Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies' new map Mauer Der Toten has been out for a week now. As such, players have been dissecting every piece of lore added in the Berlin map, with the Season 4 Reloaded intel teasing some major developments. The main quest easter egg for Mauer Dee Toten expands on these teasers, too, with serious developments regarding The One and Samantha’s powers seen. However, no plot thread is more interesting than that of Requiem’s director.
Not only has Weaver’s mysterious boss gone unnamed in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War intel thus far, but Treyarch has deliberately avoided showing his face and name. As such, it makes sense for the director to be a character players know already, and only one person fits the Requiem boss’s background, sense of humor, and shady activity. While Treyarch may be misdirecting fans, all signs point to none other than Edward Richtofen being the driving force behind Requiem.
Why Edward Richtofen Is Likely To Be Requiem’s Director In Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Thus far, the Call of Duty community has been quick to jump at every possible Richtofen teaser. The promo images for Firebase Z and Outbreak’s main quest featured the letter R, for example. While many immediately assumed this was referring to Richtofen, it was instead a new character named Ravenov. However, Treyarch surely knew what it was doing, planting the seed for Eddie’s eventual return. Intel then began to refer to a young boy who was close with Samantha Maxis. Giving that the end of Tag Der Toten saw the two entering into the Dark Aether universe as children, he seemed like the only option. However, this was another bit of misdirection, as the boy was simply collateral damage in one of Weaver’s missions.
While Treyarch has played with fan expectations twice now regarding Richtofen’s return, there is a lot more evidence hinting at his role as the director than there was for the other theories. For starters, one thing that is known about the director is that he got a start as a scientist in the CIA. More intriguingly, he was so vital in putting Requiem together that he essentially volunteered himself for the director position. Clearly, the director is obsessed with the Zombie outbreak, a focus that makes far more sense if this mysterious character had experiences with the undead in a past life. With Richtofen’s story always grounded in science, too, this origin would be a fine fit.
Alongside this, the German robot Klaus is eerily reminiscent of Richtofen when it comes to his mannerisms and dialogue. The way he repeats the word “again” is remarkably similar to a classic Richtofen line, while his sense of humor is also familiar. This is particularly important, as it was the director who ordered Dr. Grey to build the robot in the first place. As such, it is based off his personality, with a close relationship established between the two. With Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War players also learning that the director broke into Grey’s lab to steal Klaus after he was built, the shadiness of the character is becoming clearer. Further, his actions show that he may be villainous, or at the very least morally grey.
The director uses Klaus to kill some CIA agents, showing that he is willing to get his hands dirty if he deems it necessary. His reason for killing these agents ties back to the fact that he accidentally leaked a document they were not supposed to see, with a mysterious Project Janus mentioned. While players do not know what this project will entail just yet, the fact that the director murdered agents because of his own failures is interesting. The final cutscene also sees the director sending out a memo that suggests Samantha Maxis must be dealt with, as the Zombies protagonist’s powers are supposedly too dangerous. While many may consider this to be proof against the Richtofen theory, it is anything but.
While Tag Ter Toten’s ending does see Samantha and Eddie walking together, as they were childhood friends, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has already shown that this matters little. Samantha only remembers small flashes of memories from the old timeline, almost completely forgetting her life before she came into the new universe. As such, the same can be assumed for Eddie. He may not remember Samantha, forgetting about their history together due to a similar case of amnesia. On top of that, Primis Richtofen was willing to do some drastic things for what he saw as the greater good. Further, the Ultimis version of Richtofen was a villain who despised Samantha, meaning that the two being at odds is nothing new. With all the scheming fitting Richtofen well, he seems like the perfect option for the director.
Other Possible Candidates For The Requiem Director In Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
While Richtofen seems like the obvious choice for Requiem’s director, there are a few other possibilities that are still on the table. One is that the character will be entirely new, with Treyarch simply messing around with fans. However, given that Richtofen has failed to pop up thus far, having an original character fill a position that could easily be his would be strange. It would also be a bit disappointing given just how much the director reveal has been hyped up by Treyarch during Season 4. With all the other Zombies characters from the Aether story unable to feature, Eddie is the only Zombies-related option left for the role.
Outside of Richtofen or a fresh character, the only other possibility is someone from the Call of Duty campaigns. Right now, the best candidate from the story modes would be Jason Hudson. Admittedly, there is a one piece of evidence that supports this, and that is the fact that the director knows Weaver well. With Weaver being hand-picked for the role of Requiem’s Field Ops leader, the director clearly knows that he can be trusted to do his job. This indicates a past working relationship between the two, and with Hudson and Weaver teaming up in the original Black Ops campaign, this would make sense.
However, there is a fair bit to disprove this theory as well. For starters, Weaver and Hudson seemed to view each other as equals in the first Black Ops game. With the director consistently going behind Weaver’s back, and even being caught speaking Russian, that mutual respect is not seen here. With Weaver questioning how the director is spending the group’s money, too, the character seems too shady to be Hudson. On top of that, Hudson is not a scientist, making the document that hinted at the director’s past a major red flag. With Hudson also being a bit too smart to accidentally send secret documents somewhere that they are not supposed to go, he is not a good fit for the role.
The final things working against the Hudson theory, however, are seen in the end cutscene of the Mauer Der Toten easter egg quest. While some may see the white dress shirt and thingk of Hudson, he is wearing his watch on the wrong arm. Even more damning, though, is the mug that he uses. Hilariously reading “best director ever,” it seems like the Requiem boss has a sense of humor. This is not fitting of the overly serious Hudson, as Alex Mason always described him as an “ice cube” due to his cold nature. As such, a silly mug and a general disrespect for his fellow Requiem members seem to disprove the Hudson theory.
While Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies features campaign characters prominently, its director will likely be someone fans know and love. The mug fits Richtofen’s humor, as does Klaus’ dialogue and personality. The secret plans and hidden agendas are also right up Richtofen’s ally, and lead writer Craig Houston has confirmed that players will eventually learn what has become of Eddie. With only two Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Seasons left, Treyarch is running out of time to have him appear. However, if he is the scientist-turned-director, he will have been in the background all along.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.