It's been a long wait for fans, but Gearbox Software is finally bringing its very popular loot shooter series back later this year with Borderlands 3. The initial trailer had a lot of moments for fans, quickly showing off a lot of new and returning characters, - for instance, Tiny Tina's coming back for Borderlands 3, among others. While many fans enjoyed seeing Rhys and Vaughn again, the reveal was equally as shocking to Troy Baker, who originally lent his voice to one of the characters.
In a recent interview at a fan event in Australia, Baker confirmed that he's not actually returning to voice the character Rhys within Borderlands 3. While he hinted that there was originally a possibility and that he was more than interested in coming back, he was blindsided by the realization that it wasn't happening when Gearbox dropped Borderlands 3's debut trailer at PAX East and Rhys appeared briefly on-screen. At this time, it isn't yet known who will be voicing the character.
It's clear based on his response that Baker is a little upset and disappointed about not being brought back as well as how Gearbox Software has handled the situation. Speaking as a fan, Baker believes that studios shouldn't hire randomly, as continuity is important to him. He went on to say that if the studio is intending on using Tales from the Borderlands characters, then they should do it with the people who originated the characters.
"I really want Gearbox to know, if they are going to bring back characters from Telltale’s Borderlands, it should be the people who originated the characters. They shouldn’t just recast willy-nilly, because as a fan that matters to me."
With a vast majority of characters seen across all previous Borderlands games coming back in some way for Borderlands 3, it's still unclear on which other characters may not be getting their original voice actors back. It will be interesting to see if Chris Hardwick, a fellow Tales of the Borderlands voice actor, is brought back as well considering his character Vaughn appears to be somewhat transformed from what players may remember during Telltale's episodic games.
Beyond Borderlands 3, it appears as if recasting appears to be a growing trend this year within the gaming industry. Patrick Seitz, longtime Scorpion voice actor, was as shocked as fans were to see the Mortal Kombat 11 trailer at the Video Game Awards this past December, as it not only showed the yellow ninja in action, but Seitz quickly realized that the studio wasn't planning on bringing him back to a role he had for over a decade.
Some other recast Mortal Kombat 11 characters include Kitana, Kano, and Cassie Cage. While there's been no update as to why the switch occurred, Karen Strassman, who voiced both Mileena and Kitana in previous Mortal Kombat games, hinted that the reason was linked to politics in gaming that impacts casting. Bearing this in mind, it's also unclear as to why Borderlands 3 didn't bring Troy Baker back for the sequel.
Borderlands 3 launches on September 13, 2019 for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Reddit