10 Times Video Games RECAST Major Roles
1. Kiefer Sutherland - Metal Gear Solid
As the franchise that led the way for the stealth action genre, Metal Gear was once an acclaimed and widely beloved series. Outside of its deep stealth template, the franchise also offered deep and complex stories that drove the cinematic revolution in gaming.
From Metal Gear Solid in 1998 all the way through to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in 2010, the iconic stealth operative Solid Snake, along with his father Big Boss, was voiced by David Hayter who crafted a highly recognisable persona for the character. After a full decade of performing the hero, any new voice actor was going to have a major challenge on their hands.
So it was that when Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain entered development, Kojima wanted a different actor to embrace the game's darker tone. For the final outing of Big Boss, the studio went with Kiefer Sutherland, an actor best known as agent Jack Bauer in the series "24".
Sutherland would end up delivering a highly gravelly performance with fewer words to go around. The idea was to make Snake a man of fewer words with the player's actions in-game defining his character. What this ended up doing was stripping the once charismatic soldier of much of his inner traits. While the game's final twist does make up for this somewhat, there's no doubt that Kiefer's portrayal is a step down.
Do you have any other major voice actor changes in video games to share? Pop them in the comments down below.