Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is replacing Sephiroth's English voice actor and fans aren't happy

Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the closing chapter of Square Enix's remake trilogy, is swapping out Sephiroth's English voice actor. Tyler Hoechlin, who played the One-Winged Angel in both Remake and Rebirth, won't be returning for the third game due to scheduling conflicts — director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed this in an interview with Twitch streamer Maximilian Dood, though he didn't go into further detail.

Taking over the role is Travis Willingham, a prolific voice actor currently playing Thor and Doctor Doom in Marvel Rivals. He's also voiced Aced in the Kingdom Hearts series and has a long list of anime dub credits including Roy Mustang in Full Metal Alchemist and Portgas D. Ace in One Piece. The switch was spotted almost immediately when Revelation was revealed at Summer Game Fest — fans noticed Sephiroth sounded different and initially wondered if it was just a dubbing artifact before Hamaguchi cleared things up.

The timing is what stings most for fans. Hoechlin voiced Sephiroth across two full games, and losing that continuity in the climactic finale is a tough pill to swallow. The confusion is compounded by the fact that Hoechlin has been actively appearing at conventions and promoting his involvement in the games — one X user quipped that he's "not employed enough to not be available for this."

That said, not everyone is mourning the change. Some players found Hoechlin's take too detached and understated, and see Willingham as a chance for a different energy before the trilogy wraps. But fans who were looking forward to hearing Hoechlin alongside Japanese voice actor Toshiyuki Morikawa in the finale are clearly disappointed. Neither Square Enix nor Hoechlin has publicly addressed what actually caused the scheduling conflict.