Remember Tales From The Borderlands? Quite good, that. Way again when, Telltale took Gearbox’s blockbuster and ditched the garbage bits (many of the memes, all the capturing) and made fairly a superb little story. Now, we all know what happened to Telltale – so it was refreshing information when it appeared at the least one Tales character can be returning in Borderlands 3, Troy Baker’s main lad Rhys.
But whereas Rhys returned, Baker didn’t. Now the prolific voice actor claims Gearbox’s anti-union insurance policies have been behind his failure to return to the Borderlands.
Rhys is kind of a distinct fellow in Borklambs 3, with a brand new moustache and a brand new voice courtesy of Ray Chase (Final Fantasy XV’s Noctis). Back in April, Baker’s absence from Burgerlads Three triggered a little bit of confusion.
On the one hand, you had Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford claiming Baker turned down the gig. On the opposite, Baker himself was telling fans at Supanova Comic-Con that Gearbox flatly mentioned he wouldn’t be returning.
But whereas it seems each appeared wanting to get Baker again on board, it seems the 2 events might have come to a head over his membership within the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG-AFTRA). Speaking to VG247, Baker claimed he “absolutely” needed to reprise the function of Rhys. Unfortunately for him, Gearbox didn’t cede to SAG-AFTRA’s necessities for work – and union members can only accept union jobs.
“It was simply a matter of they wouldn’t go union. And I can’t do a non-union gig. And without getting too deep into the weeds of that, we had long conversations about this. We always knew going into it, that this was going to be the thing. They were going to take these characters, and put them from the Tales from the Borderlands series from Telltale, into Borderlands proper. I’ve been waiting for this call. They were like, ‘Do you want to do this?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ They never, because they would never move from that position.”
In a press release delivered to Kotaku, SAG-AFTRA backed up Baker’s declare with their very own. In their phrases, Gearbox “refused and disengaged” from union talks.
“The misguided decision by Gearbox to deny their performers the opportunity to have fair union wages, a safe workplace and the possibility of health care coverage for their families, is unfortunate.”
Gearbox, in the meantime in their very own assertion to Kotaku, reassert Pitchord’s line that it was Baker who spurned them. They say they have been following native labour legal guidelines and it was unlucky that Baker selected to disengage with negotiations. They additionally quietly assert that it was Gearbox who thrust Baker within the highlight, lengthy earlier than these pesky unions received in the best way.
More than defusing the argument, Gearbox’s assertion appears extra involved with scoring factors by portray themselves because the wronged, if benevolent, get together.
“Troy is an exceptional talent and we were disappointed that he declined to partner on Borderlands 3 after being offered the part. We wish him the best and hope he knows the offer to collaborate with him still stands. Gearbox is a Texas company and is bound by Texas law — which means that a person cannot be denied employment because of membership or non-membership in a labour union or other labour organisation. As a talent-owned and talent-led organisation, Gearbox enthusiastically works to ensure our pay and working conditions meet or exceed union standards. We also believe strongly in hiring local voice actors whenever we can which is why we’re thrilled Troy’s career really took off after working with us.”
Fortunately, Baker doesn’t appear overly wounded by the Rhys recast, telling VG247: “I’m not mad. It’s invariably a completely different character, but it still stings”.
He’s nonetheless received The Last Of Us 2, in any case. I’m positive he’ll do high quality.
