Square Enix has confirmed the English voice actor for Sephiroth has been recast for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation.
Director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed the One-Winged Angel would sound a bit different in the upcoming remake continuation during an interview with YouTuber and Final Fantasy 7 aficionado Maximilian Dood. He showed up to share more about Square Enix’s latest just hours after its Summer Game Fest 2026 reveal trailer pulled back the curtain with a first look at gameplay and a Sephiroth with a lower, gravellier voice.
Fans had immediately noticed the character sounded different from the performance actor Tyler Hoechlin delivered in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth. Hamaguchi said this is, in fact, due to the role being recast because Hoechlin was unavailable during development.
For Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, fans will instead hear Tarvis Willingham – an actor with a long, long history in video games, movies, and shows – playing the English version of Sephiroth. His resume is so filled with projects that, chances are, you’ve probably heard his voice at least once, if not a few times, through the years.
Sonic the Hedgehog fans might recognize Willingham as the voice behind Knuckles in Sonic Boom, while Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood watchers will know him as Roy Mustang. In addition to being one of the many faces behind Dungeons & Dragons show Critical Role and Thor in many Marvel projects, Willingham has even provided his talents to both the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series in the past.
While Willingham will bring a lot of experience to Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, some fans will no doubt be at least a bit disappointed to hear that Hoechlin has exited the role just as the trilogy comes to a head. There’s also the fact that Hoechlin played Sephiroth not only for Remake and Rebirth but Crisis Core: Final Fantasy Reunion and Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier, too.
It’s too soon to tell how players who have followed Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake journey will respond to the voice actor switch. Although fans got a nice, long look at how Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will send Cloud and company into the future, the publisher was reluctant to share its release date outside of the promise to launch simultaneously across PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S in spring 2027.
We’ll surely get to hear more from Willingham’s performance as Sephiroth in the coming months. Until then, you can check out everything announced at Summer Game Fest 2026.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
