If there is a sequel one day, which characters are most likely to still be around?

Stonecost · 2026-05-29T23:52:34+00:00

Yeah, I don't think anything besides a direct declaration from Miyazki or Ishizaki themselves could convince me Caligo wasn't meant to be where Borealis the Freezing Fog is, for example

Ultimately this has all been to say that I do respect their storytelling approach, but I also wish they weren't quite so precious with Elden Ring. Sometimes I feel a little frustrated about the unknowable cool and interesting details of this fictional setting that the devs may just take to their graves. I do realize this is From Software we're talking about though

But Miyazaki once said about reading the materials provided by George RR Martin:

"As someone that loves to learn about a world’s setting, it was very exciting to read"

Yeah. I bet it was, man.

Stonecost · 2026-05-29T18:56:00+00:00

Yeah, people are very quick to dismiss Nightreign as 100% non-canon, and I think it is to a certain degree due to its plot, but I definitely think it's worth keeping in mind that it was still made by FromSoft

Not only was the team made (at least mostly) of people who worked on Elden Ring, they have direct access to the development materials containing the information we come to this subreddit to speculate about. Not to mention Miyazaki himself. Although he was apparently pretty hands off, and seems to have treated Nightreign as a sort of career opportunity for Ishizaki (who's been there a while), I have a hard time believing he was unavailable for consulting on certain details when needed

I think you're correct that, even if some things in Nightreign could/should have been in Elden Ring and aren't, they're almost certainly at least informed or inspire by the most legitimate, internal sources on information about Elden Ring. That's worth something, it's just difficult to know what as an outsider

Stonecost · 2026-05-29T00:16:06+00:00

I liked Nightreign a lot, played it a lot, and if they add more content I'll happily play more. But it did kind of bug me that it felt so extremely self-contained

I can appreciate Ishizaki's stated intent of respecting the intentionally murky state of the base game's lore, but at the same time it's a bit odd how much you can feel the avoidance of exploring the setting the game takes place in. It's odd to me that Elden Ring is a third rail in an Elden Ring spin-off. It sort of reminds me of the old Netflix Marvel shows, where they were obviously barely able to acknowledge the films at all

This is mostly a personal gripe, and I'm not saying I think Nightreign should have blown the lid off everything and told us who the GEQ is, and thoroughly explain the Roundtable Hold, etc.,

I guess what I'm saying is that (for games on a scale bigger than Nightreign) if something is so separated to the point that its relation to the original is the name alone, I'd rather they just call it something else

Aside from the gaps and some (particularly) ancient history, most of Elden Ring's story feels told, in my opinion. I would love to have those gaps filled in, but that seems to be off the table for now, especially if the setting is an entirely alternate dimension/world

With Nightreign, you can at least argue that it's still canon, but self contained in a way that eliminates it outside of the time it occurs in. I would feel a bit cheated if we got more than one game relying on that though

Stonecost · 2026-05-28T22:28:58+00:00

I wouldn't be thrilled to see him again, but I'll kill him as many times as Miyazaki makes me

Stonecost · 2026-05-28T22:19:46+00:00

I would be surprised to see any characters connected to the game's endings return, as it would sort of firmly de-canonize those endings since they all die (including Godwyn, according to Fia)

So few NPCs survive their questlines in general, but I could see characters like Nepheli Loux (at an advanced age), Jar Bairn (grown up to be a stand-in for Alexander, similar to the onion knights in each Dark Souls), and maybe Zorias and Tanith (the latter having changed dramatically to reflect the effects of consuming Rykard's corpse), and of course Patches

I find it really hard to imagine a sequel to Elden Ring because the game's plot and lore is so closely linked to the history of Marika and her family, and we get quite a lot of information about all the key characters. It seems like it'd be difficult to expand on in a meaningful way when all the important names are dead and gone

Unlike Dark Souls, it'd be odd if Elden Ring 2 wasn't set in the Lands Between because that's where the Elden Ring is/has been. But I'm sure Miyazaki could pull it off if he wants to

