He also starred in the 1994, straight-to-video movie, Guyver: Dark Hero, as the protagonist, Sean Barker (a role he took over from the previous actor, Jack Armstrong); Hayter has since gone-on to use the character's name as an alias in various work credits.

He cited the series as an influence on his screenwriting, stating that "Kojima and I have different styles," "but I've certainly learned things from him, especially about ambiguity and telling a story without giving all the answers.

[7] Hayter has since revealed in an interview that he had to re-audition for the role suggesting that the series' creator Hideo Kojima was already considering recasting the part much earlier, with Kurt Russell (Snake Plissken in Escape from New York and Escape from L.A.) having been allegedly offered the role during the development of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004).

[8] After Kojima's departure from Konami, Hayter would reprise the role in a Metal Gear Solid-themed advertisement for the 2016 Ford Focus SE aired in 2016.

Shortly after his work on X-Men, Hayter was hired to write and direct a project based on the heroine Black Widow.

Hayter's daughter Natasha, born whilst he was writing the Black Widow script, is named after the titular character.

[15] The script did not keep the contemporary atmosphere that Hayter created, but instead returned to the original Cold War setting of the Watchmen comic.

[16] Warner Bros. was amenable to the 1980s setting, and the director also added a title montage sequence to introduce the audience to the events of alternate history United States in that time period.

[17] On September 7, 2012, it was announced that Hayter would pen the screen adaptation Caught Stealing, and would star Patrick Wilson and Alec Baldwin.

On January 31, 2022, it was announced that Hayter would be writing and producing a television adaptation of the 2000 video game American McGee's Alice.