Seattle Seahawks star Marshawn Lynch will be appearing in Call of Duty: Black Ops III as one of the games villainous mercenaries.
The Super Bowl XLVII winner has had his likeness digitized and will be bringing his trademarked ‘Beast Mode’ (Lynch’s coined term to describe his epic plays) to Black Ops III this November. ESPN The Magazine broke the news in a featured article by writer Sam Alipour, titled, “The Whole Game is Beast Mode.” The story details Lynch’s involvement with Black Ops III and describes him going for a 3-D facial scan along with a short motion capture session. It also gives Activisions CEO Eric Hirshberg’s view on the inclusion of the NFL superstar; “Marshawn Lynch is the perfect match for Call of Duty. I mean, he’s a guy who fills stadiums, crushes competitors, and has a Beast Mode. What could be more CoD than that?”
Call of Duty is no stranger to celebrity cameos with the likes of Danny Trejo, Robert Englund and Sarah Michelle Gellar: who lead the charge in the Escalation DLC for Black Ops I, which pits the stars against wave after wave of zombies, culminating in a final boss battle with the grand-daddy of all zombies, George A. Romero. Similarly, Black Ops II continued the tradition with appearances from Michael Madsen, Ray Liotta and Joe Pantoliano as 1920s mobsters fighting zombies in Alcatraz. Marshawn Lynch, however, will be the first athlete to appear in the franchise.
Marshawn Lynch and Call of Duty: Black Ops III will be hitting shelves November 6th on PS4, Xbox One and PC.