Snake Will Sound Like Jack Bauer In ‘Metal Gear Solid 5′
Hideo Kojima’s obsession with Hollywood rears its ugly head again. After 15 years, Konami has replaced David Hayter with Kiefer Sutherland (24), 46, as the voice of Metal Gear Solid’s iconic Solid Snake character.
“This time with Metal Gear Solid 5, the themes are a little different from previous games in the series,” Hideo says in a video that was shown at Konami’s pre-E3 event. “We’re taking on some very heavy subjects, such as race and revenge. This makes the tone much darker. As a result, I wanted Snake to have a more subdued performance expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice rather than words.”
“Furthermore, the game takes place in 1984, when Snake is 49 years old. Therefore, we needed someone that could genuinely convey both the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late 40s,” he explains. “It’s different from anything we’ve done before, so I asked a producer friend of mine in Hollywood—Avi Arad—for advice. He’s the one that introduced me to Mr. Kiefer Sutherland, and I was like, ‘why didn’t I think of that?’.”
Kojima says Kiefer was the “perfect fit in terms of age and performance.”
Like most voice actors, David can’t be silenced. Before thanking fans for making his firing “heartwarming,” he took advantage of Twitter’s line breaks and shared a few sarcastic snipes in response to the announcement.
Look,I tried to warn you…
— David Hayter (@DavidBHayter) June 6, 2013
Ah well,Can’t fault @realkieferGreat actor, good man.The game will probably still be excellent.Like New Coke!
— David Hayter (@DavidBHayter) June 6, 2013
If you’re unfamiliar with the “disastrous reaction” to “New Coke,” read about it here.
Kiefer will make his debut as Jack Bauer Snake in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, which is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360 in early 2014.