Kiefer Sutherland is the new voice of Snake and will debut in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, as announced by Konami during their pre-E3 live stream event earlier today.
News first broke several weeks ago that long time Snake voice actor David Hayter was not being invited back for the next iteration of Metal Gear Solid. After Hideo Kojima confirmed that Kiefer Sutherland of 24 fame was the new voice, Hayter tweeted, “Getting fired was never so heartwarming” in response to the avalanche of well wishes he received.
According to Kojima in the pre-E3 event, The Phantom Pain is a much darker game than previous entries and requires a character whom expresses himself through facial movements and the tone of his voice. Kojima and/or Konami executives felt Hayter could not perform this role so Kojima turned to Hollywood producer Avi Arad for advice, whom in turn recommended Sutherland.
Kojima goes on to reveal that The Phantom Pain takes place in 1984 when Snake is 49 years old. Not only with Sutherland’s voice be used, but his facial expressions will be motion-captured and input directly into the game.
Watch the pre-E3 Konami video below for the complete Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain Kiefer Sutherland reveal. It starts around the 10:30 mark. Look for a new trailer on June 12 to coincide with E3.
