Kurt Russell has opened up about why he didn’t voice Solid Snake (or any of the Snakes) in Hideo Kojima’s original Metal Gear Solid, responding to rumors that he was offered the role.
The Escape from New York and The Thing actor spilled the beans during an interview with GQ. He says he’s “a movie guy,” adding that, for him, it’s important to work on new characters rather than trying to provide new takes on old ones.
“There have been many different times when people wanted to do something. I don’t know. I’m a movie guy,” Russell said. “You’ve got to understand that, from my point of view, whether it’s Elvis, or Snake Plissken, or Jack Burton, or R.J. MacReady, that was that project. That was that thing. You get into that mindset. You create that. You want to make that world happen.”
Characters like Solid Snake and Big Boss were famously inspired by Russell’s Escape from New York character, Snake Plissken, but the similarities don’t stop at eye patches and good hair. Outside being a walking homage to the ‘80s action character, references to Plissken’s name and quotes from the character can be found littered throughout the entire MGS series.
MGS did go on to pick David Hayter to play its Snake, so it’s hard to say what the series would’ve looked like if Russell had ever signed on. The actor continued by explaining why he turns down roles that build off of previously established characters.
“I wasn’t interested in expanding, financially, off of something that we had created, or that I had created in terms of character,” Russell added. “I get business people, sure. ‘We could do this with that, or we could do this with that.’ I look at it and go, ‘That’s not written by John [Carpenter]. That doesn’t smell right.’ John’s not here to do this with. I’m not going to do that. Let’s go do something new. Let’s go do something fresh. Let’s go create another iconic character rather than saying, ‘What can we bleed off of this iconic character?’”
As Russell moves on from recent projects like Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the Metal Gear Solid series is in a strange place. No new mainline game has been released since Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain came to players in 2015. However, Konami is in the middle of releasing upgraded versions of some of the franchise’s biggest hits.
So far, we’ve seen the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 with heavy rumors still suggesting that more remasters are in the works. There’s also Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, which is expected to arrive later this year.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
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