One of the most unexpected announcements at the Xbox Games Showcase was the reveal of a crossover between Rare’s Sea of Thieves and the Monkey Island series of adventure games. While many viewers were surprised to see the two seafaring franchises coming together for the new campaign content, none were likely as surprised as Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert, who apparently had no idea about the impending Sea of Thieves and Monkey Island crossover.
LucasArts' acclaimed Monkey Island series of adventure games debuted in 1990 with the release of The Secret of Monkey Island on PC. Designed by Maniac Mansion creator Ron Gilbert, the hilarious point-and-click adventure game became a hit with players and spawned a series of sequels over the following years. Returning to the franchise in 2022 for the first time since leaving LucasArts 30 years earlier, Gilbert headed up the production of developer Terrible Toybox’s generally well-received Return of Monkey Island. Following Return to Monkey Island’s release, it was rumored that the classic Lucasfilm adventure game Maniac Mansion could be next in line for a sequel.
As pointed out by retro gaming site Time Extension, a new post on a game development Mastodon server reveals that news of Sea of Thieves’ upcoming The Legend of Monkey Island crossover came as a surprise to Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert. Responding to a post from a Mastodon user who expressed excitement about the nautical mashup and inquired whether the Monkey Island creator was involved in the soon-to-be-released crossover, Gilbert replied “Nope. Wasn’t even told about it. Happened behind my back.” The fact that Gilbert doesn’t have ownership over the rights to Monkey Island means that Lucasfilm doesn’t need his consent for the crossover, but it's still surprising to see the creator of the iconic franchise being left in the dark about the project’s existence.
Mastodon users responding to Gilbert not being told about The Legend of Monkey Island coming to Sea of Thieves expressed a mixture of surprise and disappointment, with one user posting “Wow…so you found out today like the rest of us?” Another reply shared their sadness at the news but noted that they weren’t surprised since the crossover campaign takes place in a different timeline than 2022’s Return to Monkey Island. Set to release on July 20, the crossover sees players helping a now run-down and washed-up Governor Guybrush Threepwood thwart a plan by the villainous undead pirate, LeChuck.
While Lucasfilm was under no obligation to seek Ron Gilbert’s approval or involvement for the Sea of Thieves and Monkey Island crossover, it’s disappointing to see the iconic designer being left out of the loop. With the next 5 years of Sea of Thieves content already in the works, hopefully no other creators find themselves facing a similar surprise anytime soon.
Sea of Thieves is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Time Extension