Capcom’s recently announced remaster of the first Dead Rising has given Frank West a major makeover, and he still reminds us of some kind of bootleg Leisure Suit Larry…

Dead Rising, released in 2006 for the Xbox 360, is getting a remaster, which is apparently a test of sorts for Capcom. They’re curious to see how much interest there is in the franchise, and don’t want to make a new installment (although there were plans for Dead Rising 5, but the project ended up in the trash along with Capcom Vancouver) until they know it’s financially worthwhile for the Japanese company to develop it.

But as mentioned at the beginning, Frank West’s look is different. You can get used to it, but as soon as our protagonist opens his mouth, another silliness is revealed: his voice has changed! On Twitter, a user shared what Frank’s original voice, Terence J. Rotolo, said to a fan on Instagram. Why doesn’t he do Frank’s voice again in the remaster?

Got some news about the Dead Rising Remake. The reason why TJ Rotolo is not returning as Frank West's voice is simply because Capcom DID NOT contact him. It's probably because TJ is union and Capcom have a bias against anyone Union oriented. It's a shame. But what can we do. So… pic.twitter.com/1ztyGK4oK8

— FrankByDaylight (@FrankByDaylight) June 28, 2024

“The answer to your question is that I have no answer. All I can say is that I’ve been grateful for every opportunity to help bring Frank to life. An actor’s job, when called upon, is to show up prepared, do his best, and when done, move on to the next assignment. I just wasn’t called for this mission. The reasons are the producers’ own,” Rotolo wrote.

His situation is similar to that of Alyson Court. She was the voice of Claire Redfield in five Resident Evil games, but when the Resident Evil 2 Remake was released in 2019, she was no longer the voice of choice for Capcom. At the time, Court said that he had at least been approached by the Japanese publisher. Court would have been happy to voice Claire, but was reportedly told by Capcom that they had chosen a non-union actress to replace her.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, which runs on the RE Engine, will be released on September 19th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC.

Source: VGC