David Hayter hasn’t delivered a performance as Snake (or in a way, Big Boss) for way more than a decade, but he’s still irrevocably associated with the character. In 2013, it was revealed that Hayter – who had voiced the iconic MGS character since 1998 – would be replaced, and since then, he has had little to no connection to the legendary franchise.
But, just hours ago, Konami dropped a teaser trailer to promote the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection, and it received a voiceover by the man himself – David Hayer. Toward the end of the short but sweet trailer, through his classic and instantly recognisable gravelly tone, Hayter said, “This is only the beginning.”
He’s The Guy
David Hayter hasn’t voiced Snake in a ‘main’ Metal Gear Solid title since he appeared in 2008’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. He was replaced by Keifer Sutherland in 2015’s Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain, a move that many fans of the franchise were greatly disappointed about.
At the moment, a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is in development, and that’s arguably David Hayter’s most memorable performance as Snake. In terms of the chronology of the story, it’s where everything began – but it’s worth stressing that in that game, he wasn’t playing Solid Snake but the character who would ultimately go on to become Big Boss, which is who Sutherland voiced in 2015.
Here’s the 30-second trailer released by Konami that features Hayter:
It’s widely expected that another ‘volume’ of the Master Collection will arrive in the future, but it’s not yet known if David Hayter will have any deeper involvement beyond advertising the games. It was a shrewd move by Konami, judging by the overwhelmingly positive response to the trailer in the comments, but where does it go from here?
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