Thanks to improv for Helldivers 2's democracy-loving recruitment ad, Arrowhead has a "freestyle rap" kicking around that we may never see

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Helldivers 2's opening cinematic is iconic, and does an incredible job of setting up the third-person shooter's humorous satirical tone. In under two minutes, the in-universe recruitment ad tells you everything you need to know about the fight for sweet liberty and the camaraderie of Super Earth citizens, complete with dramatics that are so bad they're good.

However, while the final cut might have been short and sweet, it turns out that there are hours of scrapped footage that didn't make the opening cinematic's creation, including a freestyle rap, of all things. That's according to Craig Lee Thomas – the voice and face of the intensely passionate Super Earth Spokesperson leading the opening.

"Somewhere on an Arrowhead external hard drive there are MANY many hours of improv, pratfalls, dance breaks, and – very memorably – a freestyle rap that Freddy [Löfberg, the intro cinematic director] called out that I should do with no warning, in the middle of a take," Thomas tells PC Gamer in a new interview.

No hints are given as to what this rap sounded like, but it's rather tragic that it didn't make it into the game, especially given that it may never see the light of day. The idea that it's out there somewhere is still hilarious though, and imagining the lyrics, which we can only guess would probably be inspired by Managed Democracy, is even funnier.

Otherwise, Thomas has given a bit more insight into the process behind the intro's creation, and notes that "our directors Chris Faiella and Kal-El Bogdanove were also SUPER specific about keeping it in that perfect pocket of absolutely ridiculous, but still grounded in an exaggerated reality." There's no doubt that the team absolutely nailed it, with or without the freestyle rap, but here's hoping that the galactic game master Joel might be able to find a lore reason to help sneak that in at some point in the future.

If you're new to Helldivers 2, be sure to check out our top 10 Helldivers 2 to help you spread Managed Democracy.

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I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.