Capcom has not asked Frank West’s voice actor to return for the Dead Rising remake

June 30, 2024

Highlights

Fans of Dead Rising have been begging for the series to return, a wish that has come true with the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster.
As nice as it is to see the series back in action, the teaser for the remaster suggested that Frank West’s original voice actor, TJ Rotolo, had been recast.
When asked by a fan, Rotolo confirmed the news and said Capcom had not asked him to return.

Frank West’s original voice actor, TJ Rotolo, has confirmed that he will not be returning to voice the character in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster and that he was not even asked by Capcom.

Earlier this week, Capcom dropped an absolute bombshell on Dead Rising fans when it announced that the original game will be getting a “deluxe remaster” sometime in 2024. Given the poor state that Dead Rising 4 left the series in, most fans assumed we would never see the series again, especially the beloved first installment.

Frank West jumps out of the helicopter in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster.

Please don’t make The Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster too silly

Dead Rising is known for being a silly series, but the game that started it all has largely kept a serious face worth maintaining.

As awesome as it is to see Dead Rising rise from the dead (sorry), the reveal trailer had one mistake – Frank West’s voice. Aside from being recast again, we could hear Frank speak briefly, making it clear that TJ Rotolo had not been asked to return to the role.

TJ Rotolo says he wasn’t asked to return for the Dead Rising deluxe remaster

Anyone who played the original Dead Rising or Off The Record could immediately tell that Frank West had been recast, but his original voice actor, TJ Rotolo, has now confirmed the news at the request of a fan. As FrankByDaylight noted on TwitterInstagram user rxysinister contacted Rotolo after the Deluxe Remaster was announced to ask if he really wouldn’t be included.

In response, Rotolo confirmed that he would not be returning to voice Frank West in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster and that he had no answer as to why. His heartfelt response also shows that he wasn’t actually asked by the producers to come back and re-record his original lines, although he doesn’t seem too upset about it and has a positive attitude about the whole thing.

“The answer to your question is that I don’t have an answer. All I can say is that I have always been grateful for every opportunity to bring Frank to life. The job of an actor is to show up prepared, do his best and, when ready, move on to the next mission. I just wasn’t called for this mission. The reasons lie with the producer himself.”

As fans of Dead Rising know, this isn’t the first time Rotolo has been recast for his iconic role, as Dead Rising 4 famously gave him a new voice actor (along with another redesign). This decision led to boycotts and petitions to bring him back, which were unsuccessful and apparently didn’t gain enough traction with Capcom to bring him back for the remake of the first game.

Some fans have speculated that Rotolo was not brought back for Frank because he is a union actor, but he recently lent his voice to William Birkin in the remake of Resident Evil 2.

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