Recasting Of Bayonetta’s Voice Actor in Bayonetta 3 Confirmed

Bayonetta is an action-adventure game series developed by a Japanese studio, PlatinumGames. The first game of the series was released in 2009 for PC, Switch, PS3, and Xbox 360 followed by Bayonetta 2 in 2014 which, unlike the first game, was Nintendo exclusive.

The third game of the franchise Bayonetta 3, announced in 2017, is set to be released on the 28th of this month.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS

• Jennifer Hale has been recast as Bayonetta’s Voice Actor in Bayonetta 3, as confirmed by Yusuke Miyata in an interview.
• Last year rumors of the departure of long-time voice actor of Bayonetta, Hellen Taylor, were afoot after the actor’s tweet.
• Bayonetta 3 will be released on 28th October exclusively for Nintendo Switch.

When Bayonetta 3 was under development, there were rumors about the change of voice actors. The rumors sparked after the appearance of tweets by Hellen Taylor, the voice actor of Bayonetta, hinting at her possible departure from Bayonetta.

She was responding to a tweet by a fan who said they “can’t imagine Bayonetta without” her “amazing voice.” But still, presumably under some sort of NDA, she responded to yet another fan inquiry with “I am not at liberty to say.”

Well you might have to.

— Hellena Taylor (@hellenataylor) September 12, 2021

The fans were visibly not happy with her leaving the franchise because they identified Bayonetta’s character with Taylor’s voice.

Now those rumors have been practically confirmed by Yusuke Miyata, Bayonetta director, in an interview with Game Informer as reported by Comicbook.com.

Jennifer Hale will now be the voice of Bayonetta. She had previously voiced Glinda the Witch in Amazon’s animated series, Lost in Oz, and Ms. Keane in The Powerpuff Girls. She has also voiced in various video games as well.

About the departure of Hellen Taylor, Miyata cited “various overlapping circumstances” and said that it was practically impossible for Taylor “reprise her role.” So to cast a new voice actor, they held auditions and chose Jennifer Hale arguably the best replacement possible.

Addressing the concerns of fans he said,

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. I’m confident that her portrayal of Bayonetta will exceed our fans’ expectations.”

His praise of Jennifer Hale is not unfounded, as she has voiced many beloved video game characters. Notably Bastila Shan in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Samus Aran in Metroid Prime.

She definitely has the resume to fill the boots of Hellen Taylor. But it remains to be seen whether or not she wins fans over.

Bayonetta 3 will be released on 28th October exclusively for Nintendo Switch.

What do you think? Will Jennifer Hale be able to fill the boots of Hellen Taylor? Discuss below.