According to PlatinumGames, “a number of circumstances” made it challenging for the original voice to reprise the part.
The eagerly anticipated third entry in Platinum Games’ popular action-adventure series, Bayonetta 3, is almost here. The game, which was first announced in 2017, would witness the return of the title’s gun-toting Time Witch as she hacks, slashes, and vogues her way through a horde of supernatural foes to prevent the extinction of the mortal realm.
However, since Bayonetta’s original voice actor, Hellena Taylor, won’t be returning for the sequel, fans of the game will have to get used to hearing a new voice emanating from the sartorially flamboyant sorceress.
Director Yusuke Miyata reportedly claimed in a recent interview with Game Informer (via Nintendo Everything) that “overlapping circumstances” precluded Taylor from playing the same part in the sequel. Instead, Jennifer Hale, well renowned for playing Commander Shepard in the first three Mass Effect games, will provide Bayonetta’s voice in the follow-up. In addition, Hale does the voices for the characters Ashe from Overwatch and Bastilla Shan from the 2003 role-playing game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
In an interview with Game Informer, Miyata said, “We held auditions to cast the new voice of Bayonetta and offered the part to Jennifer Hale, whom we believed was a wonderful match for the character.” The voice change at this stage in the series has some fans worried, but Jennifer’s performance was much better than we could have ever expected.
Sarah Johnson of Polygon noted that Bayonetta 3’s emphasis offers “additional options without compromising on the series’ devotion to non-stop action, complex combos, and linear core progression” in her 15-minute hands-on preview of the game during this year’s PAX West.
