Less than a week after teasing his return for a third Monkey Island project on his blog, Devolver Digital confirmed that Gilbert and Dave Grossman, the series’ original creators, are back to work on the aptly-titled Return to Monkey Island, a direct sequel to Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. The best part is that Return to Monkey Island is set to arrive later this year. Many consider the Monkey Island series as one of the best point-and-click games of all time, thanks largely to the work of Gilbert and Grossman. Even though three more games came out after 1991’s Monkey Island 2, Gilbert and Grossman were no longer involved. However, Gilbert and Grossman, as well as the game’s assistant designer, Tim Schafer, did come back to do the remakes in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Since then, fans have been wondering if the trio is going to reunite and do a third Monkey Island game, and now it’s finally happening. Devolver Digital uploaded the upcoming point-and-click game’s first trailer on its official channel, confirming its existence and launch date later this year. Disney currently holds the rights to the Monkey Island games after it acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. Back then, Gilbert publicly tried to ask Disney to sell the rights back to him, but it appears that the House of Mouse refused. However, Gilbert’s Terribly Toyboc Inc. studio is working on Return to Monkey Island, hinting that he is at least getting free reigns to create the Monkey Island game that he has always wanted. With both Grossman and Gilbert in tow, fans of the original pair of games can look forward to plenty of the same charm and humor. For now, fans can keep themselves busy by replaying the remakes of the first two Monkey Island games. Older fans will get a kick out of reliving Guybrush’s old adventures with a fresh coat of paint, while newer gamers will find out quickly why Monkey Island has lasted for over 30 years.
