Far Cry 3 transformed the franchise, with Michael Mando’s performance as the antagonist Vaas making the games known for their strong villainous performances and character-driven stories. Far Cry 6 is looking to continue that trend with Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian's Giancarlo Esposito taking up the role of Anton Castillo, the president the fictional Caribbean nation of Yara.
This sets up the perfect opportunity for Far Cry 6 to have a Far Cry 3 Easter egg that connects the largely disparate stories of the games, as well as providing an explanation for one mystery carried over from the third game in Ubisoft’s famous first-person shooter franchise.
The Return of Vaas
Far Cry 3 is set in the Rook Islands, roughly based on Indonesia. Vaas was born there in 1985 as part of the native Rakyat people seen in the third game. One mystery that was never fully explained in Far Cry 3, however, was why Vaas had such a different accent to his supposed sister Citra. While Citra has the same accent as the other native Rakyat, Vaas’ Latin American accent seemed to imply a chapter of his life which players never saw, where he left his island home and returned some time before the plot of Far Cry 3.
With Far Cry 6 set in a fictional Latin American island, a younger Vaas could easily make an appearance as an Easter egg in the game, helping to explain the exact nature of his origins and perhaps even why Citra has a different accent and last name from her brother. Even if Far Cry 6 uses this Easter egg to imply that Citra and Vaas were never brother and sister to begin with, it could be used to help explain what could otherwise appear to be a minor plot hole in Far Cry 3.
Vaas And The Castillo Family
Some fans of the Far Cry franchise have speculated that Diego, Anton Castillo’s young son who he is grooming to take over the presidency, could grow up to be Vaas. However, given the evidence this doesn’t make much sense. For a start, it has been confirmed that Vaas was born in the ‘80s, and the headphones Diego is using to listen to music at the start of Far Cry 6’s cinematic trailer appear to be modern.
Not only that, but with Diego the son of a dictator who has been in power for years – Anton witnessed the death of his own father in a revolution – Ubisoft likely has far greater plans for Diego Castillo than merely revealing the character to be the villain of a different game. This could leave Diego's story feeling incomplete at the end of Far Cry 6. In fact, knowing that Vaas once had the potential to rule a country before being killed by Jason in Far Cry 3 could even risk undermining the plot of one of the franchise’s best installments.
However, Yara as a setting is an opportunity for a Vaas Easter egg that shows what he was like before his collapse into drug-driven insanity, which could add an extra tragic flare to the third game without undermining its plot. Many fans will be happy to see Michael Mando return to the role if the character is included in the next game, and it would be a great opportunity for a shooter series with such a focus on its central villains to pay homage to the character and performance that made it all possible.
Far Cry 6 is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.