New information has seemingly come to light about the pay dispute between Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames and longtime series voice actress Hellena Taylor. Over the weekend, the actress released a series of videos where she alleged that PlatinumGames and those behind the game only offered to pay her a total of $4,000 for her role in the highly anticipated threequel. Taylor asked fans to boycott the game and expressed displeasure over the entire situation. Executives at PlatinumGames denied her claims, but didn’t really elaborate on the matter. This news came after it was confirmed that actress Jennifer Hale would take over the role for this entry, though the reason for the replacement remained pretty vague until Taylor released her story.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Now, Bloomberg, VGC, and other reputable sources are all reporting that PlatinumGames offered Hellena Taylor $3k – $4k per session with a total of 5 recording sessions lasting 4 hours each planned. This means that she would’ve gotten between $15k – $20k for Bayonetta 3. Sources went on to claim than Taylor counter offered and asked for a six figure sum along with residuals, but it was rejected. After lengthy negotiations, another actor was cast in the role and Taylor was reportedly offered a cameo in the game for a fee of one session, but she rejected it. Speaking to Bloomberg, Taylor stated that these claims were “an absolute lie” and Platinum is “trying to save their ass and the game.” As of right now, PlatinumGames has not officially commented on the matter and it seems unlikely it will, as these kinds of negotiations are kept private.
As of right now, it remains to be seen if any public resolution will come of this. It’s unclear if PlatinumGames has any plans to continue the Bayonetta series past the third game and if it does, it’s unknown if Hale will permanently take over the role. It’s a rather messy situation and we’ll continue to keep you posted as the story develops.
Bayonetta 3 releases exclusively on Nintendo Switch on October 28th, 2022. What do you think of the situation? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
