Invader Zim is headed to SMITE, but voice actor Richard Horvitz and series creator Jhonan Vasquez are upset with the character's recasting.
Popular MOBA SMITE recently announced a massive crossover with Nickelodeon, featuring a handful of iconic Nickelodeon characters, including the title character from Invader Zim. Unfortunately, much to the dismay of original Zim voice actor Richard Horvitz and series creator Jhonen Vasquez, the role of Zim has been handed to a new performer.
Shortly after the SMITE x Nickelodeon trailer released, Horvitz took to Twitter to inform fans that the voice of Zim in the game was not his own, and that SMITE developers Hi-Rez Studios and Titan Forge games had made the decision to move forward with non-union actors, in Zim's case, Andrew Russell. Horvitz expressed his own discomfort and disdain for the decision, calling it "offensive" and "disrespectful."
For the record: @SMITEGame made a licensing deal with @Nickelodeon for the use of Nick characters including Zim. @SMITEGame would not go union and @Nickelodeon allowed this not only is it offensive it is disrespectful. Make no mistake the Zim skin is NOT ME!!!
— Richard Horvitz (@RichardHorvitz) July 8, 2022
In response to Horvitz's post, Invader Zim creator Jhonen Vasquez chimed in with his own take on the situation, saying "ZIM finally gets a voice in games and it’s not his actual voice??" Vasquez's frustration is echoed by many of the replies to his post.
ZIM finally gets a voice in games and it’s not his actual voice?? https://t.co/yjLiJQe1uL
— Jhonen Vasquez (@JhonenV) July 8, 2022
Despite vocal protest from Horvitz, Vasquez and many Invader Zim fans, the character's original voice will not be appearing in SMITE. Horvitz did have a chance to return to the iconic character in 2019's Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, a Netflix-exclusive animated film which acts as an epilogue to the original series, which ended in 2006. Despite receiving wide acclaim from critics and fans alike, a sequel to Enter the Florpus hasn't been announced, and the television series shows no signs of returning.
Horvitz also lent his voice to Zim in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. While the title launched without voice acting, a post-launch content update added voice lines for most of the characters, and, unlike SMITE, NASB brought back many of its characters' respective original voice actors.
SMITE is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, macOS and Microsoft Windows. The SMITE x Nickelodeon collaboration will release on July 12, 2022. The crossover will feature Nickelodeon-themed skins for several characters, and it will be available on all platforms.
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Originally published: July 09, 2022.
Source: CBR.com; Additional source: @miss__domino.
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