Call of Duty has a long-running tradition of live‑action spots anchored by “The Replacer,” a deadpan fixer who steps in so you can keep playing. For Black Ops 7, that character returns and then immediately hands things off — by way of a tongue‑in‑cheek sequence that puts him on a celebrity flight to Mars. The gag sets up a new wave of “Replacer replacers,” cameos, and regional variants, all designed to bridge the game’s near‑future story with pop‑culture faces you recognize.
The Replacer’s Mars spot: everyone on screen
The headline ad riffs on a high‑profile celebrity spaceflight: The Replacer boards a Mars‑bound ride with famous passengers, so new operatives are called in to cover for him. Here are the key players viewers will recognize in that commercial:
| Person | Role in the ad | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Stormare | The Replacer | Series mainstay; appears briefly before “leaving” for the Mars flight. |
| Terry Crews | New Replacer | Steps in from “Replacer HQ.” |
| Nikki Glaser | New Replacer | Also dispatched from “Replacer HQ.” |
| Jake Paul | Cameo passenger | One of the celebrities aboard the fictional flight. |
| Huda Mustafa | Cameo passenger | Love Island alum; also aboard the flight. |
That one spot does most of the heavy lifting for the year’s live‑action marketing, resetting the Replacer conceit and lining up a wider cast for region‑specific ads.
Regional “Replacer” ads: who fronts them
Black Ops 7 expands the formula with localized Replacer creatives. If you’ve seen short social clips or regional TV cuts, these are the faces tied to those markets:
| Region | Featured Replacer | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| France | Philippe Etchebest | Chef and TV host |
| Germany | Nura | Rapper and entertainer |
| Brazil | Igor “Igão” Cavalari & Thiago “Mítico” Marques | Podpah podcast hosts |
| Latin America | Carlos Ballarta | Comedian and actor |
These spots mirror the main ad’s premise — a Replacer steps in so you don’t have to — while swapping in personalities familiar to local audiences.
The Emma Kagan teaser: the Guild’s CEO takes the stage
Separate from The Replacer campaign, the game’s first official teaser leans into story. It plays like a slick corporate sizzle reel for the Guild, the techno‑power broker introduced in Black Ops 6, and culminates with its leader introducing herself as Emma. That character is central to Black Ops 7’s plot and is portrayed in‑game by Kiernan Shipka.
Commercial cast vs. in‑game cast: who’s who
The ads blend celebrity cameos with the franchise’s own marketing characters; they’re distinct from the performers who carry the campaign and Zombies modes. Here’s a quick way to separate the two:
| Category | Name | Character/role | Where you see them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live‑action ad | Peter Stormare | The Replacer | Commercials |
| Live‑action ad | Terry Crews | New Replacer | Commercials |
| Live‑action ad | Nikki Glaser | New Replacer | Commercials |
| Live‑action ad (cameo) | Jake Paul | Mars flight passenger | Commercials |
| Live‑action ad (cameo) | Huda Mustafa | Mars flight passenger | Commercials |
| In‑game | Milo Ventimiglia | David Mason | Campaign |
| In‑game | Kiernan Shipka | Emma Kagan | Campaign, story teaser |
| In‑game | Michael Rooker | Mike Harper | Campaign |
| In‑game | John Eric Bentley | Eric Samuels | Campaign |
| In‑game | Frankie Adams | “50/50” | Campaign (JSOC team) |
| In‑game | Jesse Corti | Raul Menendez | Campaign |
| In‑game (Zombies) | Steve Blum | “Tank” Dempsey | Zombies |
| In‑game (Zombies) | Nolan North | Edward Richtofen | Zombies |
| In‑game (Zombies) | Fred Tatasciore | Nikolai Belinski | Zombies |
| In‑game | Nelson Lee | Takeo Masaki | Zombies |
| In‑game | D.C. Douglas | Guild Robot #1 | Campaign |
| In‑game | Joshua Dov | Razor | Campaign |
| In‑game | Gogo Lomo‑David | Guilded Soldier | Campaign |
If you want to match a face from the commercials to a character in the story: don’t. The live‑action ads aren’t canon; they’re built to entertain, tease a theme, and hand off to the actual campaign cast.
How the ads echo the game’s themes
Black Ops 7’s story is set in 2035 with the world fraying under psychological warfare and proxy conflicts. The ads lean into that near‑future, quasi‑satirical mood: a celebrity rocket launch gone sideways, a corporate monologue from a tech CEO promising to “safeguard tomorrow,” and a revolving door of Replacers hint at the game’s fixation on control, spectacle, and the shadowy power of the Guild. It’s marketing with a wink, but it maps closely to the plot beats you’ll see once you start the campaign.
If all you needed was a name to put to a face from the latest spot, you’ve got it here. If you’re trying to sort out who you’ll actually play alongside, look to the in‑game roster — that’s where Mason, Kagan, Harper, and the Zombies crew live.
