SAG-AFTRA has issued a “Do Not Work Order” against the twelfth mainline entry in the Mega Man series, titled Mega Man: Dual Override, as Capcom has failed to “initiate the signatory process” required to hire unionized actors. As a result, Ben Diskin, who voiced Mega Man in Mega Man 11, has announced that he’s “no longer the voice of Mega Man” and won’t be reprising his role in the upcoming game. Diskin speculated that it may be the AI protections a union contract would require that Capcom is trying to avoid agreeing to.
The DNWO was issued by SAG-AFTRA on March 9 and bars all members of the union from working on the game. Doing so would potentially violate “Global Rule One,” which could result in anything from a hefty fine to expulsion from the union. “Please be advised that the producer of the video game production entitled Mega Man: Dual Override has failed to initiate the signatory process,” reads the notice. “As such, SAG-AFTRA members are hereby instructed to withhold any acting services or performance of any covered work for this production until further notice from the union.”
Ben Diskin revealed in a post on Bluesky that he’s had to refuse Capcom’s offer to reprise his role in Mega Man: Dual Override, as it was only offered to him on the basis that he “work without the protections” offered by SAG-AFTRA (and, presumably, any union contract) “With a broken Blue Bomber heart, I am no longer the voice of Mega Man,” announced Diskin. “I was asked to return for Mega Man: Dual Override, but only on the condition I work without the protections of a union contract.”
There’s no official statement on Capcom’s behalf to explain the decision, but Diskin theorized that it may have something to do with SAG-AFTRA’s A.I. guardrail protections. “I was told there are ‘full A.I. protections in place that guarantee in writing that [my] voice will never be used for A.I. development’ but was also told ‘with certainty, from [Capcom], that the project will not go union,’” Diskin continued in a follow-up reply. “In my heart, I want to believe Capcom would never use AI… But in my HEAD, I’m aware that basically every major corporation is looking to incorporate generative AI to save money.”
Kotaku has reached out to Capcom for comment, but has yet to receive a reply.
