Gary Sinise will not be returning as CAPCOM in the relaunched Mission: SPACE attraction at Epcot when it returns August 13th, a role he has had in the ride since it opened in 2003. American actress Gina Torres will replace Sinise in completely new attraction pre-show videos.
Gina Torres has appeared in many television series, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (as Nebula), Xena: Warrior Princess (as Cleopatra), the short-lived Cleopatra 2525, Alias (as Anna Espinosa), Firefly (as Zoe Washburne), Angel (as Jasmine), 24 (as Julia Miliken), Suits (as Jessica Pearson), The Shield (as Sadie Kavanaugh), and Westworld (as Lauren). She starred opposite Chris Rock in the feature film I Think I Love My Wife, as Carla in the independent film South of Pico, and she reprised her Firefly role in its feature film sequel Serenity. Since 2011, she has had a main role on the USA Network series Suits as Jessica Pearson. She and real-life husband Laurence Fishburne played a married couple on the NBC television series Hannibal.
You can always relive the classic pre-show experience and attraction through our video below:
The re-launched Mission: SPACE opens this Sunday at Epcot.
Oh darn, no more Lieutenant Dan to send us off into space. It’s okay though, I’ll just have to resort to seeing the man in person when he comes to visit the World War II museum here in NOLA.
She’s all yours CAPCOM!
That’s a damn shame….Disney would be hard pressed to find a better American than Mr. Sinise. Another shame is that they keep the image of Johnny Depp alive in Pirates…one of our more despicable citizens
Show us on the doll where Mr. Depp hurt you, Keith. And don’t worry, you’ll be able to buy your hero Gary’s wig on eBay soon as a keepsake.
Could not agree with you more Keith. This is another bad decision by Libney.
Keith: You are spot on. Also, replacing Sinise with Torres is not a family-friendly move. This is not a classy move.
Why?
Because racism.
I just hope the new pre show is shorter. For a ride that rarely had a wait, it took SO long to actually get on the ride!
I know I’m weird, but when I heard Mr. Sinise look in the camera and say, “Go for launch…” I knew I was at Disney World. I know change is inevitable but I’m kind of sad about this. Looking forward to the new experience, though!
I hate changes at WDW!!!
No one cares.
Gina Torres is fantastic.
All will be well.
She was great on Firefly – looking forward to the change! I wonder why Disney didn’t try to get an actual astronaut instead of an actor/actress?
Or he’s been replaced because of his conservative views.
Seen to new intro with Ms. Torres and thought it was awful. She was awful and her backup person in CAPCOM is a guy wearing a business suit! It looks like they grabbed some Disney exec, told him to take off his tie and stick on a Mission Space Lapel pin and pretend to be a controller. The entire intro film is cheesy and doesn’t come close to the coolness that the Gary Sinese film had. For someone who heads straight for this ride when they get to Epcot this was a major disappointment.
The second, and larger disappointment was the new ride for the less intense experience. Instead of a mission to mars you get a single orbit around earth that goes by so fast if you blink you miss it.
Way to take a great ride and make it mediocre Disney….
Kevin – Completely agree. the pre-launch video was far less appealing than the Sinise pre-launch video. And the new less intense experience was a complete disappointment. This only proves that change is not always for the better. Still, EPCOT is my favorite park, and I’ll keep on visiting.