Far Cry 5 is the most recent entry in the Far Cry series – an open-world shooter where you play a nameless protagonist fighting against a militant religious cult. Previous games have it focused on more exotic locations such as the Pacific Islands (Far Cry 3) and the Himalayas (Far Cry 4), with the upcoming 6th game being set the Caribbean. Far Cry 5 took a more domestic approach, setting its fictional “Hope County” in the very not-fictional state of Montana – complete with its own local populace of American cultist caricatures. It is here in America’s wilderness that the militant cult known as Project of Eden’s Gate (PEG) was lead by the Seed family to take over the county, gradually growing into an ISIS-style of occupation, with a bit of a Jonestown aesthetic. There have also been several unofficial militias that have formed to fight back, creating a landscape not unlike the Syrian civil war, but on a smaller scale.
Since the game’s 2018 release, it has been gaining more and more relevance given the evolving American political climate into the post-Trump era. Anti-government fervor and armed militias are nothing new to America, but in our current landscape of social media disinformation and a recent (poorly) attempted insurrection, fears of extremism on the homefront have become increasingly common.
So, naturally, we want to make a live-action version of this not-so-inconceivable reality for posterity and our own post-playthrough catharsis. However, our story will not follow the game’s plotline, as our nameless protagonist slowly liberates the map one outpost at a time. Rather, this is our origin story following the Seed family and their cult’s rise in Hope County as the game’s side characters fight back.
On this list we will not be counting the voice actors who played them in the game, such as Seed’s original voice actor Greg Burk, as 1) that’s cheating 2) we’ve already seen their performances.
The Seed Family
For at least the first season should dedicate its time in showing the formation of the cult of Eden’s Gate. As this is an origin story the Seed family will now serve as our main PRO-tagonists. Break out your psych textbook, each one is a case study all on their own…
Joseph Seed – Michael Fassbender
Joseph Seed is our primary antagonist in the game as leader and “Father” of the Eden’s Gate cult. His core belief is that America is coming to a great collapse and the intention of his organization is to survive the coming collapse putting himself as a modern day Noah. During the first season I want a lot of his past to be somewhat ambiguous like his came out of something tragic before coming home to Hope County. Something of an antihero protagonist, who believes the world is going to end and wants everyone to be saved. This requires an actor who’s both scary and charismatic.
If I wanted to attach a famous name to this character it would be Michael Fassbender. Imagine his stage persona from Steve Jobs with the victim complex of young Magneto with some of the ego insanity of Epps from 12 Years a Slave. If Fassbender can combine all of these mannerisms into a single character now that’s Oscar material right there.
Jacob Seed – Tom Hardy
Jacob is the oldest of the Seed brothers who takes up the role of training the PEG militia in the mountains and has been experimenting the bliss drug on the local wildlife creating an army of drugged wolves he calls “judges”. A Gulf War I veteran, Jacob suffers from major PTSD after (according to him) he and another soldier were trapped in the desert and after 7 days with no food or water. He resorted to eating his fellow soldier as his “sacrifice” since that day he called his philosophy “culling the herd”. A sort of survival-of-the-fittest philosophy that Jacob believes modern civilization has make mankind week.
Jacob is in may ways the most interesting antagonist because his motivations are less based on faith in the cult, but rather preparing his herd for post-apocalyptic survival.
As a live-action role, this demands an actor who can portray someone both battle-scarred but single minded. For famous names I can easily imagine Tom Hardy for the role. Imagine his character from The Revenant if he had a whole army in his command.
John Seed – Aaron Taylor-Johnson
John Seed is the youngest and most sadistic of the brothers. Serving as Joseph’s recruiter and public legal official, it was John who was the cult’s logistical mastermind. He was the one who ultimately bought out all the farms, radio stations, and even the cops. When John wasn’t hosting backyard baptisms, he takes great pleasure in torturing helpless victims into confessing their sins. His twisted belief is that forgiveness means tattooing the someone’s chosen sin and then ripping their skin off in order to “remove” their body and soul of this blight. His motto is that everything can be solved by submitting to “the power of ‘Yes’”, and admitting to everything the accused are guilty of.
