Sega recasting voice actors for main characters(Sonic, Tails Amy etc)

[Gotta Go Rational]

15 minutes ago, RadicalLaRuby said:

Although I have absolutely NO fucking clue who voices Tails now. Last I checked was Kate Higgins and I think 2 changes happened after? 

Kate Higgins' final role as Tails was in Lost World. Colleen O'Shaughnessey started voicing him in Boom and then subsequently the main series up 'till now.

[Kuzu]

Well shit, if the official account if tweeting about it then yea, guess it's official.

 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

I honestly wonder if Roger's still in the 30th anniversary game or not. I'm aware dubbing would be one of the last things to be done in a game, but the plan was for it to be announced last year, only to get completely delayed, and Sonic's one of those franchises where the dubbing typically had to be done much earlier to have gameplay available to show off in English regions, so I have to wonder how far along things actually got along before they got rid of Roger.

[SatAMhog]

4 minutes ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

I honestly wonder if Roger's still in the 30th anniversary game or not. I'm aware dubbing would be one of the last things to be done in a game, but the plan was for it to be announced last year, only to get completely delayed, and Sonic's one of those franchises where the dubbing typically had to be done much earlier to have gameplay available to show off in English regions, so I have to wonder how far along things actually got along before they got rid of Roger.

They probably confirmed his exit now so we're not surprised later down the line when the game is actually released.  Nice of them to do so, honestly.  It does seem like they're going for a shakeup once again.  

[Piko]

1 hour ago, SBR2 said:

I am starting to wonder is it just Roger? Because Colleen Villard wished him well on Twitter and againMike is trolling people about his status so it makes me wonder if it's only Roger whose leaving. 

I wouldn’t put it past me; usually when Sonic’s VA gets replaced, so does everyone else. However it’s very rare for Sonic VAs to announce their departure from their role so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

4 hours ago, Kuzu said:

You know, if I was younger and more naïve, I'd say this was pretty insensitive of him. But given how the Sonic fandom is about certain subjects, and how long he has been voicing Eggman, I honestly do not blame the man for being burnt out on the role, which is ironic he is by far the least controversial voice casting of all the characters. I think it frustrates him that Eggman is his only notable role and feels he has more talent than that. 

Seeing the way some people treat Mike makes me glad I never got into acting. He’s a great VA and he doesn’t deserve to be relegated to “the Eggman guy”. While it would be sad to see him go, I’d also be relieved that he would finally be able to shake off the gremlins that see him as a character rather than a human being.

[Tracker_TD]

Oof. 

(Roger in the replies not particularly denying it either, tells me that this probably wasn't the most amicable split behind the scenes).

[Dr. Detective]

Yeah, this shit sucks fam. I don't like it.

I don't like it.

Geez. I've actually been running through how many times this has happened for the other cast members after bringing up that half of them have been changed but honestly I think it might be more than half.

Tails' voice was stealth changed to Colleen who still voices Charmy so I guess that was considered a two for one deal. 

Troy Baker was replaced by Mathew Mercer for Espio. Quinton Flynn's Silver was replaced by Bryce Papenbrook. 

Laura Bailey's Blaze is gone. Travis Willingham's Knuckles is gone. Now, Roger's Sonic is gone.

Unsurprisingly, Vic Mignogna's Omega is gone too but... well, you know. Those circumstances were different. 

Some of these changes I do admittedly prefer. I do like Mercer's take on Espio. I fucking love Papenbrook's Silver. 

I'm not a fan of Knuckles' new voice but I'm sure he can grow into the role if they don't immediately replace him...

Aside from Eggman, who's the only character who's actor stretches back to the 4kids role (except for that one time Big's 4kids actor reprised his role in LEGO Dimensions) the only characters still with their original actors since the 4kids cast was dropped are Amy, Cream, Big, Vector, Charmy, Shadow, Rouge, and I assume the Babylon Rogues. Kate Higgins did Wave's voice so I assume she either voiced her in the Rio Olympics or they used voice clips. It wouldn't surprise me if it was the later. Orbot and Cubot never had 4kids actors since they didn't exist back then but they're still the same too.

