Lucasfilm Games, Devolver Digital, and Terrible Toybox have revealed the next entry in the vaunted Monkey Island series: Return to Monkey Island. Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman, two of the original game’s creators, have reunited to develop this brand new sequel, along with series composers Michael Land, Peter McConnel, and Clint Bajakian, and veteran voice actor Dominic Armato as the intrepid Guybrush Threepwood.
The announcement came by way of a brief teaser trailer featuring a ghostly pirate captain sitting at the end of a dock and playing the violin while a member of her crew stacks boxes behind her. Once all the boxes are placed, Murray, a mischievous, disembodied skull, states “Ron Gilbert told me he’d never make another Monkey Island unless-” before being pushed off the dock by the captain.
Return to Monkey Island has secretly been in development for roughly the past two years, as both Gilbert and Grossman revealed on their Twitter pages. Gilbert has also stated that The Curse of Monkey Island (also known as Monkey Island 3) is still canon, raising the question of where in the overall story this new game will fit.
Gilbert had previously written in a blog post from 2013 that any new Monkey Island he’d make would “pick up where I left off,” but he’s since updated this post to reflect the announcement of Return to Monkey Island, writing: “Now that Return To Monkey Island has been announced it's important to note that a lot of my views (but not all) in this post have changed. Don’t take anything in here as more than a historical moment. Quoting anything in here as canon will just led [sic] to tears.”
The Monkey Island games are narrative-based adventures that follow the adventures of Guybrush Threepwood, a dashing, wannabe pirate on his quest to become the most famous buccaneer to ever sail the seas. Along the way, he runs afoul of the dastardly ghost pirate LeChuck, attempts to woo the lovely Governor Elaine Marley, and tries to uncover the mysteries surrounding the titular Monkey Island.
Return to Monkey Island is scheduled to release in 2022, though no platforms have been confirmed at the time of this writing. Let us know in the comments what you think of this announcement and if you’re excited about this long-awaited return to Monkey Island!