This would be one hell of a character for Aaron Taylor-Johnson to play. He both has the leaner physique and the ability to slip into craziness like a flick of a switch. We’ve seen Taylor-Johnson play antiheroes and a couple of crazies, but we haven’t seen him play an absolute psychopath who hides behind faith to do his dirty work. The perfect anti-Kick-Ass.
Faith Seed – Leah McNamara
Faith is the adopted little sister of the of the Seed family, and is by far the most manipulative. A heroine-addicted teen exploited by Joseph, she enthralls prospective and long-time cult members with her own homegrown designer psychedelic drug known as “The Bliss”. Throughout the game she follows you as a ghostly hallucination as you end up increasingly exposed to her drugs while dismantling her chemical empire. This character needs an actress that is both convey both heartwarming, angelic, and a particularly disturbed case of Stockholm Syndrome that is a common theme in almost every major cult.
The reason I have chosen Leah McNamara is based off her performance of an inspiring young girl character in the fifth season of Vikings in that Iceland subplot, where she remained the ever-optimistic morale booster up until the colony collapsed. This time this is an opportunity to channel this same performance, but as an agent for the bad guys. This is probably the most dangerous character because you she is gets into your brain the most.
The Hope County Players
In the game you play a nameless federal marshal whose fellow officers get captured. In order to rescue them you encounter a large cast of unique characters that all have skill you need to liberate hope county. Fighting back the cult would be something reserved for the seasons 2 or 3.
These are your companions that accompany your playthough that would serve as recurring characters for our series once the cult have made gains in the first season.
Dutch – J.K. Simmons
Your classic anti-government bunker nut who saw this cult craziness coming, Dutch Is your main contact who coordinates you character as you liberate each region. A Vietnam vet, he’s seen what kind of hell guerrilla war can unleash in a foreign country and is now seeing it happen in his literal backyard.
Because this is a guy that talks sense and goes straight to the point, this requires an actor who can play no-nonsense characters. For this reason I’m going for J.K. Simmons as he fits these roles so well.
Grace Armstrong – Danai Gurira
Grace is a specialist sniper with a stern look and absolutely no sense of humor. Our go-to companion for every mission that looked like we would need to solve problems at 500yds. Danai Gurira was more than capable of not laughing in Black Panther, and would be a great fit here..
Nike Rye – Taylor Kitsch
Nick Rye is your pilot companion that flies an old Piper float plane that’s been reconfigured with a mini gun and bombs, making him an invaluable hitting hard targets. Taylor Kitsch not only looks the part, but also played David Koresh in the recent Waco series. Given that Koresh and his Davidian following was Ubisoft’s blatant inspiration for Joseph Seed, think of this casting as an ironic flip. Let’s go from leading a cult to bombing one.
Pastor Jerome – David Oyeloo
If there was ever a religious character that leaves a positive impact on the player it’s Pastor Jerome. He is a badass but wise and charismatic and he never seeks to manipulate or convert you – he just helps out Hope County in any way he can.
Actor David Oyelowo, best known for playing Martin Luther King in Selma, would be a perfect fit.
Hurk – Danny McBride
Hurk is something of a recurring NPC throughout the Far Cry series, but we never saw his home life until this one. Basically every stereotypical comic relief redneck is personified through this guy. More explosions for Danny McBride.
Jess Black – Karen Gillan
Jess Black is a bow hunter whose made it her personal mission to kill every single cultist that crosses her path, pushing towards madness. Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula in the MCU, could use a break from the blue makeup.
Sharky Boshaw – Benjamin Bratt
Has a bad habit of burning things, and as a result he’s often been wanted by the feds for arson. Uses a shotgun loaded with Dragon’s Breath incendiaries, so we like this guy a lot.
Honestly, anyone who can pull off a pyromaniac smile would do here. I choose you, Benjamin Bratt.
Adelaide – Frances McDormand
Adelaide flies a chopper called Tulip making her a perfect ally for close support. We just need to get an old Chopper and paint it pink – because f*** CGI.
As for the actor, I pick Frances McDormand. Imagine her character from Fargo, but as a permanently horny chopper pilot.
The Marshalls
Finally, we get to your fellow marshals who you fight beside or rescue over the course of the game. These would be completely optional for our origin story season, but could be considered for cameos and the like as the cult expands until the arrival of our true protagonist (me!)
