Sean Bean is among will portray the first Elusive Target for the forthcoming Hitman 2 video game. The Elusive Target system is a concept that was first introduced in the well-received previous 2016 Hitman game. Missions to take down these “Elusive Targets” are provided to players free of charge and for a limited amount of time, generally ranging from 48 hours to a full week.
If the player fails to kill the Elusive Target, the mission will not be replayable, raising the stakes even further. Upon success of Elusive Target missions, players will be rewarded with unique cosmetics for Agent 47. And now, leading up to Hitman 2’s release, Warner Bros. Interactive is revealing key information regarding players’ first target.
Related: Hitman 2 Trailer Makes Anything A Deadly Weapon
This first Elusive Target mission for Hitman 2 is titled “The Undying,” with Sean Bean’s Mark Faba character said to have “expert surveillance, infiltration and demolition skills” that will make him a worthy opponent for players. This mission will have Agent 47 attempt to stop Faba in Miami from utilizing his skillset during a Global Innovation Race event. “The Undying” will be playable starting November 20, one week after the game launches, and will be available for 10 days afterward. The live-action trailer, starring Bean, has the actor as Faba during a therapy session, during which he describes his ability to create essentially anything around him into a murder weapon.
The trailer is a bit hammy, but in a way where it appears as though Bean is enjoying the role, chewing the scenery in what is just a short advertisement for a video game. It fits in overall with the tone established by the 2016 Hitman game, which was, at times, tongue-in-cheek and almost borderline absurd. With Bean having a large fan base built from his long filmography of genre movies and shows, his appearance in Hitman 2 is far from off-brand. More amusing, however, is the fact that Bean, an actor also known for being killed off in many of his appearances, is the target meant to be killed by the player.
Bean isn’t the first celebrity to appear as an Elusive Target in the Hitman series, though – Gary Busey had the honor of being a target in the 2016 Hitman game, with a mission premise that also involved actor Gary Cole. To make matters even more bizarre, Busey and Cole portrayed themselves rather than fictional characters. While these celebrity appearances may have been out of place earlier in the franchise’s history, the self-aware, over-the-top tone that developer IO Interactive has cultivated allows for fun promotions such as Bean’s appearance in Hitman 2. At the very least, this first Elusive Target may be the beginning of more amusing appearances and cameos to come.
