Despite Feeling Like She “Definitely Got Thrown Under The Bus” For ‘Bayonetta 3’, Replacement VA Jennifer Hale Would “Love” Another Go As Titular Witch
Though less than thrilled with how PlatinumGames handled the now infamous ‘Bayonetta 3 Replacement Saga’, the Umbral Witch’s new voice actor Jennifer Hale is not only ready but outright excited for a chance to once again portray the sensual multiverse defender.
As previously reported, the controversy in question kicked off in late 2022 when, during an October interview with Game Informer, Bayonetta 3 director Yusuke Miyata revealed that Taylor would no longer be voicing the titular heroine due to “various overlapping circumstances”.
Instead, he confirmed, the high-flying witch would be voiced in the franchise’s third entry by Jennifer Hale, a veteran voice actor whose extensive filmography includes such credits as Naomi Hunter in the Metal Gear Solid series and Mass Effect‘s female Commander Shepard.
After this change was publicly announced, Taylor took to social media to accuse PlatinumGames, and Kamiya in particular, of offering her a one-time payment of $4,000 “to do the whole game”.
“Platinum had the cheek to say that I was busy,” she noted. “Well, I had nothing but time.”
Taylor subsequently called on fans to “boycott this game and instead spend the money that you would have spent on this game, donating it to charity.”
“I understand that boycotting this game is a personal choice, and there are those that won’t, and that’s fine,” said the voice actor. “But if you’re someone who cares about people, who cares about the world around you, who cares about who gets hurt with these financial decisions, then I urge you to boycott this game.”
But shortly thereafter, a pair of insiders disclosed to Bloomberg‘s Jason Schreier that rather than just $4,000, Taylor was actually offered “$3,000 to $4,000 for four hours in the studio”, a rough total of $15,000.
Not only that, but the $4,000 offer was not for ‘the entire game’ as Taylor claimed, but rather a simple cameo (likely one that had to do with Bayonetta 3‘s multiversal premise).
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Taylor would then attempt to rationalize her decision to publicly fudge the numbers – However, with the public’s trust in her absolutely shattered, the voice actress found little support, and as such not only saw her profile fade with fans, but given how she has not appeared in anything since, also the industry.
And it was in the context of this entire debacle that the GamingBible‘s Richard Breslin recently asked Hale if she had any interest in once again wielding the Dark Arts.
“I’d love to play Bayonetta again,” she declared. “But I definitely got thrown under the bus by that whole thing, and I was unable to speak on my own behalf because I was under not one but two NDAs. Eventually, I was allowed to make a statement, which I appreciated, and I was able to present the facts.”
“There were some things said [that were] presented as facts, but were false. I would have never taken a role otherwise. Before I accepted the audition, I checked everything thoroughly, and I trust the director. Thankfully, playing Bayonetta was so much fun, and the community was so welcoming to me, especially after the fiasco had passed and the facts came out. But it was not fun getting thrown under the bus like I had, but I was happy to come out on the other side.”
Unfortunately for both Hale and fans, as of publication the Bayonetta series does not have any publicly announced projects in active development.
