Jim Ward doesn't return to voice Captain Qwark in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Jim Ward is an American retired voice actor, radio personality, and camera operator. He was the co-host of The Stephanie Miller Show as well as the voice actor of certain characters like Diamondhead from Ben 10, Doug Dimmadome and Chet Ubetcha from The Fairly OddParents, and most notably Captain Qwark from Ratchet & Clank. However, it was reported back in 2021 that he did not return to voice Qwark starting off with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

Background
While it was confirmed that Captain Qwark is set to appear in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, it was reported that Jim Ward couldn't make it to voice Qwark in the game. The reason behind this is because he has fallen ill with Alzheimers disease and also got a severe case of COVID-19. Both factors not only killed his chance of returning to voice Qwark but also killing off his chance of returning to do voice acting.

Later on, his wife Janice what was going on with her quote ''"Dear Friends, family, and fans of the greatest voice over actor ever, (my biased opinion) Jim Ward, loved by thousands. Jim made people spew coffee at unexpected moments and people pulled over to the side of the road cuz they couldn’t stop laughing. Many of you have wondered where our voice deity went. Well, he got sick. At first it was mild cognitive memory issue. Once he arrived at Silverado Beverly Place Memory Care, all was well but two weeks later he got the worst case of COVID imaginable. (He almost died numerous times). He was completely paralyzed and hospitalized for four months where he learned to eat again, walk again, etc. Jim’s now back at Silverado. Not close to how he was when he got COVID. It really set him back. But, the amazing thing about Alzheimers is part of the brain still functions normally. The other part – well, he has no memory, not from a year ago, a day ago, 10 minutes ago, 2 seconds ago. But he still plays harmonica, guitar, does voices, and sings. He still knows who I am. They take such great care of him at Silverado. They love him. So do I. It costs almost $9000/month for his care at Silverado. And, he had over a million dollars in medical expenses at Cedars and CRI. Thankfully, his SAG/AFTRA insurance paid most of it. But we are way in debt for approx $50,000 for medical and caregivers expenses not paid by insurance... What a wonderful ride."''

After Jim retired, Scott Whyte became the new voice actor for Captain Qwark in Rift Apart.

Source

 * Smith, Rebecca. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Won’t Feature Jim Ward as Captain Qwark Due to Illness, PlayStation LifeStyle, May 12, 2021