Dragon Age creator reveals that one of the RPG series' most iconic characters was originally cast thanks to a rendition of Baby Got Back
David Gaider, the legendary narrative designer and writer behind the first three Dragon Age games, has revealed how Claudia Black became the voice of Morrigan - and it's probably not how you think she got the role.
Speaking in a new thread online following BioWare's release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Gaider looks back at the iconic series' history and its beloved characters. When developers were envisioning Morrigan, the shapeshifting Witch of the Wilds, Gaider says she started "as a bit of Morgan le Fey (hence the Dark Ritual) mixed with Delirium from Sandman." This idea of her eventually morphed into one "more cynical, wanting to connect but unable to."
Before Black joined the voice cast as Morrigan, devs "were looking for a Middle Eastern actress to play her, as Shoreh Aghdashloo was slated to play Flemeth, and we wanted a similar-sounding voice - but it was a real struggle, and then Shoreh unfortunately had to drop out to do a movie. " At that point, the team "suddenly" had "nobody for either character!" That's when Black enters the picture with what might just be the best audio tape to ever exist.
"Then, one day, Caroline (our VO Director) comes in with a recording sent by a rep for Claudia Black - who hadn't done game VO back then but wanted to get into it," continues Gaider. "And it was Claudia doing a slow *beat poet* rendition of Baby Got Back. I kid you not. I was already a fan, so I lost my goddamn mind." Yes, that Baby Got Back - and Gaider still has the original recording, too - but no, "you cannot have it" yourself.
David Gaider did some sharing about the origins of Morrigan over on
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