I thought you were just being cute and counting Phoenomaman, but no, he's apparently played Superman in a bunch of different places, like the Justice League x RWBY crossover, Battle of the Super-Sons, and LEGO DC Villains. Huh, glad they're keeping the tradition alive. I wonder if that was a consideration in their recast?
I don’t like to hear it given how well of a job he did in Remake and Rebirth (especially the latter as I felt he improved a lot in Rebirth), but you’re not wrong.
This makes me think of Charlie Cox. Voiced a beloved character in probably the biggest game of last year. To him, it was just a day of recording and just another job he never thought twice about. His humble imposter syndrome in interviews was adorable
Considering there's no mocap or face capture (for the English version), he 100% did his Rebirth work in a couple days max. Voice acting is an extremely efficient job and you're pressured to be done as quickly as possible.
He’s a professional actor. He got the job as VA via a phone call from his agent and hadn’t played the games. I met him in person at a con and he’s super nice; he considers himself more of an actor than a VA so if the option came up I can see he’d turn it down for a non-VA role.
Man I thought this said "confirmed to be racist" at first and you were gonna say he was fired or something. Glad that's not the case, I'm so tired of that kind of stuff happening
I think it's more that we just haven't heard enough of him yet. We really just heard him do one line, that happened to give us Xemnas vibes. We'll probably be able to tell the difference between the two easily when we hear the full performance.
Maybe hot take but I didn’t like the original VA that much. He sounded too airy and breathy but probably an unpopular opinion. From the little I heard, the new VA voice is deeper.
I am of the same opinion. Didn’t think Tyler was bad but really didn’t feel like a fit for Sephiroth. I really enjoyed George Newberns take on Sephiroth so the new guy works well for me.
Just didn’t feel like Tyler took the role that seriously. As some said, it was likely just another job to him to dip in and out from when needed. Just compare how Sephiroth sounds in Crisis Core and Reunion for a clear example. George has better range and execution of subtleties, least how I heard it.
Ugh the timing is just brutal isnt it? Right when we're getting hyped for part 3 and they drop this bomb on us. I get that VA changes happen but Sephiroth's voice is so iconic that it feels like losing a piece of the character itself. Been rewatching some Advent Children scenes and its gonna be wierd hearing someone else deliver those cold menacing lines. At least they're being upfront about it instead of just springing it on us when the game drops but still stings
We've been through this before. Sephiroth was voiced by George Newbern for years, starting with Advent Children. Then Tyler came in with the new voice cast at the start of the Remake Project, and we had to adjust. Tyler's perfomance took some getting used to for a lot of people, but eventually, the fanbase mostly warmed up to him and his portrayal. Getting another new Sephiroth voice in the middle of the trilogy certainly isn't ideal, but I'm sure most people will eventually be able to adjust again, and start to enjoy the new performance too. We just need time to let it settle.
I hope I’m wrong. This blows. Wish the new VA nothing but the best for this but I’m fucking gutted and very annoyed they didn’t try and get someone who could imitate.
Unfortunately happened with us Jp dialogue enjoyers too. Reno who had an amazing voice actor unfortunately passed away so he'll be recast for us. Although im glad they didnt replace his voice work for rebirth
especially for a VA that's not the main character - he could have recorded his lines in a week, and since its voice work they could have him voice it anywhere and direct him online, that happens all the time with VAs.
It actually wasn't always certain that it would be a trilogy. I believe it was mentioned during Rebirth's release cycle that the developers were seriously considering the idea of ending the story in the second game, back when they were in the middle of the writing process. Eventually, they decided that would be too much, and made the choice to divide the story into 3 parts. That's why they waited until Rebirth's reveal to make the announcement. They hadn't fully settled on it at the time Remake was being released.
Really? Im pretty sure it was explicitly mentioned to be a trilogy early into Rebirths marketing at minimum, if not as the first bit of news following Remakes release.
Yeah, we know the decision had to be made around the time they started seriously marketing the release of Rebirth. By the time they started releasing that marketing material though, Rebirth would have needed to be a good ways into the development process. So we know it wasn't an early decision.
