While Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is a highly anticipated game due to the strength of the original title, little has been said about Ninja Theory's follow-up as of late. However, actress Melina Juergens has changed this narrative, teasing fans with a special post that shows her in the same makeup worn by her character during the Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 reveal trailer.
The post is captioned “for every battle won, a greater battle takes its place.” Considering that the development team for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is twice the size of the group that made the original Hellblade title, this could certainly be taken literally. Based on everything said about the project thus far, the sequel seems to be a far larger game than its predecessor, making Juergens’ comments about “a greater battle” seem fitting.
As for the makeup itself, the face paint is applied perfectly to the actress' face and neck, making her appear just as Senua does in-game. While Ninja Theory previously released a Snapchat filter that allowed players to don the look of the tortured Hellblade protagonist, it is hard to top the real deal. While it is certainly a lot of fun to see Juergens wearing the Senua makeup due to how incredible her performance was in the original game, the photo could be indicative of something more.
In the original Hellblade game, cutscenes were a mix between in-game animations and live-action recordings, with the two spliced together to create an interesting representation of Senua’s voices. With the game’s accurate and powerful representation of mental illness being a major source of praise for the original, it seems unlikely that this aspect of the character will be left behind in Senua’s Saga. As such, these live-action scenes may appear in the sequel again, and Juergens may be gearing up to film one of them.
A pivotal moment in the story of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is when the titular protagonist meets a twisted version of herself. One of the more negative voices heard by Senua in her journey, the cruel representation of Senua’s emotions is seemingly overcome by the game’s complex main character. However, a return of this darker Senua is possible in the sequel, and the game could see her appearing in live-action cutscenes as she talks to the real version of the character — explaining Juergens’ makeup teaser.
At the same time, the makeup could just be a fun cosplay or a nod to the game making progress in its development cycle. Regardless, seeing the talented actress in Senua’s makeup is an exciting reminder that more Hellblade is on the way, and hopefully, players are exploring Hellblade's Iceland setting sooner rather than later.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is in development for PC and Xbox Series X.