Frank Wood’s voice actor isn’t back for Black Ops: Cold War and he doesn’t understand why

You might have noticed when that Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War trailer dropped last week that something was a little off. I’m not talking about that ridiculous piece of censorship, nor am I talking about that uncannily accurate digitisation of Ronald Reagan (who’s ready for some war crimes!). What I am talking about are the voices used in the game because they just sounded a little off. I’ll admit I didn’t notice anything strange but that’s because I haven’t been a devoted Black Ops player. Those fans that have played those games to death noticed that Frank Woods, arguably the most iconic character of the sub-franchise, had a slightly different voice. Turns out, voice actor James C. Burns wasn’t asked o reprise his role which is…pretty strange given that Cold War is a direct sequel to the original.

What’s even stranger is that Burns doesn’t even know why he was left out of the project, but he’s been vocal about how “bummed” he is to not return. “Not a knock on whoever they got in to do it, but he doesn’t have the background I have with Woods. I’ve got 11 years with this guy man, and I have all this backstory and all this front-loaded stuff… and I know the… man!” said Burns in a YouTube video, thankfully transcribed by Eurogamer.

So that’s my frustration. I would have f***ing cru – not that this guy’s not going to do a good job. I’m sure he is. He’s a professional actor. I’m sure he’ll do fine. But… ah! I would have f***ing crushed this thing. That’s my frustration.

Which sounds a little salty, but frankly (HA) doesn’t he have a right to be a little annoyed? Burns has played Frank Woods for upwards of a decade now, so to see him replaced for a game that will probably include a decent chunk of Woods is both strange and more than a little frustrating from his side.

Some folks have suggested that Burns was dropped due to his involvement with a fan-made Zombies map named Kowloon but the actor has dispelled this line of reasoning. Burns isn’t the only member of the original cast to not make it into Cold War: Sam Worthington and Ed Harris (who played Alex Mason and Jason Hudson respectively) aren’t coming back for Cold War despite their characters being featured in the game.

Last Updated: August 31, 2020