don't click here

Several Voice Actors Leave The Sonic Franchise

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by jubbalub, Jan 28, 2021.

  1. jubbalub

    jubbalub

    #1 Sonic Superstars defender Member
    997
    1,230
    93
    https://twitter.com/RogerCraigSmith/status/1354805293369024520

    upload_2021-1-28_9-10-53.png

    He is leaving. New voice actor inbound!

    Right now it appears that no other voice actors are being replaced, but I'll update this post if anything changes.

    MOD EDIT: Cindy Robinson (Amy) seems to be out, too.

    https://twitter.com/RedHeadSaidProd/status/1356795883321348096
    https://twitter.com/RedHeadSaidProd/status/1356801656919265280?s=20
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 3, 2021
    • Informative Informative x 8
    • List
  2. Mana

    Mana

    Good! Great! Awesome! Outstanding! Amazing! Member
    783
    315
    63
    Didn't like him at first but he slowly grew into THE Sonic voice for me and the first that comes to mind when I'm reading comics or heck even just thinking of the character.

    He understood Sonic's confidence, courage, and kindness and I could always feel those things in his performances. He will be missed.
     
  3. ItsBrieDude

    ItsBrieDude

    my brain is the spinning seal gif Member
    Seems like that's how all the portrayals of Sonic go for me. Drummond really came into his own in SA2, Griffith finally got it down in Unleashed, and I feel like RCS has had it for awhile now. My only hope is that the replacement is Ben Schwartz -- really enjoyed his performance in the film.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • List
  4. Jason

    Jason

    *Results not lab tested. Member
    Welp.
     
  5. Not surprised, but still disappointed. They've done this twice already so there was no reason to assume that they wouldn't do it again
     
  6. jubbalub

    jubbalub

    #1 Sonic Superstars defender Member
    997
    1,230
    93
    For what it's worth, Mike Pollock does not appear to have any plans of leaving. In fact he sounded surprised when asked about it on Twitter.
     
  7. SuperSnoopy

    SuperSnoopy

    I like Sonic Advance Member
    1,778
    740
    93
    Lyon, France
    Slice of life visual novel, coming soon...?
    Wow, I didn't think it would actually happen..that's crazy.
    Roger Craig Smith was the best English portrayal of Sonic imo, but I'm still pretty hyped by this new.
    The series desperately needs new blood right now, and changing the cast is a step in the right direction I think.
     
  8. The Joebro64

    The Joebro64

    SAY HELLO TO MY CHOCOLATE BLEND Member
    2,941
    2,572
    93
    Replace him with Ben Schwartz and I’m fine. He was a good voice, don’t get me wrong (I mean, anything was better than who came before), but I never really loved his performances. I wish the best of luck to Roger in his new ventures.
     
  9. Mana

    Mana

    Good! Great! Awesome! Outstanding! Amazing! Member
    783
    315
    63
    Don't think this guy planned on leaving either. The heartbreak makes it clear this was news to him as well.

    Pollock might have some stability given his connection to the fandom but even that might not be enough.
     
  10. Blue Blood

    Blue Blood

    Member
    5,887
    815
    93
    Virtual cross-post from SSMB

    I like Schwartz as Sonic in the movie and he'd be fine in the games too. But man, I really loved Smith in the role. He's the longest-serving English VA for Sonic and he did a fine job of it. He breathed a lot of life into the character, giving him a new lease even if the scripts took a beating around the same time that he joined. His take on the character was so different from all the others. And whilst I understand that his voice never sat right with a lot of people, I quickly came to see Smith as the Sonic voice in a way that Griffith could never manage. This really is a shame. The guy seemed to genuinely love the role too. He was always so on it, especially with social media engagement. Feels cruel for the guy to be stripped of the role he loved and was great at, especially if it was some bullshit corporate decision.

    Now I've got to wonder if we're guessing right and Schwartz is going to take over, or if it's going to be someone new. A lot of the English cast got replaced in recent games. Knuckles, Silver, Zavok, Blaze and Omochao were all replaced in TSR and the most recent Olympics games, and Tails was replaced when Boom started. I wonder if it's all creative reasons, if it's regarding pay/unions or what. I won't be upset if it's Schwartz, but at the same time... it'll irk me regardless because the movie doesn't need to impose on the rest of the franchise.

    As pointed out on SSMB, there have been rumours flying around that Pontac and Graff won't be writing for the series anymore either. I don't think we have anything solid to go on regarding Pontac and Graff though. Just that they haven't officially contributed since the last game and it's unlikely they'd update their CVs before any new game has been announced. Wouldn't mind seeing the back of them tbh.

