Platinum Games has confirmed that Jennifer Hale, a Canadian-American voice actress, will be Bayonetta’s new voice for the upcoming games.
(Image credit: Platinum Games)
During an interview with Game Informer about Bayonetta 3, the new game in the Bayonetta series scheduled for October 28, the studio confirmed that the main character’s official voice will change. Previously, the English actress Hellena Taylor took over the voice, now Jennifer Hale officially takes over. Back in September, Taylor hinted that she wouldn’t be voicing Bayonetta in the third installment, but that remained just a rumor.
Jennifer Hale is a voice actress with a lot of gaming experience. You will surely recognize her because she is the voice of the female version of Commander Shepard in Mass Effect, the voice of Samus Aran in the Metroid Prime series, the voice of Naomi Hunter in the Metal Gear Solid series, the voice, among others by Ashe in the shooter Overwatch and the voice of Rivet in the new Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. So it was probably part of your gaming experience at some point.
Various overlapping circumstances made it difficult for Hellena Taylor to reprise her role. We held auditions to select Bayonetta’s new voice and offered Jennifer Hale the role, which we felt would be a good fit for the character. I understand some fans’ concerns about the voice change at this point in the series, but Jennifer’s performance was far beyond what we could have imagined. I am confident that her portrayal of Bayonetta will exceed our fans’ expectations.” Game Director, Yusuke Miyata.
Platinum Games also confirms that the character’s Japanese voiceover (VO) will not change, it will always be interpreted by Atsuko Tanaka. Even the Game Informer reporter, after testing the game himself, finds that the difference is not remarkable. The performances of the two actresses are similar and both are excellent.