So, for clarification, All of Team Sonic's been replaced. Both Team Dark and Team Chaotix have had one member replaced. Team Rose hasn't been touched. Both Silver and Blaze have been replaced. No one on Team Eggman has been touched either.

This is astonishing. I don't even know if this is considered normal. It's wild if it is.

[CaptainRobo]

Wow. I did not expect this. Going to miss this guy. I wish good luck on what he will do in the future.

Oh, also here's Ben and Colleen's heartwarming responses to Roger's retirement from voicing Sonic.:

Spoiler

 

Oh, BTW, Roger did actually meet Ben back in 2019. Pretty nice he get to meet with him.:

Spoiler

 

 

[Gotta Go Rational]

49 minutes ago, Tracker_TD said:

Oof. 

(Roger in the replies not particularly denying it either, tells me that this probably wasn't the most amicable split behind the scenes).

I understand she's being supportive to a friend, but it's the cutthroat nature of the business, it seems. Replacing voice actors happens, for better or worse, and Roger himself wouldn't have been voicing Sonic in the first place if it didn't.

I'm really sad to see him go too. I think he'd be tied with Ryan for my favourite Sonic voice in the games.

[Solly]

42 minutes ago, Tracker_TD said:

Oof. 

(Roger in the replies not particularly denying it either, tells me that this probably wasn't the most amicable split behind the scenes).

This is part of why I doubt we're getting Ben Schwartz. The apparent messy nature of the split and the fact that only Roger is public about it right now has me thinking this is a union issue. Same thing probably happened with some of the other actors like Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham. 

[Multikaris]

14 hours ago, batson said:

Its funny.

When Drummond was replaced with Griffith, I was furious.

When Griffith was replaced with Craig Smith, I was happy.

Now when Craig Smith is being replaced... I don't feel anything. I've gotten so used to the fact that Sonic's voice changes completely every now and then...

I feel cautiously optimistic. Smith had his chance to improve in Forces, but a decline in the series’ voice direction did him in there, making him sound worse than ever before. I’m still afraid the next voice (director) will be even worse than the one Forces got.  I’m pretty sure Pollock will be Eggman until the day he dies.

[SBR2]

1 minute ago, Solly said:

This is part of why I doubt we're getting Ben Schwartz. The apparent messy nature of the split and the fact that only Roger is public about it right now has me thinking this is a union issue. Same thing probably happened with some of the other actors like Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham. 

I think Laura and Travis left because they had a baby though.

[Kuzu]

The plot thickens...

[SBR2]

1 minute ago, Snowragnarok said:

I feel cautiously optimistic. Smith had his chance to improve in Forces and totally blew it there. I’m still afraid the next voice will be even worse. 

Ok I know some people don't like RCS's voice but is there any reason to be so rude about his leaving? It just seems mean spirited to me.

[Multikaris]

Just now, SBR2 said:

Ok I know some people don't like RCS's voice but is there any reason to be so rude about his leaving? It just seems mean spirited to me.

Griffith managed to improve by Black Knight, at least. But then again, RCS could have improved if he was there for even longer, right? 

[Kuzu]

5 minutes ago, SBR2 said:

I think Laura and Travis left because they had a baby though.

They are union actors FYI, and we all know how Sega treats them. 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

59 minutes ago, Tracker_TD said:

Oof. 

(Roger in the replies not particularly denying it either, tells me that this probably wasn't the most amicable split behind the scenes).

I mean, yeah. I've sort of been feeling that from the tweet itself (if it was a amicable split, why post a broken heart as if Roger was heartbroken over a decision he made? It seemed more like he was forced out and he was heartbroken over the affair). It does seem like SEGA just reshaping the cast for the hell of it yet again, and Roger not making a song and dance out of it for the sake of his career.

