Clair Obscur is coming to the big screen, and its former star is addressing his potential return.
Released in April 2025, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a role-playing-based video game developed by Sandfall Interactive. The game’s story features a group of disparate adventurers who seek to destroy the Paintress, who is causing mass deaths at an annual event. The successful video game is now being adapted into a film.
In an interview with Radio Times Gaming, voice actor Charlie Cox addresses whether he will appear in the Clair Obscur movie. The actor said that he had “heard rumors” and would be interested in reprising his role. However, he “heard Glen Powell wants it” and thinks that Powell would be more likely cast. In a statement detailed below, Cox also weighed in on who should play the role:
I heard rumors, I didn’t know they were real. Yeah [I’d be interested to play Gustave], but I heard Glen Powell wants it, in which case I think the financiers might prefer Glen. Maybe I could have a smaller role. [Laughs] What are the small roles? I don’t know, I haven’t finished the game yet. Maybe I could be one of the townsfolk waving him goodbye as he leaves. Yeah, maybe I get Gommaged at the beginning. I’d be honored to be there. Here’s what I think should happen. They should cast Robert Pattinson as Gustave, because he looks like him, and then I should do the voice. And then we can recreate the exact Gustave from the game. I wonder how Rob would feel about me voicing him. [Chuckles] But we can cross that bridge when we get to it.
The Clair Obscur live-action movie was announced in early 2025. Notably, this announcement came before the original Clair Obscur game had even gotten its wide release, which came in April of that year. As such, the studio has already put a lot of faith in the game’s success.
While the movie’s success will be partially driven by game fans, who may be excited to see Cox play Gustave again, the general audience will make or break a video game adaptation at the box office. The Last of Us TV adaptation, for example, drew fans both in and outside the gaming world due to its cast and production value, while lower-profile casts in films like Until Dawn prove to be less of a draw.
Powell would certainly be an appealing option to studios, as the rising star has led to several successful films over the past few years. Since his breakout role in Top Gun: Maverick, Powell has boosted the success of movies like Anyone But You, a rom-com which made an impressive $220 million worldwide.
Cox presents some interesting alternate options to him leading Clair Obscur. For one, he could be in a cameo role in the film, even if he were to get killed off — “Gommaged” — pretty imminently. This would be a welcome homage to the game for fans, while still allowing the film to be fronted by a Hollywood A-lister.
The voice actor was joking in his suggestion that Robert Pattinson should be the face of Gustave while Cox voices him, but Pattinson could also be an interesting option to front Clair Obscur. His A24 film The Drama recently crossed an impressive $100 million worldwide threshold at the box office, showing that he can help boost an otherwise small film.
As it stands, the wait still continues for the announcement of the Clair Obscur film cast. The adaptation will find its Gustave eventually, but whether they play it safe and go with the A-list name or scale things back and pick the beloved voice actor remains to be seen.
Systems
9/10
Released
April 24, 2025
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Developer(s)
Sandfall Interactive
Publisher(s)
Kepler Interactive
Engine
Unreal Engine 5