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Voice acting legend Jennifer Hale believes Hollywood is overlooking voice actors and doesn't understand why

The Metal Gear Solid and Mass Effect star says that Hollywood isn't taking advantage of the massive talent that voice actors have for the live action remakes coming out.

Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater promotional image — Image credit: Konami

News by Trent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer

Published on Wed Nov 26 2025

Hollywood loves their remakes and reboots, especially if it means making a live-action version of a cartoon or video game. We’ve got a live-action Legend of Zelda movie coming up in a few years and a new Silent Hill movie on the horizon. But one thing Hollywood rarely does is give the voice actors from franchises like Metal Gear Solid the chance to reprise their roles in the film versions, and that simply doesn’t sit well with voice actor Jennifer Hale.

During the Metal Gear Solid panel at New York Comic Con 2025, the cast was asked who they would like to see portray their characters in a big-budget Hollywood adaptation. “Me!” Jennifer Hale answered without hesitation.

David Hayter chimed in with, “I’d like to play Snake.” A fair statement considering how long he has been playing the character in the games. “I don’t think you’re gonna get anything different [from the panel].”

“This is something that confounds me about the on-camera world,” Hale explained. “The voice acting world is full of some of the most insane talent that I’ve ever seen in my life. And they’re all incredibly easy to get along with, almost to the letter. And, like, so great to work with. And it blows my mind that they consistently overlook this incredible pool of talent. So anybody out there who's an executive – anybody watching who's an executive – really?!”

“I think the answer to your question is that we’d all like to play our roles that we’ve already voiced,” Christopher Randolph added. “But Jennifer’s right; I was really gratified with The Last of Us, where they at least brought in the two leads as guest stars in separate episodes. And they kicked ass. They were so good. And it's like, yeah, why? We get categorized in a way that is very difficult to overcome.”

“I think there’s an opportunity out there,” Hale said. “Because the entertainment landscape is changing a lot. People are taking things in hand. Big budget stuff is, right now, if I’m not mistaken, getting harder and harder to put together at the moment. But there’s a lot more space for indie creators and producers.”

You can watch the full Metal Gear Solid cast panel from New York Comic Con 2025 right here on Popverse starting on December 3, 2025, but you’ll need to be a paid Popverse Member to get access. Find out more about Popverse memberships here.

Here's how to watch all the big panels from New York Comic Con 2025.

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