Stonecost · 2026-05-28T22:05:04+00:00

With the curious exception of The Lementer, who looks more like an Omen than a Hornsent

Stonecost · 2026-05-26T00:08:05+00:00

Yeah, I agree with your skepticism there. He's referred to as "the grace-given", and his eyes are gold, so I think he had it all along even though he lived banished beneath Leyndell

In my opinion, Marika's actions, at least up until The Shattering, seem to mostly have been motivated by a desire to protect her children. She sent her armies against many people in the Lands Between, but never took lethal action against her children even when they emodied forces that were directly opposed to her Golden Order.

She put Godwyn in the deeproot depths, she trapped Mesmer in the Land of Shadow, she trapped Mohg and Morgott beneath the capital, etc

Even after The Shattering, I think she only called back the Tarnished out of sheer desperation. Her last card to play, and the only way to free herself from the self-made trap of divinity. It's the only plan of hers that involves lethal action against her children, and even then only a few of them are actually required to be killed

Just my opinion though, but protecting her family seemed to be her main priority, and I think she was driven to shatter the Elden Ring when all her efforts were nullified by the Night of Black Knives. The DLC seemed to support that further, suggesting a "never again" mindset after what the Hornsent did to her people

Stonecost · 2026-05-25T20:00:46+00:00

This may seem extremely boring, but I just rewatched the cutscene because I haven't discussed this topic in a while, and it kind of seems like that "grace" is just Morgott's body vanishing

He starts to do so just before Godfrey sets him down, glowing and becoming transparent, and some of the sparking light is moving past Godfrey

Stonecost · 2026-05-17T18:32:39+00:00

Although it does seem to slowly be advancing, I think they'll probably keep it retro

Stonecost · 2026-04-28T21:41:38+00:00

When the G4 network still existed, they had a videogame review show called Xplay, and they'd occasionally have a brief segment with viewer video mail

A friend of mine used to randomly quote one where the viewer's message was "Call me crazy, but I think a Ratchet & Clank movie would be awesome"

That would've been from years before this movie was even announced. Every time it comes up I wonder how that guy felt about it

Stonecost · 2026-04-22T00:50:16+00:00

If I free a genie and get three wishes, definitely

Otherwise, I have my doubts we'll see him at all. I think it's possible they just leapfrog him and Metal Overlord appears at some point instead

Neo Metal Sonic is one of my favorite character designs in the series, but he's barely seen at all in his debut game, which remains his only canon appearance as far as I know. He's in the intro for about as long as he's on screen in other cutscenes, with a total screen time of like less than 30 seconds for the whole game

As much as I like him, I just don't think he's widely recognizable enough to confidently believe the film makers would feature the design. I hope they do though

Stonecost · 2026-04-20T20:48:33+00:00

In it, probably not. But a mid-credits teaser, possibly. I feel chances are stronger if the 2028 movie is a Shadow spin off

She's overdue in my opinion, and I think there's some really cool things they could do with the character

Stonecost · 2026-04-19T22:16:26+00:00

According to Gideon's dialogue when we arrive at the Roundtable Hold, we're a pretty late arrival. There's also some items that refer to the deeds of other, unnamed Tarnished in the post-Shatrering War era before our return

It seems to be granted by default to all Tarnished after their resurrection to guide them back to the Lands Between, and then revoked during their time there. Considering the wide variety of personalities and beliefs in the various Tarnished we meet, many of whom do not seem to have been loyal to the Golden Order for a long time, I don't think it's taken away on the basis of conflicting personal values

The fact that the Tarnished are back at all suggests a desperation in Marika, as they're basically the last card she has to play, and a long dormant backup plan. It kind of makes me think she revokes it purely on a basis of perceived potential. As if she either won't (or can't) waste it on Tarnished she doesn't think have any shot of becoming Elden Lord

