Bayonetta 3 Director Confirms Jennifer Hale As The New Voice Of Bayonetta

After rumors swirled that the voice of Bayonetta may be changing in Bayonetta 3, one of the game's directors, Yusuke Miyata, has confirmed that the role has been recast from Hellena Taylor to seasoned voice actress Jennifer Hale.

Miyata confirmed the news in an interview for the latest issue of Game Informer, where he attributed the change to "various overlapping circumstances." Only the English voice actress is changing, however, as Miyata also confirmed Atsuko Tanaka will return to the role for the Japanese voiceover.

As for Hale taking the role, Miyata 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." Miyata also expressed confidence that "her portrayal of Bayonetta will exceed our fans' expectations."

Jennifer Hale is no stranger to voice acting for video games, as her lengthy resume includes providing the voice for the Mass Effect trilogy's female Commander Shepard, Naomi Hunter in the Metal Gear Solid franchise, and Samus Aran for all three Metroid Prime games. She has also performed famous one-off roles including Rosalind Lutece in BioShock Infinite and Overwatch's Ashe.

Bayonetta 3 will launch exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on October 28. The game was featured during the most recent Nintendo Direct, with a trailer showing off Bayonetta's new abilities.