Commander Shepard Star Is Ready for Mass Effect 5 — As Anyone — But BioWare Hasn't Reached Out

Jennifer Hale is ready to strap back into the N7 armor the second BioWare blinks. The prolific voice actor — you know her from basically everything, from Bayonetta 3 to Halo — says she will sprint back to Mass Effect the moment the studio asks.

'I would be there before they finish the sentence.'

Hale is in — for Shepard or anything else

Hale, one of the two performers who defined Commander Shepard across the original trilogy, told IGN she has not gotten a call from BioWare yet. But if they want her, she is game for literally any role. Shepard, sure. But also a Krogan, a hologram, a bug, even a rotting corpse. Her words. She just wants back in that universe, and she is not subtle about it.

She also tossed the ball to fans: keep telling BioWare what you want and maybe that tips the scales.

So… does Shepard even fit in the new game?

BioWare is actively building the next Mass Effect — call it Mass Effect 5 for now — though earlier this year it was still sitting in pre-production. That makes a fast return unlikely regardless, but the bigger wrinkle is where the trilogy left things. Depending on your Mass Effect 3 ending, there is a version where Shepard is crushed under rubble but still breathing, which would be the simplest path back. There is also longtime speculation about tying the new game more directly to Mass Effect Andromeda, which jumps hundreds of years beyond Shepard’s first mission. Either way, nothing stops Hale from showing up in some form if BioWare wants her.

The state of the studio (and why fans are a little nervous)

The Mass Effect team has already weathered more layoffs this year, and the project being in pre-production means it is still a ways out. On top of that, EA is taking on $20 billion in debt to help fund a $55 billion move to go private under new ownership, which usually translates to budget pressure somewhere down the line. Hopefully the developers building this game are protected from the fallout.

A very fun behind-the-scenes nugget

Hale says she did not see a single line of Shepard’s dialogue until she stepped into the booth. No scripts in advance — just cold reads, on the spot. For a character that important, that is a wild way to work, and it makes the performance landing as hard as it did even more impressive.

• Where it stands: Hale has not been contacted yet, wants back immediately, will play anyone; the next Mass Effect was still in pre-production earlier this year after more layoffs; BioWare has narrative paths that could bring Shepard back (yes, even the 'breathing under rubble' ending), or it could steer closer to Andromeda’s far-future setup; fans pushing BioWare might actually help.