Bayonetta’s voice actor replaced by Jennifer Hale
Bayonetta 3, the long-awaited third installment in Platinum Games’ successful action-adventure series, is nearly upon us. First announced back in 2017, the game will see the return of the eponymous gun-toting Time Witch as she hacks, slashes, and vogues her way through an army of supernatural adversaries to save the mortal realm from annihilation.
Fans of the series will have to adjust to a new voice coming from the sartorially flamboyant sorceress however, as Bayonetta’s original voice actor, Hellena Taylor, will not be returning for the sequel.
According to a recent interview with Game Informer (via Nintendo Everything), director Yusuke Miyata stated that “overlapping circumstances” prevented Taylor from reprising her role for the sequel. Instead Jennifer Hale, best known for portraying Commander Shepard in Mass Effect’s original trilogy, will perform the voice of Bayonetta in the sequel. Hale also voices the Overwatch character Ashe, as well as Bastilla Shan, a major character from the 2003 RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
“We held auditions to cast the new voice of Bayonetta and offered the role to Jennifer Hale, whom we felt was a good match for the character,” Miyata told Game Informer. “I understand the concerns some fans have about the voice change at this point in the series, but Jennifer’s performance was way beyond what we could have imagined.”
In Polygon’s 15-minute hands-on preview of Bayonetta during this year’s PAX West, Sarah Johnson wrote that Bayonetta 3’s emphasis offers, “more options without compromising on the series’ commitment to non-stop action, extensive combos, and linear core progression.”
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