David Gaider, the legendary narrative designer and writer behind the first three Dragon Age games, has revealed how Claudia Black became the voice of Morrigan - and it's probably not how you think she got the role.
Speaking in a new thread online following BioWare's release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Gaider looks back at the iconic series' history and its beloved characters. When developers were envisioning Morrigan, the shapeshifting Witch of the Wilds, Gaider says she started "as a bit of Morgan le Fey (hence the Dark Ritual) mixed with Delirium from Sandman." This idea of her eventually morphed into one "more cynical, wanting to connect but unable to."
Before Black joined the voice cast as Morrigan, devs "were looking for a Middle Eastern actress to play her, as Shoreh Aghdashloo was slated to play Flemeth, and we wanted a similar-sounding voice - but it was a real struggle, and then Shoreh unfortunately had to drop out to do a movie. " At that point, the team "suddenly" had "nobody for either character!" That's when Black enters the picture with what might just be the best audio tape to ever exist.
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"Then, one day, Caroline (our VO Director) comes in with a recording sent by a rep for Claudia Black - who hadn't done game VO back then but wanted to get into it," continues Gaider. "And it was Claudia doing a slow *beat poet* rendition of Baby Got Back. I kid you not. I was already a fan, so I lost my goddamn mind." Yes, that Baby Got Back - and Gaider still has the original recording, too - but no, "you cannot have it" yourself.
David Gaider did some sharing about the origins of Morrigan over on 🦋 pic.twitter.com/vixr7aqyjRNovember 20, 2024
"Naturally, we jumped on that immediately," admits the writer, despite facing some initial "resistance from higher up." Gaider didn't mind that she "sounds like she smokes three packs a day" - in fact, he said it's "what I like about her!" Once the team allowed Black to work her own magic and act as she would naturally, all felt right. "We loved her performance so much we had the feeling that the team would love it too and forget their nonsense. They did."
Gaider then shares his favorite memory of Black, when he first met her and unintentionally compared her to Helena Bonham Carter. According to the Dragon Age mastermind, she would joke about being "a very cheap version of Helena Bonham Carter" after his comment and laugh. "So Wicked. I love her instantly and forever." In the end, Gaider says "Morrigan became a real touchstone for me, the heart of DAO. Way beyond her initial inspirations."
This is certainly not the origin story I was expecting as a longtime fan myself, but it's safe to say I absolutely love it. Black recently returned to voice Morrigan once more in the series' long-awaited fourth game, a title that as our The Veilguard review describes is one of this year's new games that fans won't want to miss. While she isn't a companion as she was in Origins, it's almost impossible to not fall in love with the shapeshifter immediately.
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