Devolver gave Moh references to the older games, as well as to situations and conversations that Lo Wang had in them. 'Devolver and Flying Wild Hog always let the voice actors drive a bit of the role for themselves to find something that they feel good about while nailing the tone we want for the character,' Lowrie explains.

'Ultimately, my goal was to create a fresh new voice for Lo Wang to go with his new look without straying from the original voice actor.' But he didn't want to simply repeat his performance from Once Upon a Time. 'I wanted to give his voice the bravado of Bruce Lee mixed in with the sass and wit of Deadpool,' Moh explains. He used his impression of Bruce Lee as a starting point, mostly referencing Lee's charisma, accent, pacing, and tone. But rather than mimicking Liebrecht's performance, he was given full freedom to develop his own take. 'While Mike obviously brought his own voice and riff to Lo Wang, he was also able to maintain the character's tone and personality established over the last two games from Flying Wild Hog,' says Lowrie.Ī gamer himself, Moh was already familiar with Lo Wang, having played the 2013 Shadow Warrior reboot. Devolver chose Moh because he evoked the same 'semi-clueless but always enthusiastic' energy that Liebrecht had imbued in the character. Moh first auditioned for Shadow Warrior 3 via a self-recording before doing it again on Zoom during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mike Moh attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Februin Beverly Hills, California. Recently, Erin Fitzgerald, who voiced the fighter Ramlethal in the Guilty Gear franchise, gave up the part so she could be more appropriately voiced by a Black actress. Other actors have also stepped down from reprising roles to make room for people of color. Devolver Digital and Liebrecht discussed how to recast the role - he understood why the publisher wanted to go in a different direction. in Hollywood.ĭiscussions about casting began as soon as Shadow Warrior 3 entered production. After working with Jason Liebrecht for years, Devolver decided to recast Lo Wang, telling PC Gamer that they wanted to correct 'our mistake of casting a voice actor inconsistent with the hero Lo Wang's cultural background.' Scrapping early recordings with Liebrecht, they brought in Mike Moh, best known for playing Bruce Lee in 2019's Once Upon a Time. Nine years later, the series is taking another step. in HollywoodĪndrew Cooper/Sony Pictures Entertainment Mike Moh portraying martial arts legend Bruce Lee in 2019's Once Upon a Time. Capcom also cast Europeans of Asian descent to voice the English version of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, which takes place in London but revolves around Japanese leads. Bethesda and Tango Gameworks noted how casting for its Asian main character in the upcoming Ghostwire: Tokyo was crucial to getting its setting right. Video game studios have had to pay more attention to how they cast characters of color. For years, Lo Wang was played by Jason Liebrecht, a white man, but for this title, publisher Devolver Digital and developer Flying Wild Hog tapped Hollywood actor Mike Moh for a more authentic cultural portrayal. It's got plenty of gunplay, sword fights, and fantastical monsters, but for the first time in its 25-year history, it now features an Asian actor to voice its Asian protagonist. Shadow Warrior 3 is the latest in a series of blood-soaked action games following assassin Lo Wang. Lo Wang (left) with archenemy-turned-ally Zilla

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