason and Lucia in Grand Theft Auto 6.
While it is unknown if Jason and Lucia will meet the same bloody end at the hands of the law as Bonnie and Clyde, the inspiration that Rockstar has taken from their story is already clear, and this could easily be extended to the next Red Dead Redemption title. Of course, a lot of the themes, characters, and narratives of the Red Dead franchise are heavily linked to real-world events and figures of the time period, but the franchise should not be afraid to offer more intimate portrayals inspired by the most famous faces of the era.
Many Real Outlaws Could Inspire the Events of Red Dead Redemption 3
Real outlaws like Jesse James and Butch Cassidy lived lives that have inspired countless media adaptations over the years, and these tales could be the answer to what kind of story the next Red Dead Redemption should tell. Like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption makes a point of not naming real world figures in their games, but the personalities and doings of some of the most famous outlaws from the Old West could easily be reflected in an upcoming project without being directly named.
Unless the next Red Dead Redemption decides to follow Jack Marston into the 1920s at the cost of its cowboy themes, it seems likely that Rockstar will need to move on to a new cast of characters away from the Van der Linde gang. If the rumored Bonnie and Clyde inspiration for Grand Theft Auto 6's main characters ends up holding any weight, then Rockstar has a near endless wealth of real outlaw figures to inspire and shape whatever comes next for Red Dead Redemption.
