When Microsoft decided to pull the plug on the Perfect Dark reboot earlier this year, we weren't the only ones caught off guard: Joanna Dark actress Alix Wilton Regan said she was “completely blindsided when the project was pulled from funding.”
In fact, Wilton Regan, who had just been announced as the new Lara Croft, said that when she was told the project was cancelled, she was “as shocked, surprised and devastated as everyone else.” adding that she found out about it at the same time as all of us.
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“I didn't expect this to happen,” Wilton Regan said. TheGamer. “We basically recorded bits and pieces throughout '23. We also recorded a lot of shows for him in '24, and even recorded more material for him in '25. As far as I know, we have come quite far. I wrote entire chapters of this universe.”
According to the actress, who has also had roles in films such as Mass EffectDragon Age and Cyberpunk 2077To name just three, the Perfect Dark reboot “delivered several milestones that the client was really happy with,” although she wasn't sure how far the Initiative had come in terms of the game's overall development.
“It was devastating. So many people have lost their jobs. The entire workforce was disbanded,” Wilton Regan continued. “There was an ecosystem of creativity and collaboration that we lost overnight. It was really difficult, very difficult for everyone.”
For some time after its cancellation, people close to the project hoped that it could survive. Back in September, it was reported that Take-Two could have saved the reboot from cancellation. Presumably, the publishing giant was in talks with Embracer, which owns the co-development studio Perfect Dark Crystal Dynamics, and was ready to purchase the project from Microsoft. If this deal took place, The plan was for Take-Two to then finance and publish Perfect Dark itself.. However, this did not happen.
“It was the day I was very sad because it was the day I lost hope,” Wilton Regan said. “Initially, when news of Perfect Dark's defunding hit the press, many people sought comment on the matter, both in the media and personally among friends and professional colleagues.
“I couldn’t say too much about it because I knew The Initiative was in talks to keep Perfect Dark going in some form. Perhaps a smaller version, perhaps something a little different. But of course everyone has been working very hard behind the scenes to bring back Perfect Dark. And then one day I heard from the creative director that the deal didn’t work out, and that in fact everything had fallen apart and production had stopped completely.”
Wilton Regan said the shock cancellation of Perfect Dark was like nothing she had ever experienced in her career. “And I think now that I know it could happen, you're really scared that the same thing could happen again,” she admitted.
While losing the role of Joanna Dark was understandably devastating for Wilton Regan, the actress was able to turn her attention to other projects, most notably her role as Lara Croft in the upcoming film. Tomb Raider Gameswhat she called her “saving grace.” But there are clearly still scars from the cancellation of Perfect Dark, with Wilton Regan admitting she's “scared of losing Lara” like she lost Joanna.
“Here I played Joanna and here I played Lara, and it was wonderful and truly one of the most creatively exciting times of my life,” concluded Wilton Regan. “And I felt so relieved that I still had Lara, but I was also very afraid of losing Lara. I'm still afraid of losing Lara.” Let's all hope this doesn't happen.
Wilton Regan will take on the role of Lara Croft from Camilla Luddington, who played the Tomb Raider title character in the rebooted Revenant trilogy. Wilton Regan's first appearance as Lara will take place next year. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. She then reprise the role in 2027's Tomb Raider: Catalystwhich will take Lara to North India.
Last weekend, Luddington shared a farewell post with the character she embodied for 10 yearswriting, “The Survivor trilogy was a decade of adventure that I will never forget. I'm very proud of what we've created.”
For more from Wilton Regan, she recently spoke with our Ed about How AI is shaping the future of voice acting.
