Did we just see John Marston in the Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer?

By Marshall Lemon

The new Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer highlights Dutch, and other characters from the original game as well.

Despite the numbering, Red Dead Redemption 2 is actually a prequel to Rockstar’s last Western-inspired video game. As such, it focuses on the adventures of Arthur Morgan, a previously unknown member of the Van der Linde’s gang during its heyday in the late 19th Century. And while the new trailer doesn’t give many story points away, there are certainly references to characters we last saw in Red Dead Redemption 1.

The first and most obvious reference is to Dutch van der Linde, leader of the gang and one of John Marston’s primary antagonists the last time around. Dutch appears just near the end of the trailer, looking slightly more dapper than we remember, as Morgan promises that he always has his back. Since Morgan is Red Dead Redemption 2’s “hero”, you’ll likely be responsible for keeping the gang alive just long enough for Marston to hunt everyone down a decade or two later. (Dutch is also likely to be the masked bandit at the 0:58 mark, given how much the voice-over lines up with his past views on civilized society.)

Other potential character references blaze by at lightning speed, and while none have been confirmed by Rockstar Reddit users are already on the speculation machine. For example, John Marston’s wife Abgail was also a member of Dutch’s gang. Could that be her gracefully wielding a knife into some fool’s hand at 1:03? If there’s a scene where her hair changes colour, it’s a strong possibility.

Another section worth inspecting arrives at 1:14, as a building burns in the background. Morgan leads the characters towards the camera in the foreground, while someone a strong likeness of Bill Williamson stands to the left. Someone else stands to Morgan’s right with an obscured face, but a rather familiar stride… could this be Mr. John Marston himself?

Part of the problem here is that Rockstar is playing cards incredibly close to its chest, preferring the internet to hype itself up with anticipation. (And it’s working.) You can certainly expect things to become somewhat clearer before the game launches for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2018.