Far Cry 6 announced with explosive trailer revealing Giancarlo Esposito as lead star

An intense and dramatic first trailer has been released for Ubisoft's upcoming game Far Cry 6, which stars Giancarlo Esposito.

It marks the actor's first lead role in a video game after he developed a cult fan base with roles in Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian, although he has previously voiced characters in Destiny and Payday 2.

Far Cry 6 is set in a fictional Latin American country that appears to be undergoing a violent revolution against the tight grip of its current dictator, played by Esposito.

The Far Cry series has previously been set in exotic locations in the south Pacific, Africa, the rural US state of Montana, an Asia-Pacific archipelago and the Himalayas.

In the trailer, Esposito's character gives his son a grenade and pulls the pin, telling him: "Our country is like this grenade - you must clutch our people nice and tight or we all go boom."

"Far Cry 6 plunges players into the heart of a modern-day guerrilla revolution set in Yara, a tropical paradise frozen in time," says Ubisoft. 

"President Anton Castillo vows to restore his country to its former glory while grooming his son to follow in his footsteps.

"Yet paradise has a price, and enriching his country means subjugating those who don't adhere to his vision. In this island nation in turmoil, players will experience the adrenaline and chaos of guerrilla combat as they are swept up in a revolutionary movement to take down a tyrant."

The Far Cry franchise launched in 2004 and has spawned more than a dozen main games and spinoffs. 

The games have been generally well received but have scored varying reviews - the highest-rated on Metacritic is currently a 91 for the Xbox 360 version of 2012's Far Cry 3, while the lowest is a 38 rating for 2006's Far Cry Vengeance for the Nintendo Wii.

Far Cry 6 is scheduled to launch on February 18, 2021 for Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Google's Stadia.