Zenless Zone Zero actors recast amid ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike

As the SAG-AFTRA voice actor strikes continue, a pair of voice actors for MiHoYo’s Zenless Zone Zero learned they were abruptly recast.

Emeri Chase and Nicholas Thurkettle, who respectively play Soldier 11 and Lycaon, discovered they were replaced in a recent patch for the game released earlier this week. On social media, Chase explained she was “unwilling to perform work not covered by a SAG Interim Agreement during a strike for AI protections.”

Earlier this week, the union said “alarming loopholes” have kept it from reaching a consensus with major game developers. The proposals offered would potentially leave actors vulnerable to AI abuse, and SAG-AFTRA called on its members to keep the faith as employers begin “feeling the squeeze.”

That “squeeze” has been felt in different ways, like Destiny 2 and Genshin Impact disclosing to players that certain lines would not be voiced. Meanwhile, Riot Games is recycling previous VO for specific League of Legends skins until the strike is resolved, and Activision Blizzard recast roles for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Zenless is not a struck game, but voice actors had the option to not sign new contracts (or take an Interim Agreement) as a form of solidarity with striking union members. According to Chase, non-struck titles released prior to July 25, 2024 (the strike’s start date) “don’t offer the Union-enforced AI rights we are fighting for.”

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Zenless’ voice actors speak up, but stand their ground

While she knew a replacement was likely, Chase hoped MiHoYo would simply have Soldier 11 be silent until the strike was over, similar to how it’s handled voice lines for Genshin Impact.

Thurkettle, who is not a member of SAG-AFTRA, said he was also in the dark on his recasting and called developers’ plans for AI voice replicas “an existential threat. I took a personal stand to ask for protection, and had to be willing to give up the best thing that’s ever happened in my professional life. I stand by my choice.”

Chase also held her position, saying she “would’ve been thrilled to return to the project post-strike or with an Interim Agreement. […] All my best wishes to the cast and the production team. Thank you for a great ride, proxies.”

Sound Cadence, the recording studio for Zenless Zone Zero and a number of other projects (Digimon, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora), later released a statement clarifying every one of its contracts has “explicit AI protections, regardless of union status. […] Our studio has and will continue to honor legacy casting on all projects we’ve inherited whenever possible, and always reach out to actors to reprise their roles before investigating any other options.”

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“We respect the decisions of all actors in navigating the ongoing strike, and fully support SAG-AFTRA in its AI negotiations,” it continued. “We will continue to bring voices to our clients’ projects in the most human way possible.”