Voice actress Alix Wilton Regan reveals that she had been recording work for Perfect Dark since 2023 and that entire chapters of her character work had been completed before the surprise cancellation.
Perfect Dark’s progress before cancellation
During a recent interview with The Gamer, Alix Wilton Regan, who had been locked in to take on the role of Joanna Dark, opened up about the shocking cancellation of the Xbox project and how much work she had completed for the game.
According to Wilton Regan, she had actually been recording scenes since 2023 for the game and she had done lots of work in 2024. She had also been continuing her work in the first half of 2025 before the project was shelved. From her perspective, the team was pretty far along and she had completed entire chapters of the universe.
“I was as shocked, surprised, and devastated as everyone else was when the funding was pulled, and the studio was closed… I did not see it coming. I was absolutely blindsided when the project was defunded.”
While Wilton Regan had plenty of thoughts regarding the cancellation of Perfect Dark at the time, she remained silent to protect The Initiative’s ongoing efforts to salvage the project.
Perfect Dark’s Attempt to Avoid Cancellation
After the Perfect Dark cancellation, there were multiple reports that the game was attempting to release in some sort of less ambitious approach. The interview with Wilton Regan confirms that she had the same understanding and that those plans ultimately fell through.
“I couldn’t say too much about it because I knew The Initiative was in talks to keep Perfect Dark up and running in some shape or form… Possibly a slimmed-down version, possibly something slightly different. But certainly, everyone was working really hard behind the scenes to bring Perfect Dark back.”
Reports from the time suggest that Microsoft was in late-stage talks with Take-Two Interactive to license or co-publish the title. Unfortunately, she eventually heard from the creative director that the deal hadn’t gone through and that the production was fully stopping.
What’s Next for Alix Wilton Regan
Although she was devastated by the cancellation of Perfect Dark, the Cyberpunk 2077 veteran still has an exciting future ahead. Wilton Regan is set to take on the starring role in both upcoming Tomb Raider games (Legacy of Atlantis and Catalyst).
Wilton Regan had already been recording work for Tomb Raider for a year when the cancellation of Perfect Dark happened. She shared that it was a relief to still have the role of Lara when she lost Joanna.
“I was playing Joanna over here, and I was playing Lara over here, which was wonderful and genuinely one of the most creatively exciting times of my life. And I just felt so relieved that I still had Lara, but I also felt really frightened about losing Lara. I’m still frightened of losing Lara.”
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is aiming for a 2026 release.
The post Perfect Dark Had Recorded Two Years of Mocap Before Xbox Cut Funding appeared first on VICE.