    Colours (and Free Riders) ushered in the big 4Kids replacement, coinciding with the new writers. If there's a big shakeup, I'm neutral towards it until we have more info. Let's just hope that we're not losing any other quality actors. Pollock survived the 4Kids exodus, but none of the other good 4Kids cast did. Cindy Robinson got off to an awful start as Amy, and yet after Boom rolled around she became fantastic in the roll and it'd be a shame to lose her. Others though, like Thornton as Shadow or Karen Strassman as Rouge... yeah, they could leave and I'd not be at all cut up. They already replaced Knuckles with a naff sound-alike. I mean, as pointed out it sounds like Pollock is none the wiser about any changes, but still. Feeling a bit cautious right now.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2021
  11. Roger Craig Smith did great as Sonic, but if they do replace him with Ben Schwarz I think that would be a good direction for the franchise. Smith probably wasn't too heartbroken over it considering he's mentioned that the checks go to his weekend beer fund, I think he liked the character more than the job itself. Pollock's safe because Jim Carrey would be too expensive to be worth it. Carrey's voice isn't even his selling point as the live action Robotnik, his acting is all in his body language and wild expressions.

    Of course, if they're not bringing Schwarz on board for consistency, they better bring Ryan Drummond back. For nostalgia's sake. This franchise has been around for 30 years, I think Sonic Team could step away from innovating for five minutes and give us some nostalgia.
     
  12. jubbalub

    jubbalub

    #1 Sonic Superstars defender Member
    997
    1,230
    93
    Having Ben Schwartz voice Sonic in the games sounds like a logical choice. Tails' VA is the same in the movie and the game, and doing this would provide another bridge between the two.

    Ryan Drummond has gotten kind of rusty in my opinion (going off of his performance in Sonic and Tails R) so I don't like that idea.
     
  13. Mana

    Mana

    Good! Great! Awesome! Outstanding! Amazing! Member
    783
    315
    63
    So my theory is that they're getting ready for another Colors type reboot. Not his fault but RCS Sonic has now been apart of disasters like Rise of Lyric or games with mixed reception like Forces and Lost World.

    Last time Sonic was in a rut like this, they did a mini reboot with Colors and changed the voices to go with it. I feel this 30th anniversary game will be the same, a mini reboot and they'll be changing the voices to accommodate.

    Sucks because he always nailed his roles but they what can you do.
     
  14. The Joebro64

    The Joebro64

    SAY HELLO TO MY CHOCOLATE BLEND Member
    2,941
    2,572
    93
    Sonic isn't really in a rut right now. Sure, Forces was somewhat disappointing, but the movie and Mania gave Sonic a much-needed profile boost. I don't think that's a rut in the slightest. If anything, I imagine that Roger just felt it was time to move on. IIRC he's mentioned in the past that he wants to retire from voice acting (don't quote me on that though).
     
  15. Mana

    Mana

    Good! Great! Awesome! Outstanding! Amazing! Member
    783
    315
    63
    The heartbreak sign and way his post was worded makes it seem like it was news to him too though. Even if the side stuff is doing well if your main games are garbage it reflects badly on the rest of the franchise.

    I'm really expecting a mini reboot especially with Pontaff talking about his Sonic writing in past tense.
     
  16. The Joebro64

    The Joebro64

    SAY HELLO TO MY CHOCOLATE BLEND Member
    2,941
    2,572
    93
    Mania and the movie are hardly "side stuff". Rise of Lyric and Shattered Crystal? That's side stuff.
     
  17. Mana

    Mana

    Good! Great! Awesome! Outstanding! Amazing! Member
    783
    315
    63
    They were going out of their way to dissociate with the movie until it came out and did well, and didn't give Mania a physical on release NOT because of Plus but because they kept saying it wasn't the main title and they didn't want it overshadowing Forces.

    Don't know what to say to you with that info but that's not how you treat things you don't consider to be side.
     
  18. Where the hell have you been for the past couple of years, all we've gotten our nostalgic throwbacks. But I'm assuming you mean Adventure era nostalgia.


    In any case, I highly doubt Ryan is ever coming back; he auditioned for the role back when Roger was brought in, and Sega wanted him to leave his union if he wanted to voice Sonic again. Needless to say, I'm sure Ryan isn't going to jeopardize his livelihood just to voice Sonic.
     
  19. Blue Blood

    Blue Blood

    Member
    5,887
    815
    93
    Sonic Team stopped innovating and started giving us nostalgia a decade ago at this point.
     
    • Agree Agree x 13
    • Like Like x 1
    • List
  20. Dek Rollins

    Dek Rollins

    size of a tangerine Member
    651
    317
    63
    US
    I really don't want to come off as disrespectful or insensitive, but I can't say I'm broken up about this. I've never cared for his voice in the role of Sonic, and honestly I'm glad we have a shot at a better fitting voice. Whether or not it's worth getting excited about comes down to who they hire in his place.

    Since this seems to be unrelated to the rest of the cast, I suppose I can't hope for Amy to be recast as well. :p

    But it's kind of surreal that RCS has been voicing Sonic for a decade now. It's a shame Drummond wasn't given the same consideration in his day.

    They should totally just get Kanemaru to do the Engrish voice :p