Kiefer Sutherland to be the Voice of Snake in MGS V

(Warning: there are minor Metal Gear Solid 3 spoilers in this article)

This follows-up from news which broke at the end of March, which said that David Hayter, the voice actor behind Naked Snake (Big Boss) and Solid Snake, would be “excluded” from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Looking at the time-line of the Metal Gear universe, the Phantom Pain seems to be set in 1984, making Big Boss approximately 49 years old when Kiefer Sutherland is expected to play him.

This is before the very first Metal Gear game, which takes place in 1995 and concerns Solid Snake’s first mission to destroy Metal Gear, “Operation Intrude N313”. A much older Big Boss was previously portrayed in the franchise by actor Richard Doyle, adding extra confusion to the matter.

That said, it’s entirely possible that this is all part of a ruse by franchise director Hideo Kojima; he has a long-established reputation of “trolling” his fan-base, going all the way back to the Raiden reveal in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. While David Hayter sounded emotional describing his role in the franchise in April (and his possible departure), the move is surprising considering his strong connections with Konami.

We won’t know for sure until Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is released at an unannounced date on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In the mean-time, David Hayter’s Twitter response to the announcement is below.