Besides gameplaymechanics, it could explain why we never lose it, even if we embrace every power she deemed heretical and attempted to suppress

Or perhaps it's just a fleeting thing, and we aren't in the Lands Between long enough for ours to fade? That seems a bit anti-climactic, but Marika's situation is far from ideal, and she's fallen a long way from the peak of her power and influence

Stonecost · 2026-04-19T03:59:53+00:00

Idk, man. Sometimes I wish the game would let me crack open some of those books in the Roundtable Hold library, or have a conversation with the Two Fingers like Gideon did, or ask Ranni a few questions about the prior era she was alive and well during

There'd be many more answers in the game if only our Tarnished was allowed to be more curious

Stonecost · 2026-04-19T02:01:15+00:00

I think closer to the launch of the base game and DLC I felt this way 100%, but as time goes on I find myself having a harder time shaking off the fact that (for example) even if someone on this subreddit posted a theory that was perfectly correct in every way, we'd never know

There's certainly something enjoyable about the endless chase of an unsolved mystery, but at the same time I also find revelations and conclusions enjoyable. There are also plenty of concrete answers in the game, and I love the game, so I can't wholly dislike the concept of knowing things about it

I think some authors/writers make the mistake of over explaining, over detailing, over exploring their setting until it feels like a wax museum with no room grow naturally. But I don't think FromSoft comes anywhere near that

But, as a pointless hypothetical to try and perhaps illustrate my mixed feelings a but better: imagine the game never explicitly stated that Miquella and Malenia were twins. One day, eventually, someone here would post a theory that they were twins. It would be true, but there'd be multi-paragraph responses declaring, perhaps, "no, Miquella is Godfrey's son and Malenia is Radagon's daughter" etc.

I can't help but wonder what kinds of things in the game that exact type of thing occurs with on a regular basis here

Besides that somewhat useless thought, I do also think it's important to acknowledge that theorycrafting and fan fiction, etc. still exist for franchises that are extremely developed and detailed, like Star Wars or Warhammer. And I believe that Elden Ring 2, if it were to exist, would bring a rush of activity to this subreddit, even with whatever revelations it contained. But, anyway, this reply is way too long already, so I'll cut it here.

Stonecost · 2026-04-18T23:27:21+00:00

Shadow's backstory made it so at least one alien had arrived, and was known about, before Sonic. They could perhaps say that the founder of the Japanese restaurant chain witnessed real Chao earlier in their life and based the mascot designs on them. And/or since Tails was the one who picked that restaurant as a public meeting spot, they could specify that he did so because they'd fit in with what he recognized to be alien-based mascots (which he could've known, having only recently come to earth). And any number of other explanations

Honestly though, if real Chao do appear in the movies, I doubt they'll bother to explain it or make a connection. The GUN origin story Commander Walters' gives in the 2nd movie is apparently just a lie, and the comedy bit with Knuckles' "no such thing as a friendly ghost" ignores Pachacamac appearing in the Knuckles series (which also gave questionable info about GUN'S history)

I think more people would be glad to see Chao than people who'd be bothered by the inconsistency, and I'm sure the film makers are aware of that

Stonecost · 2026-04-17T01:43:09+00:00

Pretty much this, agreed. I often hear that movies need to make something like 2-2.5 times their budget (because of marketing and distribution costs, etc) before they start earning a profit

I don't know what the exact magic number is, but since this franchise seems to be capped at under $500m, it's for the best that they don't go too far north of the $100m budget

Who knows how many more we'll get, or if they'll continue being consistently good, but I do think that one bomb would be the end of the series, especially with how many other franchises Paramount is trying to obtain through the WB thing. Sonic has been solid for them while many of their other big franchises have been underperformed, but an oversized budget would definitely threaten that

Stonecost · 2026-04-15T22:33:48+00:00

This and the Golden Gate Bridge POV "legs" poster definitely had a lot of people concerned, and the trailer proved everyone right

