If you’ve replayed GTA 5 more times than you can count, you probably have a soft spot for Franklin Clinton. The former repo man turned wealthy entrepreneur is one of the most relatable protagonists Rockstar has ever written, and it makes sense fans are desperate to see more of him. If you’ve been scouring forums and social media for answers to is franklin going to be in gta 6, you’re far from alone. I’ve followed every official update and credible leak about GTA 6 since it was first confirmed in 2022, and I’ve put together all the context you need to know about Franklin’s possible return.
What We Know Right Now: Is Franklin Going to Be in GTA 6?
Let’s start with the facts we can confirm first. Rockstar’s first official GTA 6 trailer, released in late 2023, focused exclusively on new protagonists Lucia and Jason, plus the chaotic world of Vice City and Leonida. There was no sign of Franklin, Michael, Trevor, or any other GTA 5 characters in the two-minute clip, and Rockstar hasn’t named dropped any legacy characters in official press materials. None of the official GTA 6 marketing materials released as of now have confirmed Franklin’s appearance, but that’s far from a no.
When discussing if Franklin is going to be in GTA 6, the first thing most fans point to is Shawn Fonteno’s social media activity from 2021 and 2022. Fonteno, the voice and motion capture actor for Franklin, posted several clips of himself in a motion capture suit on his Instagram and TikTok accounts, with captions teasing a “top secret project” he was working on. He later walked back some of those teases, saying he couldn’t reveal what the project was, but fans immediately connected the dots to GTA 6. The 2022 GTA 6 leak, which Rockstar confirmed was real, didn’t include any explicit assets of Franklin, but it did have hundreds of unfinished voice lines and cutscenes that haven’t been fully transcribed by fans yet.
It’s also worth noting that Rockstar is notoriously secretive about Easter eggs and side content before launch. They didn’t reveal any of the GTA 4 character cameos in GTA 5 before the game released, and players only found them after digging through the game for days after launch. That means even if Franklin is in the game, we probably won’t find out until we can play it ourselves.
Past Rockstar Character Cameos That Set a Precedent
If you’re new to the GTA franchise, you might not realize that bringing back legacy characters is a core part of Rockstar’s writing style. They love rewarding long-time fans with small callbacks and full cameos that tie the entire GTA universe together, without distracting from the new story they’re trying to tell. Rockstar regularly rewards long-time fans with subtle and not-so-subtle callbacks to earlier entries, so a Franklin cameo is well within their standard writing pattern.
Just to give you an idea of how common these cameos are, here are a few recent examples that prove Rockstar doesn’t shy away from bringing back fan favorite characters:
- Packie McReary from GTA 4 appears as an optional heist crew member in GTA 5’s single player campaign, and he even references his past in Liberty City if you pick him for jobs
- Franklin himself led the 2021 GTA Online The Contract DLC, alongside his best friend Lamar Davis and legendary rapper Dr. Dre, proving Rockstar is still interested in telling stories with the character
- Lazlow Jones, the iconic chaotic radio host, has appeared in every mainline GTA game since GTA 3 in some capacity, from hosting radio shows to making in-person cameos in GTA 5
Even smaller characters get callbacks. For example, the annoying taxi driver Roman from GTA 4 is referenced multiple times in GTA 5’s radio ads and dialogue. That level of attention to detail means Rockstar definitely hasn’t forgotten about Franklin, who is one of the three most popular protagonists in the franchise’s history.
Reasons Franklin Might Not Appear in GTA 6
For every piece of evidence that supports Franklin’s return, there’s also a reason he might not show up at all. It’s important to look at both sides so you don’t get your hopes up for nothing. When weighing if Franklin is going to be in GTA 6, it’s important to be realistic about Rockstar’s priorities for the new title.
The biggest barrier is the game’s setting. GTA 6 takes place in Vice City and the surrounding state of Leonida, which is based on Florida. Franklin lives in Los Santos, which is based on Los Angeles, on the opposite side of the country. It would take a very specific plot reason to get him all the way to Vice City, and Rockstar might not want to waste time writing that into the main story when they’re focused on Lucia and Jason’s arc. The biggest barrier to Franklin’s appearance is the game’s core focus on establishing its new, diverse cast of characters without relying too heavily on nostalgia.
Shawn Fonteno also said in a 2023 interview with a gaming podcast that he hadn’t been contacted to work on GTA 6 at that point, though he added he’d jump at the chance to reprise the role if Rockstar asked. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t contacted later, or that he’s lying to keep the secret, but it’s a point worth considering. It’s also possible Rockstar will save Franklin for GTA 6 Online content, rather than including him in the base single player campaign, so he doesn’t take screen time away from the new protagonists.
What a Franklin Cameo in GTA 6 Could Look Like
If Franklin does end up making an appearance in GTA 6, it’s almost certainly not going to be as a playable protagonist. Rockstar has already confirmed Lucia and Jason are the only two playable characters in the base game, so don’t expect a third slot to open up for Franklin. That said, there are tons of ways he could make a memorable appearance without taking over the story.
The most likely scenario is a small side mission or cameo cutscene tied to the heist system. After the end of GTA 5, Franklin is a multi-millionaire who runs his own legitimate and illegitimate businesses, so it makes sense he’d travel to Vice City to expand his empire. He could hire Lucia and Jason to pull off a heist for him, or he could be a rival they have to steal from. If Franklin does appear, it will almost certainly be tied to high-stakes heist or business content, aligned with his arc as a successful entrepreneur after GTA 5’s events.
Another popular fan theory is that he’ll appear in a post-credits scene, teasing future single player DLC or GTA 6 Online content. Rockstar did this with GTA 5’s post-credits scenes, which set up story beats for later GTA Online updates. Many fans also speculate that Lamar Davis could appear alongside him, as the pair’s comedic chemistry is a fan favorite that Rockstar would be silly to waste. Even if we only get a 30-second cutscene of Franklin yelling at Lamar for messing up a Vice City drug deal, that would be enough to make most long-time fans happy.
At the end of the day, we won’t have a definitive answer to is franklin going to be in gta 6 until Rockstar makes an official announcement, or until the game launches and players can dig through every side mission and Easter egg for themselves. Don’t trust random social media accounts that claim they have 100% confirmation he’s in the game, or that he’s been cut entirely, because no one outside of Rockstar knows for sure right now. If he doesn’t show up in the base game, there’s still a very good chance he’ll pop up in post-launch DLC or GTA 6 Online updates down the line. As someone who’s been playing GTA games for over 20 years, I’m crossing my fingers we get at least one small Franklin cameo to tie the new story to the franchise’s recent past.
