Red Dead Redemption 2: Is This A Tease For New Undead Nightmare?

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Red Dead Redemption 2

Evidence for a second Undead Nightmare DLC campaign might have been found in Red Dead Redemption 2. Undead Nightmare is the biggest piece of single player DLC that was released for the original Red Dead Redemption. The expansion was another lengthy campaign set in the same map of Red Dead Redemption with many of the same characters but in a completely different world.

Undead Nightmare, as the name suggests, saw Red Dead Redemption transformed into a zombie thriller. The undead plague descended upon the area of New Austin and playable hero John Marston was desperate to find a cure for his afflicted family. It mixed Red Dead Redemption's open-world gameplay with a creepy and largely satirical story. So far, Red Dead Redemption 2 developer Rockstar Games has remained quiet about their DLC plans for the open-world western but a odd Easter egg in Red Dead 2's endgame could reveal a sequel to Undead Nightmare.

The evidence for Undead Nightmare 2 comes from Reddit BrodytheBeast20. They have uncovered an Easter egg that can only be accessed during the epilogue of Red Dead Redemption 2. So if you haven’t reached the endgame of Red Dead Redemption and don’t want any spoilers, now is the time to stop. However, similar to the original game, Red Dead Redemption 2 has a playable epilogue with a different main character than the rest of the game. The epilogue of Red Dead Redemption 2 switches control from Arthur Morgan to John Marston. If John is taken down a well in Tall Trees, something very strange happens.

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John Marston, Red Dead Redemption promotional art

Captured by BrodytheBeast20, the Easter egg isn’t immediately obvious. The well is understandably dark but it can be lit up with a lantern. This isn't the scary part. If the player switches the camera to look at John Marston’s face and turns off their lantern, John goes from the healthy but scarred cowboy to undead skeleton-like monster. John’s appearance in this chilling Easter egg is almost exactly like his image in the promotional material for Undead Nightmare and his playable model during the epilogue of the DLC campaign.

Like any good Rockstar Games reference, there are a few explanations for zombie John in the well. It could simply be a nod to Undead Nightmare that honors the original campaign but doesn’t really hint at any future plans for Red Dead Redemption 2. The skeletal John could even be a hint to the original Red Dead Redemption ending as John is tragically killed at the conclusion of the campaign. It's possible it's nothing but a reference to Red Dead’s past, but that is disappointing. There’s a ton of spooky Easter eggs already in Red Dead Redemption 2 including zombie-like Night Folk. The original Undead Nightmare was also widely praised. Taking them together, it seems like a huge missed opportunity for Undead Nightmare to not have a follow-up in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Of course an Undead Nightmare sequel is far from a done deal. Rockstar Games’ focus is currently on Red Dead Redemption 2’s online mode and they have promised to that for years much like it's counterpart GTA Online. Overall Rockstar seems more concerned with ing the online functions of their game, not crafting more single player DLC. If Red Dead Redemption 2 follows the model of Grand Theft Auto V, it’ll receive tons of content updates for the online mode but no real expansions for single player, making an Undead Nightmare 2 a very unlikely possibility. If zombies rise again in Red Dead Redemption, the audience and interest will be there.