The latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 trailer dropped a big reveal: renowned Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen will play the game’s villain, “The Archer.” Perhaps the most surprising part of the new story teaser is that despite landing this big name, he gets about two seconds of screen time.
The trailer focuses on the conflict between longtime soldiers Captain Price and Ghost (that guy with the cool skull mask). Price announces that he’s willing to do just about anything to defeat “the enemy,” including working with cartels and assassinating his foes. In response, Ghost’s group is assigned to take out Price, who has gone rogue. Meanwhile, a war wages between North and South Korea, which seems like a bigger deal than whatever these former special forces BFFs have going on, but apparently not.
For those who played the original versions of these games but are a bit lost, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (not to be confused with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) is the fourth entry in the rebooted Modern Warfare continuity. In this timeline, Ghost is more of a major character — as in, he isn’t just a Boba Fett type with a cool design who gets unceremoniously blasted.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will be released on Oct. 23. Infinity Ward and Xbox have been going all-out in promoting the game, having already run several open betas in August, including the series’ first beta with a single-player campaign mission. The push seems a reaction to Microsoft’s recent struggles: Xbox is in the ongoing process of laying off around 3,200 employees in what division head Asha Sharma has described as a “major reset.” Last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 underperformed both critically and financially, and was outsold by Battlefield 6.
What else has Mads Mikkelsen been in?
While cinephiles and Danish film enthusiasts know Mikkelsen for a wide range of roles, like Tommy in Pusher and Allan Fischer in Rejseholdet, he first gained worldwide recognition as the main antagonist in Casino Royale. Since then, he’s often been cast as villains, most notably as Hannibal in the TV series of the same name. As for video games, he played Cliff Unger, a major antagonist in the original Death Stranding. Hopefully Mikkelsen gets more screen time in Modern Warfare 4 than this latest trailer implies.