Crunchyroll announced that it will replace a number of voice actors for the third season of Mob Psycho 100.
As reported by Kotaku, Crunchyroll confirmed that it will need to recast the voices for some of the characters for its simuldub of Mob Psycho 100 III, as the company is transitioning back into in-person recording at its production studio in Dallas, TX, after resorting to remote-recording during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that many of the English voice actors featured in the first two seasons of the anime series are not based in Texas, Crunchyroll stated that some roles will be recast to meet production and casting guidelines.
A Complex Contract
That does not seem to be the complete story, however. Voice actor Kyle McCarley, who plays main character Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama, shared he may not be lending his talents for Mob Psycho 100's upcoming season, as Crunchyroll has refused his request to enter into negotiations for a possible contract with Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union representatives. This may be a problem for McCarley, who typically refuses to work on non-union dubs.
"It has been made abundantly clear to me that in the case of season three of Mob Psycho 100, Crunchyroll is not going to be producing that show on a SAG-AFTRA contract," McCarley said. This is despite the voice actor's claims that SAG-AFTRA would have heard out any reasonable terms Crunchyroll suggested and been flexible in its approach. According to McCarley, he and a "good portion of the cast" agreed on some terms for their respective contracts before they were directly sent to Crunchyroll's Justin Cook. McCarley also personally emailed Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini, the company's chief content officer, chief people officer, chief operating and officer, and Justin Cook to reassure them that he only wanted a meeting to take place.
McCarley stated that he was then contacted by Crunchyroll on Sept. 8 about whether he was able to reprise his role as Mob, but he found the entire situation strange due to the fact that the third season was due to premiere very soon on Oct. 5. Cook then gave the voice actor a phone call yesterday to confirm that his request for a meeting was unfortunately denied. "I don't know why they are so firmly anti-union that they won't even agree to having a conversation about it," McCarley said. "I felt like it was a pretty reasonable request, but you'd have to ask them why they appear to disagree."
The first two seasons of Mob Psycho 100 are available to stream on Crunchyroll and Funimation. Mob Psycho 100 III will air its first episode on Oct. 5.
Source: Kotaku via Anime News Network