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Actor Hellena Taylor released a statement on October 15th through his Twitter account. He has been the voice actor for the English version of Bayonetta, the main character in the “Bayonetta” series, but has stepped down in the new “Bayonetta 3”. In his statement, he explained why he was leaving and called on fans to boycott the new album.
While working as an actor and screenwriter, Taylor is also active as a voice actor. He often participates in game works as a voice actor, and has been in charge of the English version of Bayonetta, the main character of “Bayonetta” and “Bayonetta 2”, and her mother Rosa. He has also worked with Bayonetta in the Super Smash Bros. series and Max He is Anarchy, as well as Valkyrie Profile Blame Bearer and Dragon Age: Origins.
It was thought that Bayonetta’s English voice in “Bayonetta 3” would be played by Hellena Taylor, who has played Bayonetta for a long time, but in October of this year, it was officially announced that she would be stepping down. She was replaced by Jennifer Hale. Mr. Hale is also an actor who is active as a voice actor in video games, for example, the female version of the main character Shepard in the “Mass Effect” series and Ash in “Overwatch”.
Regarding the replacement of the main voice actor, Yusuke Miyata, the director of this work at developer PlatinumGames, explained that it was difficult to appoint Taylor once more because “various circumstances overlapped.”Nintendo Everything). Although the specific reason was not revealed, Mr. Taylor spoke frankly regarding the background this time.
In short, Taylor seems to have voluntarily stepped down from the role of Bayonetta in the new film, citing that he was being paid too little. After mentioning that he has studied at several prestigious schools as an actor and voice actor for many years and has accumulated achievements, he claims that he was offered $ 4,000 (regarding 600,000 yen) as a reward for the role of Bayonetta in “Bayonetta 3”. . He says such a sum is insulting given his own talent and the time he has devoted to the series and its fans. The $4,000 offer is for appearances in the entire Bayonetta 3 game.
He said that $4,000 was a final offer, so it is likely that the initial offer was even lower. I don’t know how much is generally paid to leading voice actors in games in the United States, but in the reaction of overseas media reporting on this matter, there are many opinions that $ 4000 is too low.
After going through an audition, Mr. Taylor was once selected to play the role of Bayonetta in Bayonetta 3. After that, he sent a letter in Japanese to Mr. Hideki Kamiya, who was in charge of the director and scenario of the Bayonetta series, and who is the executive director of this work, asking regarding his own “value”.
According to Taylor, Kamiya reflected back on the first meeting, praising his contribution to the series and saying that fans would like him to come back. However, the offered reward is $4,000. Taylor also claimed that PlatinumGames had explained that he was leaving because he was too busy. Taylor himself had time to suggest that he had been misrepresented.
Taylor then urged fans to boycott Bayonetta 3 and donate the money they would have used to buy it to charity. He also suggested that the statement was in breach of a non-disclosure agreement. On top of that, Bayonetta is someone who always stands by the weak and fights for justice, and asked her fans to do the same.
About two hours following Taylor posted the statement, Hideki Kamiya of PlatinumGames tweeted in English on his Twitter account. The content is that “I am saddened by the false opinion” and “That’s all I can say now”. It is not clear whether the tweet was in response to Taylor’s statement, but if so, some or all of Taylor’s claims may differ from Kamiya’s perception.
The change of the main voice actor is a big event, and the case of “Bayonetta 3” was widely reported overseas. For that reason, it seems that Hellena Taylor’s statement, which can be said to be an accusation, has received a great response. On the other hand, due to Mr. Kamiya’s tweet mentioned above, it is difficult for a third party to judge how much of the statement is true.
In any case, as a Bayonetta fan overseas, I’m sure you’re hoping for an amicable resolution.Some also want to postpone the release of this work and reappoint Taylor.online petitionseems to be taking place. Even if it doesn’t happen, they want to show that there are fans who support Taylor.
Bayonetta 3 will be released on October 28th for Nintendo Switch. The Japanese version of Bayonetta will continue to be voiced by Atsuko Tanaka, who has been in charge of the series so far.
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