Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-86.46.22.35-20130403153709/@comment-64.33.250.214-20141124074546

Paranoid Donkey wrote:

64.33.250.214 wrote:

Even if we could make a confirmation there, it wouldn't mean much. Case in point: Akio voiced Solidus and Solid, whereas Hayter only voiced Solid. But that's precisely my point. If the two are voiced by the same person even in English, as well as Japanese, that'd establish an undeniable connection between Snake, Medic and Ishmael. Akio voiced Solidus and Solid because they were clones - and all I can do is guess why Hayter didn't voice Solidus as well (my guess is that he couldn't convincingly play both roles or something I dunno), so if Akio voices Ishmael, Medic and Snake, as we know for a fact that Kiefer Sutherland does, it raises more eyebrows than it lowers I think. I'm not saying it proves anything other than a connection being there.

Having an official confirmation stating both VAs voice Ishmael might gain the Solidus theory more favor, but as you said it wouldn't be proof. The casting choices have been inconsistent. Even though they are clones and Akio voiced Solid, Solidus, and Big Boss, he still didn't voice Liquid. Whereas Hayter voiced only Solid and Big Boss, until he was replaced. We can speculate, but no one really knows the real reasons behind these casting decisions.

Confirming VAs wouldn't allow us to confirm that Ishmael has a larger role. While they may not have voiced the main character, several actors have voiced multiple characters in the franchise before. Most of us are aware that the VA for Gray Fox voiced Donald Anderson, but the recasting doesn't stop there. The VAs for Psycho Mantis and Vulcan Raven have both voiced several other characters in the franchise, and several within the same game. Namely: Genome Soldiers.

It would sound crazy to hire Keifer and Akio for a generic role, but not impossible. As others have pointed out, the original hospital trailer was an early demo and Ishmael's VA could have been a placeholder at the time. Now if it were revealed by Kojima that Ishmael is voiced by Keifer and Akio, that would confirm the VA wasn't a placehold, but not that the character doesn't have minimal screen time. That could mean the difference between Ishmael being important to the plot, or being the next Johnny.

I believe Ishmael will be someone of importance, because of the name and what it implies. Not because he's linked to a specific VA. A VA is a clue, but one that becomes less reliable when casting history breaks pattern like MGS has.

With that said, there is a possible hint that Akio will be voicing Ishmael. According to a forum on another website:

"Akio Otsuka(japanese Snake) did once play a character named Ahab Ishmael in a Spacey remake of Moby Dick. Kojima has played on other roles he did in the past so perhaps this could be a play on one now?"