If it hadn't leaked months beforehand followed-up with several leaks just before, Far Cry 6's reveal at Ubisoft Forward would have been something else. Seeing Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito handing his son a grenade, talking about the country of Yara, and more would have been a strong, shocking introduction to the game world. It still checked all the boxes, but fans have also scribbled more in.

With the game's leaks came rumors, and perhaps the biggest and most prominent right now is that Far Cry 6 is a prequel to Far Cry 3. The premise alone isn't completely out there, as Joseph Seed appears in both Far Cry 5 and Far Cry: New Dawn, and visually, it can be argued strongly. After all, no villain has quite ever lived up to Vaas Montenegro and bringing him back would guarantee sales, but it would also cause one problem if handled in this way.

RELATED: Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, and Watch Dogs Legion Overshadow Other Ubisoft Games

Diego and Vaas Share Some Similarities (And Fans Are Loving It)....

Anton and Diego in a car

First, it's worth looking at why some think Diego is a young Vaas. The first piece of evidence is that both Vaas and Diego feature a slight scar on their eyebrow, a small detail that Diego could have easily gone without. This, combined with Vaas voice actor Michael Mando teasing a reprised role of Vaas and Esposito's involvement (and his relationship with Mando in general), has led many to draw connections. It's easy to connect these dots, after all, and many would love to see Vaas return. However, Diego being Vaas means disconnecting the character from a lot of lore established in Far Cry 3.

Before diving into that, the actors alone are having some fan stoking the flames of these rumors, with Mando commenting on the Diego-Vaas rumor with a mind-blown emoji. Many have taken this as some sort of pseudo-confirmation, especially after Mando teased reprising the role, but here's the thing: assuming this is true for a moment, Mando is not actually confirmed as a voice actor for the game yet, nor is he Diego for obvious reasons.

Diego is played by Anthony Gonzalez, and the game seems focused on his relationship with antagonist Anton. Ergo, for Vaas to somehow return as Mando teased, this would be a significant time skip in Far Cry 6 that doesn't make a lot of sense. It would seemingly undermine the relationship established thus far and player agency in the game.

In our Far Cry 6 interview, we asked if players would influence Anton and Diego's relationship, trying to discover if there was more than one way for Diego to end up, and it could not be answered yet. As such, that's no means a confirmation, but it seems players may be able to influence Diego. Turning him into a "good guy" and against his dictator father wouldn't work if it's a prequel at all.

But It Would Require a Few Major Far Cry 3 Retcons

Far-Cry-3-Vaas-Pointing

Turning eyes away from Diego, which is mostly speculation, to Vaas provides more concrete evidence against these rumors. There's the inherent problem of getting a young Vaas wrong or showing too much of the character, thereby eliminating the allure. As another example, Yoda is a popular Star Wars character but diving too much into his character is something George Lucas always blocked, as it would explain too much. The Child (or Baby Yoda) and the other members of his race that have appeared in Star Wars lore have always been adjacent, but never directly connected nor too revealing. Showing too much of Vaas could do the very same, taking away from his mysterious insanity that so many players enjoy.

Nonetheless, there are legitimate issues as well. Vaas was born in 1985 in the Rook Islands. This sets up the first stretch: for Diego (who is 13) to be Vaas, this would mean Far Cry 6 takes place in roughly 1998. Far Cry 3 take place in 2012 (its year of release), and Vaas meets Volker sometime before then. Building from that would suggest, if Diego were Vaas, that Diego escaped, went to the Rook Islands, joined the Rakyat, left the Rakyat, and all of that in 14 years? It's not impossible—it does sound improbable,though—and that's ignoring the fact that Vaas was specifically born in the Rook Islands.

RELATED: Ubisoft Confirms New Ubisoft Forward For Later This Year

Yara, Far Cy 6's location, is an island based on Cuba. It's described as a location "frozen in time" and meant to give off a sort-of 80s vibe. However, it's likely much more modern than that, not to mention that placing it in the 80s wouldn't work for Vaas again. Time shenanigans aside, it would also mean that a dictator's son somehow escaped to the Rook Islands, alluding any government agency that would be looking for him, and somehow relegated joined the Rakyat. And that also ignores his sister, Citra. It's never established as a blood relationship, but it's not impossible either.

It is implied that she is the older sister, who was incredibly demanding of Vaas at a young age. "Young age" has some interpretations, but at the same time, Diego being 13 means that he would know she's not his actual sister. This is further complicated by the fact that Vaas's first kill was for Citra, but it seems Anton is pushing Diego to kill. It would be a strange thing to try to line up, and what that would mean is simple: For Diego to be Vaas, there would need to be unnecessary retcons that mess with the established character.

So What About Vaas?

Vaas

Obviously, the question now is: how, when, and if we could see Vaas again? Assuming Mando's comment on reprising the role isn't a joke and isn't just his volunteering if it could happen, there's a few things to consider. Vaas's body is not in the game and the building where players kill him cannot be explored; it is possible he is alive, somehow. With that in mind, every numbered entry is often followed by a spin-off.

Far Cry 3 was followed by Blood Dragon (a strange retro-futuristic action movie standalone), Far Cry 4 was followed by Primal (a prehistoric romp), and Far Cry 5 was followed by New Dawn (a post-apocalyptic adventure). Far Cry 6 will indubitably be followed by one as well, and if so, it's likely already in the works. In a spin-off, Vaas' return could easily be justified and not have a big bearing on his story or character. But that's if Ubisoft would want to bring him back, which would guarantee sales, but potentially mess with how players view the iconic character.

Far Cry 6 releases February 18, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

MORE: Far Cry 6's Father and Son Relationship Looks Amazing