PlatinumGames has confirmed that actor Hellena Taylor will not return to voice the series’ heroine in Bayonetta 3.
Taylor’s departure was confirmed by game director Yusuke Miyata in an interview with Game Informer (interview is behind GI’s subscriber paywall). Miyata confirmed that Taylor was not involved in the English dub of Bayonetta 3 and that the role will now be played by veteran voice actor Jennifer Hale.
“Various overlapping circumstances made it difficult for Hellena Taylor to reprise her role,” Miyata told GI. “We held auditions to cast the new voice of Bayonetta and offered the role to Jennifer Hale, whom we felt was a good match for the character. 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.”
Taylor has played Bayonetta in both of the series’ first two outings and reprised the character for her appearance in Super Smash Bros. as well. Hale is, of course, a name well known to game enjoyers around the world, the female voice of Commander Shepard in Mass Effect and Ashe in Overwatch among hundreds of other well-known performances.
For those who prefer the Japanese dub, you can relax. Bayonetta’s Japanese voice actor Atsuko Tanaka isn’t going anywhere.
Bayonetta 3 launches on October 28, 2022, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
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