Legendary Japanese game developer and founder of Grasshopper Manufacture, Goichi "Suda51" Suda, has been involved with the creation and direction of many violent and action-heavy video games (and their main characters). From the hyper-sexualized chainsaw-wielding Juliet in Lollipop Chainsaw to the joke-cracking katana-wielding assassin Travis Touchdown in No More Heroes, Suda knows how to make an interesting character and even more interesting (but sometimes divisive) video games.

The Best War Games attended PAX East 2024 in Boston and chatted with Suda51 on a variety of topics, ranging from his feelings on a Shadows of the Damned sequel and his use of mature themes to who he would want to see play a live-action version of Travis Touchdown. Turns out that Suda has two picks in mind for the actor to take a shot at the role, and one of them had a starring role in the 2023 live-action Barbie flick -- and no, it's not Michael Cera.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

No More Heroes 3 and Killer7
7 Hardest Suda51 Games, Ranked

Suda51 is known for taking bold risks with his games, but this has also made some of them brutally difficult to complete.

By 

Live Action No More Heroes Movie

Travis Touchdown with returning characters from previous No More Heroes games

When talking with Suda51, we asked him if he sees himself making things other than video games and if he would like to see one of his games turned into a movie, TV series, anime, manga, or other types of content. No More Heroes has always been a top contender for a film from the fans, and it seems that Suda has actually gotten many offers and has had conversations with other people about turning it into a movie --it's just something that hasn't worked out yet, but he mentions it would be something he's willing to try one day.

The Best War Games also asked who Suda51 would want to see play Travis Touchdown in a live-action movie, and the two picks that he mentioned were Ryan Gosling and Johnny Knoxville.

Johnny Knoxville and Ryan Gosling for Travis Touchdown

Interviews in the past with Suda51 have mentioned the appeal of wanting Ryan Gosling in the pivotal role, but he hasn't talked recently about wanting Knoxville for the role. However, it is worth noting that Suda51 has said in the past that Travis' character design was actually inspired by the Jackass member, but it seems that this might be the first time he's mentioned Knoxville playing the part.

Suda said the two actors are getting up there in years, especially Johnny, but he thinks they would make a good fit. With Gosling's breakout role in Barbie as Ken last year, his fame is at an all-time high. If he were to get picked up as Travis in a movie, it would no doubt bring in many people who have no idea what No More Heroes is, giving the IP a nice push. Of course, Knoxville could still play Travis, too, but if the movie makers want the role to be age-appropriate, they'll need an actor who can pass for a mid-20s or early 30s man.

A full transcript of The Best War Games's interview with Goichi Suda will be published shortly! We'll be sure to link the article here.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
No More Heroes Tag Page Cover Art
No More Heroes
Display card tags widget Display card system widget
Display card community and brand rating widget
Display card open critics widget Display card main info widget
Released
January 22, 2008
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Publisher(s)
Marvelous, Ubisoft, Rising Star Games, XSEED Games
Franchise
No More Heroes
Platform(s)
Wii, Switch, Amazon Luna, PC
Genre(s)
Action