By Jason Venter| 06-19-2012 | 5:00PM
If you recognize James Cosmo, that recognition likely stems from his appearance in Game of Thrones on HBO. He also appeared in Sons of Anarchy, and he has had roles in a variety of films including Troy and Braveheart. He’s an epic sort of guy, which is reason enough for him to appear in the new live-action trailer for the similarly epic Darksiders II video game.
In the trailer (watch it above), Cosmo assumes the role of a priest. He stands in a church, reading to the frightened congregation from a leathery tome. If he’s trying to comfort people, though, he might have chosen better subject matter. He says ominous things like “death awaits us all” (as a chandelier breaks free from the ceiling and falls to the floor with a crash) and asks who will be able to stand against the darkness. His voice rises as he continues to read. Tremors shake the building. Unseen forces hammer on its front door and the bar restraining the entrance shudders against the impact. Then, suddenly, a bloodied spear tip pierces the wall and the hammering stops.
The priest moves cautiously toward that door, emboldened by the apparent calm. He peers through the new opening and is greeted by a view of a warrior with a mask and two monstrous blades. The familiar warrior turns away from the beast he had slaughtered, just outside the monastery door, and toward a horde of gathering monsters. The trailer concludes.
If you’d like to see more than the brief teaser permits, THQ is happy to oblige. You can head to the game’s Facebook page, like it, and then watch a more extended cut that features around twice the content (mostly in the form of footage depicting more concerned glances among church parishioners).
Darksiders II will arrive for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in mid-August, with a Wii U version planned to debut alongside that system at launch. The previous game in the series definitely has a following, but it wasn’t a monstrous success for THQ. With the sequel, it looks like the troubled publisher is taking some steps that could lead to some much-needed commercial success.
