Is Rush code for Grand Theft Auto V?

The Grand Theft Auto series used to be Take-Two’s top selling game. Last year’s BioShock 2 and game of the year contender Red Dead Redemption helped spread the publisher in new directions, but GTA still draws in the big bucks. It’s been almost three years since GTA4 and according to internet sleuth Superannuation, early work already started on Rockstar’s next installment in the series.

In late February, a reference to motion-capture work for Grand Theft Auto V was spotted on an actor’s resume, but this has since been deleted. Further investigation led to a casting call for Rockstar’s main casting studio Telsey & Company.

"Among the projects listed in the casting call was an 'interactive project' called 'Rush,' which featured characters that fit with the few details I heard about GTA5; outlandish characters, weed, gangsters, & celebrities fit the profile for a contemporary LA-set GTA game," Superannuation said on Twitter.

Said casting call, which occurred on December 6, called for actors doing motion capture and voice work for eight “additional principal characters,” on the project. All eight characters ellicit a distinct Grand Theft Auto vibe to them:

Mitch Hayes 38 – Annoying, wise cracking, highly successful FBI agent. In great shape. Does triathlons, drinks low cal beer, but still has a sense of humor.

Miguel Gonzalez 25 – Young Mexican American FBI agent, caught between a few mob bosses. Very clean cut.

Clyde 23 – Moronic, almost inbred and creepy white trash hillbilly. Very naïve but in a creepy ‘it’s only incest sort of way.’

Brother Adam – Welsh monk / cult leader / yoga teacher – 50, very lithe, very into exploring your personal tension through gripping massage. Needs Welsh accent.

Mrs. Avery – Neurotic soccer mom, home maker, 48, anxious and addled on pain killers. Very angry at neighbor MRS Bell.

Mrs. Bell – Swinger, and mellow Californian divorcee. 45. Ugly but comfortable with self.

Eddie 47 – Weed evangelist, guy who started smoking at 30, and is now a leading proponent of marijuana’s fantastic properties. White, awkward.

Ira Bernstein 56 – publicist for an actress known as America’s newest sweetheart who just so happens to love animals, orphans, drugs and sex. He’s always trying to hide her latest indiscretion.

While the connections could be purely coincidental, Superannuation also discovered a direct link between Rush and Rockstar Games. Professional wrestler and aspiring actor Robert Esparza tweeted on September 9, “Got body scanned for my role in the video game ‘Rush’, coming out on Rockstar Games.” The tweet has since been deleted.

If GTA5 does feature a west-coast setting, it wouldn’t be the first time Rockstar revisited a previous city from the GTA franchise. The original three cities found in the first Grand Theft Auto have all since been revisited in separate games, Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and San Andreas in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Liberty City was once again revisited by main character Niko in Grand Theft Auto IV.