[PC the Hedgehog]

The fact that Sega only acknowledged Roger's departure and not that of any other cast members makes it pretty clear he's the only one gone, and Tara Strong's tweet makes it seem that it wasn't his decision.

I really wouldn't be surprised if Sega IS trying to "unify" the franchise by bringing in Ben Schwartz as the new official Sonic voice, just as they replaced the original Adventure cast with the 4Kids cast so the games and cartoon had the same actors. I mean, there has to be SOME reason Roger is the only one being forced off the cast.

[SBR2]

15 minutes ago, Snowragnarok said:

Griffith managed to improve by Black Knight, at least. But then again, RCS could have improved if he was there for even longer, right? 

He was there for a decade and was great in the role IMHO. Honestly I think people give him way too much shit.

[KHCast]

Not sure if this has been brought up but I definitely have to wonder if sega is financially in a spot where they can hire full time a Hollywood Star like Ben. Not that I’d complain I guess if he got the part, he did a well enough job as sonic in the movie. I’m not opposed to new blood for sure, I was initially for example upset about Steve Burton loosing the role of cloud, but I grew on the Remake voice actor very quickly, so maybe similar could happen here 

 

Still, it certainly sucks for Roger. Dude was one of my favorite sonic voices, and brought a lot of life to the guy. I’m definitely gonna miss him. Well, at least this doesn’t feel like a middle finger to him from Sega like how other companies might treat their long-standing iconic voice actors (cough!Konami!couugh!).

 

*reads latest tweets*
 

oof, nevermind on that 

 

Tara definitely makes a good point on this. Voice actors aren’t treated with respect and legacy. Remember how the Ninjago cast just got up and replaced for the movie? Or, as I mentioned earlier, Konami up and replacing Hayter so they could have a celebrity? (Who, IMO, was right to kick up a fuss about konami being shit. Especially during a time where, Geoff Keighly, Del Toro, and Kojima were openly being vocal about all that drama) It’s really annoying, so if there really was bad blood between the voice actors and Sega, well, I’ll probably stand with the voice actors, given how historically shitty the game industry has especially been to their workers.

[Razule]

1 hour ago, Tracker_TD said:

Oof. 

(Roger in the replies not particularly denying it either, tells me that this probably wasn't the most amicable split behind the scenes).

Ah, so he was let go from the role instead of leaving willingly. That's.. disappointing. If this isn't for the sake of synergy with the movie then it's really odd that they'd decide to replace the guy who's voiced Sonic for 1/3 of his history in an anniversary year.

If Ben Schwartz was hired, would it need to cost that much to hire him? He played Leo in the most recent TMNT and Dewey in Ducktales, two main characters who appear often in their shows. Maybe Disney and Nickelodeon just have a lot of money.

[SaturnWolf]

 

Ahh, this is just confirms further that he was either fired or didn't make reauditions, though it's likely the former since it wouldn't really make sense to have auditions this close to the anniversary if Roger's statements are speaking with recency, which they likely are given his recent outing in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2

Then again, this is Sega we're talking about, when was the last time their moves actually did make sense?

[Kuzu]

This took a turn for the sour; the impression I got is that he either stepped down or the split was a mutual agreement. But now it seems like Sega just straight up let him go, no questions asked. They probably tried to negotiate a contract and the dealings fell through, and Sega just felt he wasn't worth keeping around and could just scrounge up another voice. 

[Winston]

1 hour ago, Snowragnarok said:

Griffith managed to improve by Black Knight, at least. But then again, RCS could have improved if he was there for even longer, right? 

Griffith also had entirely different writers and likely voice directors, although I don't know the whole picture when it comes to direction. RCS has been a great voice actor in everything I've heard him in, so I don't see him being at fault for the direction and scripts he is given. You might not like his voice for Sonic, which is fine, but I don't think he deserved to get fired as Sonic because you think he failed to deliver in a game with terrible dialogue. 

[Gotta Go Rational]

Let's be careful when we don't know the specifics. There's a difference between "fired" and not getting re-hired.