Is Return to Monkey Island a Direct Sequel to Monkey Island 2? – Answered

Devolver Digital and Lucasfilm Games (what an odd couple, am I right?) recently announced Return to Monkey Island, a new sequel to the classic adventure game series. Ron Gilbert, one of the figureheads of the original Monkey Island and its first sequel, is… making his return with Return. Following the announcement and some interesting language in the PR materials, it seems like Return to Monkey Island is a direct sequel to Monkey Island 2. That said, Gilbert later clarified that Return is not retconning other entries in the series.

Related: Return to Monkey Island Announced, Ron Gilbert Involved

As I mentioned in our original news coverage, the early marketing material for Return of Monkey Island notes that this new game is a “follow-up” to Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. Of course, there have been several other Monkey Island adventures since that one, so it seemed like some kind of canon reshuffling could be happening. I asked about it and was (politely) shooed away, but then Gilbert went and answered the question on Twitter.

As you can see, Curse of Monkey Island and on are still going to be considered canon once Return makes its entrance sometime later in 2022. If you look back at various interviews and the like, it seems like Gilbert planned to follow up his own work if he ever touched Monkey Island again. So he’s sticking with his plan there, but not in a way that supersedes previous entries.

For more on Return of Monkey Island you can check out some of our launch day and after guide coverage, such as our note on the game’s overall file size if you’re worried… a Monkey Island game would be a space hog? Stay tuned for things like puzzle solutions, but just remember you did indeed have to put the pulley in the rubber chicken in the original game. So keep that kind of logic in mind.