Well… now everybody can stop speculating about all the different people that may or may not be playing Snake in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, as Konami has confirmed at a pre-E3 conference today that Keifer Sutherland will be taking on the role.
Apparently they wanted Sutherland to better convey the persona of a man in his late 40’s, as well as utilize his facial expressions. “I wanted Snake to have a more subdued performance expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice rather than word,” said Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima. He goes on to say that this new approach to the character is “different from anything we’ve ever done before.”
I think this is fantastic news, as I am a huge fan of what Kiefer Sutherland accomplished in 24 and I think he would be a great fit for this character. Jack Bauer was the ultimate bad-ass, so he definitely has what it takes to do justice to the role. Yes, it is sad that the fantastic David Hayter will not be reprising his famous role as Snake, but I also think that it’s exciting that they’re trying something wildly different with this game. The fact that they released a trailer for a game simply called The Phantom Pain that had no link to the Metal Gear Solid series at the time and had a distinctly different feel than anything coming from the Metal Gear Solid series thus far was really interesting to me. It seemed to be more of a psychological thriller than a espionage story, and the trailer wowed me from beginning to end.
Keifer Sutherland was heard from at the conference from a pre-recorded video, in which he talked about his excitement for taking on such a beloved character and his respect for the series. Sutherland said, “It’s an honor to be able to play this character. This character has an unbelievable legacy. There’s a real personal quality to the character that I’ve connected to. I’m not a gamer, and I even know about this game. I was certainly keenly aware of the legacy of these games, the unbelievable success of these games.”
It looks like ol’ Keifer is going to be a busy guy in the near future, as this is coupled with the recent news that 24 is being brought back for a limited event series. Sutherland’s last show Touch was recently cancelled after 2 seasons, but since the ending of that show it has been only good news for Jack Bauer. Here’s to hoping that Metal Gear Solid V is yet another great installment in the awesome series, and that Keifer Sutherland can deliver a fantastic performance that I know he is more than capable of doing.
Condemn O.R. Condone 
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