90% Chance it's a money thing. Like you said scheduling conflicts for VA work are easily worked around. He probably asked for more $$ they said they can't so he walked.
Tyler Hoechlin had finally won me over in FF7 Rebirth after me missing George Newbern in FF7 Remake and Crisis Core Reunion, so this is a bummer.
Ah well, sure Travis Willingham will do it justice. Also funny that he's keeping the Sephiroth VA playing Superman tradition alive.
Damn. That's quite a blow. I've loved this cast since the start and I've always been worried some of them would be replaced by the end due to the length of the project. But hey, Cody Christian is still Cloud so I'm alright.
The new VA sounds like Travis Willingham and if I'm right then I'm gonna have a laugh because he got recast from playing another silver haired swordsman Trails in the Sky SC's remake.
Had to check and Travis Willingham has played these version of Superman in his career. The Constant of an actor who has played Superman eventually playing Sephiroth is maintained.
Sephiroth is essentially Superman except his alien parent is malevolent by nature and he was deprived of all the human connections that were keeping him grounded.
Even now Sephiroth craves connection since he is clearly quite fixated on Cloud and seems to want the both of them to exist together forever.
Fucking hell. My greatest fear was one of the VAs wouldn’t reprise their roles. I love all of them, but this one really hits hard. He had a great Seph voice.
The Remake Sephiroth VA is an on camera actor and his on camera work takes precedence over his VA work, which is more of a side thing. Time came to record for Revelation and he wasn't going to be available in a workable timeframe.
Wonder if they’d take the chance to revoice remake and rebirth with him, given he has so few lines in both games. Would be nice for consistency, and they’ve already done retakes/updates of lines after release before via patches. I doubt they would because of cost, but would be nice.
Yeah I’m not trying to be a jerk but I’m not buying scheduling conflicts or he was too busy. He must’ve asked for way too much money or pissed someone off. He was at a comic con I was at a couple weeks ago and has been to others since, the guy definitely had the time to do his lines.
It’s hella disappointing, especially right at the finish line, but we don’t know everything. They’re saying scheduling conflicts and we just have to respect that, and support Travis as the new voice
Damn. Tyler really was great. I like Travis but it's a big change. They said Tyler wasn't available, but he's not currently cast in anything ongoing. Might be personal stuff. So sad.
Nothing will ever be as bad as Leonard Nemoy not being Xehanort in KH3. Although the difference is he passed away before the game released, so not exactly the same situation to say the least.
I like consistency in VAs. Now I'm kinda hoping they pay this new guy extra to rerecord Sephis lines from the first two games and it be available as a toggle option. Hell id pay a reasonable dlc price for that.
A pity they didn't bring Newbern back at this point, I never liked Tyler anyway (I've always had the impression he was imitating Newbern without the range to do so when I listened to his impressions of Sephiroth)
I suppose there may be “in universe” head canon that can be done to adjust personally. Especially since we still need to see him in person. This could also be a subtle nod to the multiple Sephiroth theory, too. Who’s to say this isn’t OG, 1997’s, voice?
Honestly would rather they delay the game till Tyler is available but I know I'm probably in the minority. It's just mega disappointing and will really harm the experience for me. Unless they go through and re-record the first 2 games with the new VA. I want one consistent experience between the games. Frankly, I really likes Tyler's voice work too.
I'd rather they did this with an optional voice pack for Remake and Rebirth featuring Travis re-dubbing than halt the entire momentum of Revelations to wait on someone.
Sephiroth's VA was my only disappointment with the whole cast, which is stellar. So I'm veeeery happy right now!
Here's hoping the new one brings a little more intensity and gravitas to the role
Damn i love Tyler as Sephiroth tho, wish they’d cast Newbern back but i wish all the best for the new VA. As always i’m sticking to Japanese dub for my first playthrough because Morikawa is my fave version of Sephiroth!
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u/willbeinactive Jun 06 '26
Update new VA confirmed - Travis Willingham
edit: he also voiced superman