Resident Evil 7 is going to "reestablish roots" and scale back on cameos, says Leon voice actor

Don't go into Resident Evil 7 expecting to see familiar faces if what voice actor Matt Mercer says is accurate. In an interview with GameSpot, Mercer - who currently voices fan-favorite hero Leon Kennedy - says that Capcom is focusing on new characters and a new story.

"As far as [Resident Evil] 7 goes, I think they're scaling back a little bit on throwing in all the classic cameos," Mercer said before confirming that he has not been contacted about being in the game. "But I think it's also good of them, especially coming off of [Resident Evil 6] and its lukewarm reception, to go ahead and reestablish their roots and maybe start an original story".

Mercer suggested that if RE7 sells well, that Capcom could look to marry the old with the new and bring back some familiar faces. In the meantime though, think of this as a fresh start for the franchise. But if you want to be a conspiracy theorist...

You'll notice above I wrote that Mercer currently voices Leon - he played the role in Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil: Revelations 2, Resident Evil: Damnation, and Resident Evil: Vendetta. The character has gone through several voice actor changes over the years, so just because Mercer isn't involved doesn't mean Leon (or any of the old crew) won't show up. It would certainly be a sucky way to find out you don't have part anymore, but it's not like that hasn't happened in other games.

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Sam Prell

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.