Treyarch has treated the fans of the Call of Duty franchise with a colossal announcement, especially those who are fanatical about the Zombies mode. They have confirmed the voice cast for the “newest” Black Ops 7 Zombies squad, which is basically a callback to the classic one that started it all: Original four- Nikolai Belinski, Edward Richtofen, “Tank” Dempsey, and Takeo Masaki. Come back, after Oh, so long: Fred Tatasciore has reprised the role as Nikolai, Nolan North as Richtofen, and Steve Blum as Tank Dempsey. The biggest change is that Nelson Lee takes over the spotlight role of Takeo Masaki, previously inhabited by the legendary Tom Kane.
Now, to a layman, this is some serious stuff. The OG team from the World at War days up to Black Ops is actually the very base of the whole Zombies story. They’re the OGs. So in bringing them back to Black Ops 7, Treyarch is basically telling the hardcore fans who have been asking for that classic feel to be brought back that they’re listening. Now, spotlight-grabbing question: What’s up with Takeo switching from Tom Kane to Nelson Lee?
The Twitter community reacted… surprisingly well? And that very rarely happens, given that the Call of Duty crowd is often one of the worst among online communities to offer downright nasty remarks. Most of the commentary was sympathetic about the situation: Tom Kane’s legacy is respected, while Nelson Lee is welcomed with open arms. User @SmackBarmlul stated, “The best way to go about it! Cant wait to see Nelson’s take on the character.” @MadcapGaming420 added, “thats so wholesome, we love tom kane with all our hearts but we welcome nelson with open arms, he is going to kill it!!!!”
The kind of widespread optimism seen during a CoD reveal, especially one that comes with a change to a very beloved character, is rarely ever seen. Thebluefoxvn said, “I love the replies. For how toxic the Cod community is, most of these replies are positive when it comes to Nelson’s new role. Gives me a tinge of hope that this year’s game might make a comeback in some way.”
All was not sunshine and rainbows, though. Naturally, there’s always gotta be one guy, isn’t there? @fuckkkq threw some shade, saying, “You appease to ur Warzone fans by carrying forward the BO6 Zombies crew. What a disgrace.” But honestly, that seems to be the minority opinion here. Most people are just hyped that the original crew is back together.
The respect for Tom Kane has been the loudest thing said in the conversation. @Blue_Knightt tweeted, “Thank you guys for acknowledging and understanding how important the legacy of these characters are to the zombies community. Tom Kane is a hero that brought one of the most iconic video game characters of all time to life.” Meanwhile, @seapicklereal said, “super happy that not only is lee highlighting tom kane’s importance, but so is treyarch. it’s certainly warming me up to this new interpretation of takeo.”
So who is this Nelson Lee dude anyway? Well, he’s far from a nobody. @BaronOfZLand saw him in Stargirl, and thinks he’s a great choice. Someone else remarked that Nelson Lee was the professor in one of the Powerpuff Girls shows. So he’s got credentials. They generally agree he is a worthy successor to everybody’s interest to hear his interpretation of the samurai warrior.
It might just be a way for Treyarch to make up for lost time. This past dropout and rescue of Zombies: to some of the fans had basically been downhill. With the original squad being back, mostly with the original voices, is redeeming them with nostalgia. These guys just might be hinting at a return to what used to make Zombies so special: The totally insane, somewhat humorous yet darker mystery of these four murdering professors caught in an endless fight with zombies.
And another thing to me: voice acting has always been half the fun. The banter, the personalities, and the shear dumbness. Steve Blum hollerin’ “Time to get paid, you undead sumbitches!” and Nolan’s madness-filled chuckle as Richtofen… it just chef’s kiss. So holding on to that consistency for three out of four is probably the best decision they’ve made.
In a nutshell, the hype is real. Replies going around read “WE ARE BACK,” “LFGGGGG the OGs are back,” and a billion other renditions of “my boys are back.” It’s been a while since such excitement was seen. Finally, it looks as if Treyarch is throwing a bone to the fans.
So what does this mean for Black Ops 7? Well, this is a big hint that Zombies mode is going to be a huge thing. This kind of announcement isn’t made for just anything. This screams resurrection, maybe a classic zombies experience, meaning an attempt to recreate the magic of the very first Black Ops suite. And honestly, that’s what most players have been waiting for these past few years.
Big W right here for Treyarch. The community has been mostly applauding around something so drastic to a dearly beloved character. Now, to just wait and watch Nelson Lee. He better kill it.
Call of Duty fans on PlayStation and Xbox are eagerly awaiting more news.
