Bayonetta 3’s voice actor is Jennifer Hale from Mass Effect

Bayonetta 3, the long-awaited third installment in Platinum Games’ successful action-adventure series, is nearly upon us. This game, which was announced for the first time in 2017, will bring back the Time Witch, an iconic gun-toting character. Her mission is to rescue the mortal realm of death from destruction by hacking, slashing, and using her vogues.

Fans of the series will have to adjust to a new voice coming from the sartorially flamboyant sorceress however, as Bayonetta’s original voice actor, Hellena Taylor, will not be returning for the sequel.

According to a recent interview with Game Informer (via Nintendo Everything), director Yusuke Miyata stated that “overlapping circumstances” prevented Taylor from reprising her role for the sequel. Instead Jennifer Hale, best known for portraying Commander Shepard in Mass Effect’s original trilogy, will perform the voice of Bayonetta in the sequel. Hale is also the voice of Ashe in Overwatch and Bastilla, an important character from 2003’s RPG. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

“We held auditions to cast the new voice of Bayonetta and offered the role to Jennifer Hale, whom we felt was a good match for the character,” Miyata told Game Informer. “I understand the concerns some fans have about the voice change at this point in the series, but Jennifer’s performance was way beyond what we could have imagined.”

In Polygon’s 15-minute hands-on preview of Bayonetta during this year’s PAX West, Sarah Johnson wrote that Bayonetta 3’s emphasis offers, “more options without compromising on the series’ commitment to non-stop action, extensive combos, and linear core progression.”