Rooster Teeth’s annual RTX convention kicked off on August 7, 2015, with a panel dedicated to the production company’s highly acclaimed anime series RWBY. In a packed ballroom, animation leads Kerry Shawcross, Miles Luna, and Gray Haddock, along with the four lead voice actresses, discussed their plans for the future of RWBY.
The RWBY panel started with a moment of silence for the show’s incredibly talented creator Monty Oum, who passed away unexpectedly in February 2015. The show’s cast and crew noted how the unfortunate situation has put them behind about five months on production, but that they’re still pressing forward with RWBY Volume 3 and all things RWBY-related.
For example, the RWBY cast and crew played a trailer for the Japanese-dubbed version of RWBY Volume 1. That iteration of the Rooster Teeth show, announced in August 2014, will be the first-ever American anime exported to Japan. The dubbed version of revealed its Japanese voice-over cast in June 2015, which includes acting talent from series such as Attack on Titan and Kill La Kill.
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Shawcross then showed concept art from new locations and sets to appear in RWBY Volume 3. The first set is a tournament arena. Located on the campus of the show’s fictional Beacon Academy, the arena comes complete with a center battle field large enough to boast various biomes like fire, ice, and grasslands. Outside of the arena is a fairgrounds set with food stands, shops, and games.
Finally, the RWBY team announced the voice talent for new characters in Volume 3. Elizabeth Maxwell, known for her work in Ghost in the Shell Arise and the English version of Attack on Titan, will play Winter Schnee, the sister of one of the main character, Weiss. Additionally, Uncle Qrow will be voiced by Vic Mignogna (of Fullmetal Alchemist fame).
Before closing the panel with questions, Shawcross, Luna, and Haddock revealed in a touching moment they had asked Neath Oum to take over his brother Monty’s voice acting duties for the character Lie Ren. While Ren will obviously sound different, Haddock explained “[Neath]’s working really hard” to take over for his brother’s role. “He’s not a professional actor, but he cares very, very much about doing right by the part.”
