Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers have a lot in common. Now, a game based on the cult film is being released, and the star of the movie is on board as well. He has now announced his involvement in Helldivers 2.
When Helldivers 2 went through the roof, many eyes suddenly turned again to a cult film from the 90s: Starship Troopers.
The parallels between both worlds are clearly visible. In an exaggerated and satirical manner, it shows how an overly patriotic force takes on the battle against space insects (and in the case of Helldivers also with robots).
Thus, Helldivers 2 became a sort of “playable Starship Troopers”. However, in October, a separate game based on the film will be released: Starship Troopers: Extermination, which has recently been playable in Early Access. You can see the trailer for it here:
“Johnny Rico” returns for Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers: Extermination
In the film Starship Troopers, “Johnny Rico” was the protagonist, played by Casper Van Dien. In Starship Troopers: Extermination, the actor will reprise his role from back then and serve as the player’s commander. He guides players through a single-player campaign.
In an interview with the portal PC Gamer, Van Dien recently spoke about the game and also Helldivers 2. In the past, the actor had praised Helldivers 2, expressed his enjoyment of the references, and gave it a 10/10 rating, even though he had not played it himself (via PC Gamer). In the new interview, he also mentions that he thinks it’s cool to be asked about it repeatedly.
When asked if Helldivers 2 is taking the wind out of the sails of the new game, he clarifies: “Every time someone mentions Starship Troopers, it’s a huge excitement for me. I haven’t played Helldivers yet, but it looks cool. Then I saw Starship Troopers: Extermination and I would play that anyway, because that is my world,” says Van Dien.
The marketing chief of the new game, Gareth Woods, emphasized in the same interview that they see the success of Helldivers 2 as a “win-win situation” for both sides, and the love of players for the IP and shooting space bugs is clearly reflected in that. The new game could be an opportunity to provide another option here.
Van Dien emphasized that he would definitely welcome Helldivers 2 fans: “They can train as much as they want elsewhere, and then they come here and help us kill some damn bugs—Yeah!”.
When is the game coming out? Currently, Starship Troopers: Extermination is in Early Access and is available on Steam. Up to 16 players can fight against the bugs in co-op mode. The game is set to be released for PS5 and Xbox Series X | S on October 11, 2024. At that time, the game will also be fully released for PC. Recently, the head behind Helldivers 2 explained how things will progress.
