While trendy real-world artists and zeitgeist pop-culture characters often appear in Fortnite, it’s only fitting that Warzone’s new crossover would lift from source material thematically closer to home. Activision has announced via their official Twitter profile that two hard boiled 80’s action heroes who are no strangers to frantic shootouts are coming to the game as playable operators - John McClane from Die Hard and John Rambo from, well, Rambo.
The action begins May 20th. pic.twitter.com/8Rr3c7g26u — Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) May 13, 2021 The announcement came with a fancy bit of key art showing Nakatomi Plaza (which is actually the real world Fox Plaza building) and a shot of Rambo in the iconic jungle location from First Blood. We also got a release date for the new operators: May 20. It isn’t clear if it’s only playable versions of the two Johns coming, or if some other Die Hard and Rambo related content is on the way. It would be impressive if the developers would go the mile and add an actual replica of Nakatomi Plaza to the map - it would fit in with the 80’s aesthetic of the new map, at least - but until we have any additional info from official sources anything is just speculation and wishful thinking. What isn’t mere speculation however is a leaked image showing off what the actual in-game operators will look like. The picture has been making the rounds online, but originated on Reddit and, well… the response from fans is less than stellar. Criticism has been levied against the slightly uncanny depictions of the actors’ faces, which somewhat miss the mark in accurately portraying Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone, however the main point of contention is the physiques of the in-game character models. Commenters quickly coined a meme-worthy name for this issue - ‘Vegan Rambo’.
The bodies used for these two operators do seem a bit too lean. Some have pointed out that the characters as they appear in the first movies of their respective franchises weren’t particularly beefy at the time, but even accounting for that some quick comparisons show that something isn’t quite right. It’s almost certain that the developers won’t be tweaking the models before release, or possibly ever, but this is definitely a learning experience. Future crossover operators, if there will be any - which, honestly, almost certain - will probably hit the mark. Stay tuned for more info on the 80s Action Heroes update for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, launching on May 20.
