20 Years Later, Metal Gear Solid 3 Cast Talks Series’ Revival, And The Reunion They Didn’t See Coming
“Kept you waiting, huh?”
Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater is more than just a new game that reunites players with (what was once) Hideo Kojima’s wonderful world of Cold War-era espionage and over-the-top superpowered villains. It also marks a sweet homecoming for the actors and performers who brought this classic to life some 21 years ago. Lori Alan, the legendary voice actress who portrays the game’s big bad The Boss (among other iconic characters, including Pearl Krab on SpongeBob SquarePants), said she called her old co-star David Hayter when she first saw rumblings of a remake on social media. David confirmed it was the real deal. Two years later, the duo is on the road celebrating the game that brought them together in the first place.
“It's really amazing to have our Konami folks here and to actually spend time with these guys,” Alan told Inverse, gesturing to Hayter and Snake Eater songstress Cynthia Harrell sitting on either side of her. “We haven't all been in the same place at the same time, and that’s so special to me.”
“A lot of times, because consoles and technology change, a lot of great games disappear.”
Speaking with the three most iconic voices from Metal Gear Solid 3 felt a bit surreal. When Konami stepped back from gaming following 2015’s Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, it seemed like the series would be put on ice forever. But now, not only is the series making a comeback, its publisher is putting the people who helped make it such a big deal in the first place at the forefront.
David Hayter, Lori Alan, and Cynthia Harrell, three of the most iconic voices from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, spoke with Inverse about the game’s legacy and what it means to come back to the franchise two decades later.
David Hayter, an award-winning screenwriter and the unmistakable voice of Naked/Solid/ Old Snake, said he wasn’t surprised that Metal Gear was back, but was pleasantly surprised by the decision to restart the series beginning with Snake Eater.
“I’ve been working in Hollywood for quite some time now,” he said. “This is a beloved franchise, a huge world with massive worldwide appeal. So I'm never surprised when something like this comes back. But I didn't anticipate it would be this,” he said. “But to start with, Snake Eater is very cool, because it's generally considered the pinnacle of Metal Gear.”
Both Alan and Harrell were just as surprised to be back in the fold. As a veteran voice actress, Alan said she fully expects to get recast anytime an old role of hers is brought up for a revival.
Harrell, who was brought in to perform a new arrangement of the “Snake Eater” theme, said that she found out about the remake in the funniest way: her son’s childhood friend, a Metal Gear superfan.
“He called my son and my son called me,” she recalled. “He said, ‘Mom, you know, they're redoing Metal Gear Solid 3?’ And I said, ‘What are you talking about?’”
Re-recording Snake Eater allowed Harrell to give the classic track something of a remix.
“Listening to it for so many years, singing it at home or along when I’m playing the game, I had gotten this newer version in my soul,” she said. “It just has a different feel from the first one. Just to kind of break out a little bit more.”
As voice actors, neither Alan nor Hayter was afforded that same creative license. As a very faithful remake, Delta mostly relies on the original recordings, with both actors providing updated lines for specific tutorials. While Hayter is thrilled to be back in the saddle for this career-defining role, he admitted he was a little disappointed there wasn’t a chance to redo some of the old dialogue.
While Delta adds a handful of quality of life changes to Metal Gear Solid 3, the original recordings are left as they were.
“I do feel that I'm a little better of an actor now than I was then,” he laughed. “It was fine back in the day, but I would have loved to bring some of the knowledge that I've picked up over the past 20 years to it. But you don't want the controller lines to be better acted all of a sudden, because that'll take you out of the game.”
He’s hopeful the chance to reprise the role in a newer game will eventually.
“Anytime they ask me to be Snake, I'm in,” Hayter said. “It's the definitive role in my life. It's so complex and so profound, and there are so many different aspects to both him and Big Boss. So anytime it comes up, I’m down.”
While Alan’s character has only appeared in the series once, she is also open for a return if the character were to return in some way.
While The Boss has only appeared in Metal Gear Solid 3 as its primary protagonist, voice actress Lori Alan is open to reprising the role if the opportunity arises.
“I just hope it lives on forever,” Alan said. “We’re so thrilled that there's a different generation, yet another one that'll be able to [experience Snake Eater] because it's just epic and beautiful.”
As game producer Noriaki Okamura told Inverse, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is all about bringing this two-decade-old classic to a new generation. And for the cast, that’s the best part of coming back to the series after all this time.
“I get so many people coming up to me now saying, I just got into Metal Gear last year because of the Master Collection, and it's so cool to see 18-year-old fans and younger kids discovering it for the first time,” Hayter said. “A great game should be like a great movie or like a great album — it should live on. And a lot of times, because consoles and technology change, a lot of great games disappear. And so I'm just grateful that Konami is behind this in the way they are.”
