Kiefer Sutherland Hired For Major Role In Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Konami held a pre-E3 press conference this morning and announced that Kiefer Sutherland would be the new voice actor for Snake in the new Metal Gear Solid game. 

And from what I've been reading, the reaction to this news has been rather mixed, though I think most of that has to do with the fact that David Hayter has been the voice of the franchise for many, many years. No one is saying that Kiefer Sutherland sucks or is totally wrong for the part mind you... they just seem a little underwhelmed. Personally, I would have loved for them to have cut out the middleman and rolled a truckful of money up to Kurt Russell's house and made older gamers die of a geekgasm.

There is speculation that David Hayter may be back as Solid Snake with Sutherland playing the man formerly known as Naked Snake who became the Big Boss, but I don't think that is going to happen... at least not the way the game is being pitched (since it takes place in 1984 and that character didn't start having an active military life until 1991).

I am wondering if in the English dub, there is going to be a 24 reference or joke... like perhaps in the middle of a codec conversation Snake will randomly yell "Dammit Chloe!" and we will all laugh. I think the fact that Kiefer Sutherland is playing a hardened veteran of many battles against terrorist groups in a world full of sinister conspiracies as another character named Jack is sort of funny.

With the news that Kiefer Sutherland is also going to be reprising his role as Jack Bauer in an upcoming 24 miniseries and Paul W.S. Anderson's Pompeii, it seems that he is going to have a full plate for a while.