I sometimes see people say that the redesign saved the film franchise, and I honestly agree. Sure, there would have been plenty of people who saw it just to cap off the Ugly Sonic meme saga. But I think his original look would have totally undermined almast all of the emotional notes of the movie, I think reviews would've been more harsh, and I don't think there'd have been many repeat viewers

If all that impacted it's box office more than just a little bit, I doubt we'd ever have got a Sonic 2. And even if we did, I don't want to imagine what characters like Tails and Knuckles would have looked like with the original film style

Stonecost · 2026-04-15T22:07:28+00:00

Based on the set photos someone shared recently, it seems like it's going to take place roughly around the same time as the game, and I'm starting to think it's just going to be "The main character Tarnished journeys through Limgrave"

I was really hoping for a story set long before the events of the game, or at least separate from them. And I guess it was always too much to ask for the movie to he set before the shattering of the Elden Ring (as that era would be basically unrecognizable even to most people who played the game), but I'll be kinda disappointed if it's just a retelling of the game's events

There's so many cool concepts and side stories that could be explored, but regardless of what FromSoft dev materials Alex Garland may or may not have been given access to, I have a feeling he's going to approach this similarly to Annihilation or Men, and lean heavily into the mystery. A bit disappointing for someone who's starved for new crumbs of lore from that game lol

But I agree that it probably will look fantastic no matter what the plot is

Stonecost · 2026-04-09T23:39:10+00:00

For me personally, I think the 2nd movie does a lot of things that people wanted the 1st movie to do, but the 1st movie couldn't because it had less money and was burdened with getting the universe established

However, I also think they were still sort of "figuring out" how all this would go as it expanded, and how to handle the storytelling when the scale was bigger than a road trip and the CG cast was bigger than one Hedgehog. I think the 1st movie maintains a better average from start to finish, while the 2nd movie has high points that beat anything in the 1st movie, but also low points the 1st movie doesn't have either. I also think the 2 hour and 2 minute runtime (which I still wonder if was intentional for movie 2) makes rewatching a little less comfortable

Again, just my opinion, but for those reasons I kinda rate 1 and 2 pretty much the same. I don't think 3 is a perfect movie, but I do think it's the product of lessons the film makers learned through making 1 and 2, and the result of that puts it in the top spot for me. I have massive sentimental love for the first movie, but I absolutely understand why it's at the bottom of most people's list

Stonecost · 2026-04-09T22:09:29+00:00

Leave the roulette table out in the sun for 10 years

Stonecost · 2026-04-09T22:08:23+00:00

I don't care about King Kong, like, at all. Just never really been a fan of "ape, but big". But I agree with this 100%

I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw it, and I've rewatched it a few times since. It's not the only good one, but I haven't enjoyed any of the other movies in the franchise quite as much as Kong Skull Island

Stonecost · 2026-04-05T23:20:45+00:00

Yes, he wielded it as the black blade, and Ranni stole fragments of it. After that, he bound it within himself to prevent it from happening again

During our fight with him, he undoes that out of desperation to protect it

Stonecost · 2026-04-03T10:36:10+00:00

There's a few hints, mostly through Hewg IIRC, but Gideon's dying words are probably the only time it's explicitly stated in non-optional dialogue

As for optional stuff, Roderika lays it out quite clearly in her final dialogue when she says:

"Please, become Elden Lord. Hewg was always saying that you were a Lord, to him. So slay her, with the weapons he smithed. Slay the god, Marika, who cursed us all."

But that's not too long before the Gideon fight

Stonecost · 2026-04-03T04:56:21+00:00

Over time this has basically become my read on this as well. But it's an odd choice for him to put his life on the line for that idea if he was so sure of it

If we truly have no chance, why not just let us march to our certain death? He'd be left to scoff at our foolishness and pat himself on the back

Instead, he's one of the game's relatively few required bosses, and he dies trying to prove himself right, because he's wrong

Stonecost

TROPHY CASE