Every so often, a character comes along that stokes the flames of the internet’s affection. More often than not, these characters aren’t exactly what you’d expect, but nonetheless they become figureheads for thirst and fan edits – sometimes long before a game or film even releases.
This was certainly the case for the character ND-5, from Star Wars Outlaws. A sardonic and world-weary droid in a duster, ND-5’s attitude and aesthetic immediately captured attention. After all, he’s rough around the edges, has the shoulders for a coat and he’s canonically 6’2. This combination saw him quickly take centre stage when the game’s announcement went live – for good reason – but this attention wasn’t expected.
When GamesHub had the opportunity to chat with some of the Star Wars Outlaws team over a press trip in California recently, it was our moral obligation to ask – did they anticipate the “hot droid” phenomenon?
Jay Rincon, who voices the internet-proclaimed hunky character, is not on X/Twitter, and found out second-hand from narrative director Navid Khavari about the thundering thirst of the fandom.
“Anyone who tells you this was anticipated is lying,” laughed Khavari. “I feel very confident in saying that. I still remember, on announce, the tweets started to pop up and I texted [Rincon] like ‘Jay, get ready’.”
“He was like – ‘are you seeing what’s happening out there?'” said Rincon. “I looked and was like, ‘oh my goodness, what is happening?'” Within hours, the idea of the hot droid took off faster than Kay Vess’ speeder.
Leaning in to the ‘Aragorn factor’ for ND-5
There’s something about a slightly scuffed up aesthetic and world-weariness that just works, and it often tracks back to the way fandoms gravitate towards some of the most popular leading men in the sci-fi and fantasy zeitgeist.
Take a character, regardless of their base aesthetic. Layer them up with a slight sheen of grime from their travels, a coat or cloak, and a whole lot of swagger or confidence, and you’ve got yourself something that lands. At GamesHub, we affectionately refer to it as the ‘Aragorn factor’ in reference to the beloved Lord of the Rings hero.
ND-5’s appeal is perhaps not so surprising to some. He feels equal parts familiar and unknown, with notes in his performance that evoke a similar energy to fan-favourite grizzled characters like Garrus from Mass Effect, and even Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2. The combination of cowboy indifference, scoundrel swagger, and a cool jacket? It works incredibly well.
Read: Star Wars Outlaws interview: Freaks, found family, and A Fistful of Dollars
And so, the internet seems settled: ND-5 is officially a hot droid. For Rincon, while his performance was certainly not crafted intentionally to come across this way, he’s happy to take the compliment.
“The word sexy, or anything like that, it was never used,” he said. “The artwork was brilliant, I was blown away when I first saw it and obviously that helped lead and guide what we ultimately have come up with … But there’s nothing sexy about sitting in the skintight suit with all the markers on, and that crazy fishnet.”
The fishnet in question refers to a makeshift duster used in the mocap recordings to properly emulate the swish of movement in the space around ND-5 – and when it was pointed out that fishnets do tend to have a bit of a reputation, Rincon laughed.
“How did we not know?!” he said. “We’ll take it though, I mean, why not? We wanted a positive response, and if that’s the one that we’re getting, okay!”
Ubisoft provided flights and accommodation to GamesHub to preview Star Wars Outlaws and interview developers.
