Naomi Shindo will not reprise her role as Cagalli in the upcoming Mobile Suit Gundam Seed movie, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Freedom. Instead, Nanako Mori will take over the role. According to an official statement from Sunrise, this decision came after talks with the actress and her agents. However, it did not release a specific reason. [Thanks, Oricon!]
Though Sunrise did not give a reason as to why Shindo will not return as Cagalli, it reminds fans to avoid asking the cast or staff of the movie about her. This is so that people don’t spam their social media with questions they can’t answer. Everyone else will return to voice their original roles from the show. This includes Soichiro Hoshi as Kira, Akira Ishida as Athrun, and Kenichi Suzumura as Shinn.
Naomi Shindo is still active as a voice actress today. However, she has not been as active as before. Aside from Cagalli, she also voiced Shizuru in My-HiME, Juli Mizrahi in the Xenosaga series, and Havoc in Darker than Black.
As for Nanako Mori, she debuted in 2005 and works as both an actress and narrator as well. She was originally part of Takarazuka Revue as Chihaya Saeki. As a voice actress, she’s played roles such as Akira Kenjo (Cure Chocolate) in Kirakira PreCure a la Mode. She was also Figue in Soul Hackers 2 and Arlecchino in Genshin Impact. She states that she is very proud to be a part of Freedom and will do her best in the role of Cagalli so that everyone can enjoy the story.
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Freedom will air in theaters in Japan on January 26, 2024.
