When it was revealed that David Hayter wouldn't be returning to voice Snake, or Big Boss, or whatever you'd like to call him, despite helping to bring them to life over the last twelve years, fans were disappointed to say the least. Some even took to crafting petitions to ensure his involvement. It was a similar case when Ubisoft revealed that Michael Ironside wouldn't be voicing Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher, a role he'd played for six games.
More recently, we found out that Kevin Conroy wouldn't be returning to provide his pipes for the Dark Knight in the next Arkham game, as he did in the previous games, and the recent Injustice: Gods Among Us. Warner Bros. Montreal is going with a new voice instead, according to South African publication, NAG.
Like Hayter, Conroy has been playing the DC icon for the better part of two decades, starting out on the animated series in the early 90's. The two actors are the very definition of their respective characters.
It's one thing if an actor decides to pass on a role like in the case of Mark Hamill to no longer voice the Joker, but when a publisher, developer, or what have you decides to not even offer the role to the actor whose made it their own is downright disrespectful to not only the actor, but to the media's fans as well, who've watched the actor shape it into what it's become today.
Imagine if Fox decided one year to let go of Hank Azaria or Dan Castellanata, two voice actors behind almost half of the cast of "The Simpsons." There's not a chance that things would ever be the same without these talents, and despite not providing the amount of characters, you can expect similar results in the video game industry.
A number of gamers are already stating their intent not to buy said games based on the actions of the studio to not involve the infamous talent. Immature, yes, but so is the decision by the studios to leave their longtime staff behind in favor of a "reimagining." Hopefully gamers will actually come through on their threat so developers can realize that there are consequences to such actions, but given the buzz around these games, they're still likely to make a killing, and Hayter, Ironside, Conroy, and others will be left behind by the franchises they built.