Kiefer Sutherland Metal Gear Solid 5 Interview Kojima Konami

After Kojima jerked us around for several months with teases, fake outs and misinformation on Metal Gear Solid V, we finally got a grasp on what was going on with the series when the official Phantum Pain reveal trailer was released. The next big question was who would be playing Snake, with Mr. David Hayter, the voice of Snake since the beginning of the series, at the forefront.

At first he was, then he wasn't, or maybe he was, and then maybe not. Now we know for sure. It's done. It's over. Finito. Hayter is out and Kiefer Sutherland is in. Kojima himself, during the Konami Pre-E3 2013 event this morning, not only announced that Sutherland would be voicing the new Snake, but gave his audience a lot of context as to why this decision was made - and it is starting to make sense.

Metal Gear Solid V will take place in 1984 when Snake (or Big Boss) is 49 years old, so they needed "someone who could genuinely convey both the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late forties," says Kojima. A couple Hollywood connections later and Kojima was introduced to Sutherland, who immediately felt like the obvious choice for the role. While he admits he's not a gamer, Sutherland says he already knew of  the Metal Gear series stating, "I was certainly keenly aware of the legacy of these games, of the unbelievable success of these games." This "success" may have played the most important part in his decision to take the role.

Kiefer Sutherland Motion Capture Metal Gear Solid 5 Kojima Konami

But, really, who cares? Not only is Kiefer an accomplished actor, with a background in espionage we might add, but he seems to have really taken a shine to the character, as well as the the technology behind it. Motion capture will be a large focus in the game's development and this is Sutherland's first experience with it. Kojima wants facial expressions to convey emotion instead of simply relying on dialogue, which has been known to bog down the story in previous installments. While dialogue will still be an important part of setting tone and driving story, Kojima says he, "wanted everything else to be expressed to the player through Snake's facial expression and vocal performance." He later adds, "Thanks to the top notch acting, it's been a great success. I think it will turn out to be something truly special." Possibly, we'll get to see a bit more of Kiefer Snakerland's performance at E3 next week.

How is the original voice of Snake taking this news? Not well, it seems. Last week David Hayter tweeted that he was excited for E3 and hoped he didn't lose his voice, which suggested he might be announcing his return as Snake. Now that this isn't the case, he seems to have taken the news a little hard, tweeting:

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Probably still be excellent? Ouch. Also, for you youngins that don't know about New Coke, it turned out horribly.

Then again, this could all be another Kojima ruse. Hayter hinted earlier that he may have known about the change, tweeting yesterday that he could "feel laryngitis coming on." But this last tweet...

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We wish luck to both Sutherland, who will have some big shoes to fill, and Hayter, who shouldn't worry too much since he will easily find more voicework, and maybe even return as Snake someday in some capacity.

Stay tuned to Game Rant for more Metal Gear Solid V news as it happens.

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Source: Konami