Nathalie Emmanuel is the latest star to join the voice cast of the immersive animated series “Ghosts of Ruin.”
The announcement that the “Game of Thrones” and “Fast and Furious” franchise costar would bring her voice talents to the new series was made during the “Ghosts of Ruin” Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday.
“Literally, I’m emailing the agents right now in this panel,” executive producer Michael Ramey quipped, underscoring just how “real time” the news had developed. (In an interview following the panel, Ramey and fellow EP Katie Stippec told Variety that they were backstage hitting “refresh, refresh, refresh.”)
In May, Variety exclusively announced that Rosario Dawson and Tony Revolori had joined the cast of the animated series, which follows a group of gamers as they compete in the first-ever neural reality battle royale game, named “Ruin.” However, a malicious virus appears and transforms their utopia into hell.
Emmanuel will voice Dr. Angela Tucci, who Stippec teases is “a very monumental, pivotal character in the run of the show.”
“I’ve wanted her on the show from the very beginning, because I’m a big fan of hers,” said showrunner Michael Ryan. “She’s amazing. And I think the part she’s playing is so perfect. I can’t wait to record her.”
Ryan also offered a little more detail on who Emmanuel will voice. “She’s pretty much running the neural reality,” he teased. “Everything I’ve watched Nathalie in, her acting is so strong and her sense of presence and strength really comes through and I really think that’s going to be perfect.
Also starring in the show are K-Pop star AleXa, Karen Strassman, and John Bentley — all of whom were present on the Hall H panel — as well as Josh Keaton, Justin Long, Cherise Boothe, Harron Atkins, Michael Longfellow and JB Blanc.
The Hall H panel meant creator and executive producer P. J. Accetterro’s first trip to San Diego Comic-Con was especially memorable, especially the experience of announcing Emmanuel’s addition live from the stage.
“Nathalie’s amazing. I can’t believe how good our cast is. It’s stacked,” Accetterro said. “Not only the talent but what they bring to the table and the characters because they have elevated all their takes to the next level.
Moderated by Coy Jandreau, the conversation also featured Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers Music’s Giovoni Rios, Hendric Beunk and Russell Emanuel and mirrored the project’s community-focused interactive nature, with attendees getting a chance to weigh in on what dialogue Dawson’s Prism — described as a standoffish pro gamer with one goal: to be the world’s undisputed champion — will deliver in an upcoming episode. Attendees watched three versions of her character’s quippy dialogue and overwhelmingly voted for option C, which landed the biggest burn against her ex-lover.
“Ghosts of Ruin” will debut this fall via the Gala Film website, the film and TV division of Web3 company Gala. Though no streaming service is attached to the project yet, Battle Island plans to shop the project to other platforms for a wider release.
