The Law Is No Shepard In Mass Effect 4
A new hope
Just a snippet about something that was more or less a given, but I think it's worth stating and knowing for the record that the next Mass Effect will entirely and definitely steer clear of Commander Shephard. The controversial outcomes of Mass Effect 3 do leave some room for 'what happened next?' investigations, but the three-game plot had tied itself in so many knots by that point that a totally clean break for the next set of Meffects is only sensible.
While Bioware refuse to be drawn on anything else about what we'll for the sake of argument call Mass Effect 4 will concern, ME3 lead writer Mac Walters told Complex that "the idea is that we have agreed to tell a story that doesn't relate necessarily to any of the Shepard events at all, whatsoever." That 'necessarily' perhaps leaves room for little fan-nods to past events, but now I'm analysing individual words in someone else's quote and that way madness lies.
Speaking of madness, Walters also comments on ME3's notorious ending. SPOILER ALERT FOR BOTH MASS EFFECT AND BREAKING BAD HERE, but his comparisons to Breaking Bad's finale rather suggests what Bioware's official canon outcome for Shepard is, despite vagaries left by some of the ending sequences. Also a good thing, say I.
Walters was in the public eye to promote Dark Horse's latest Mass Effect comic series, Foundation, by the way. There have been earlier ones which I haven't read. Should I? I should mention that I do tend to be fairly lore-averse.