In some surprise news, Square Enix has confirmed the voice actor of Sephiroth will not be returning in Final Fantasy VII Revelation.

The game’s director Naoki Hamaguchi revealed this during a chat with Maximillian Dood. He explained how Tyler Hoechlin, who played the role in Intergrade, Rebirth and also Crisis Core, was not available for the third outing. Here’s the full exchange and official translation to go with it:

Max: “Sephiroth seemed to be maybe a different voice actor in the English version of the official trailer – do we have any confirmation of that if it is a different voice actor, or is it something you guys can’t discuss right now?”

Hamaguchi: “Oh you realised…so yes, the former voice actor that was doing voice for Sephiroth was unable to participate, so we do have a new voice actor.”

Although the director didn’t reveal who would replace him at the time, Square Enix has reportedly confirmed the new voice actor for Sephiroth will be played by Travis Willingham.

Willingham has also kind of acknowledged this news – mentioning to host Geoff Keighley on social media how the Summer Game Fest ending (showcasing Final Fantasy VII Revelation) “was a banger”.