Travis Willingham, CEO of Critical Role and a prominent voice actor, is set to voice Sephiroth in the upcoming Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. Willingham spoke about taking on the iconic role at New York City Comic-Con during a panel celebrating the Final Fantasy VII cast.
Willingham steps into the role previously held by Tyler Hoechlin, who departed due to scheduling conflicts. Willingham acknowledged the legacy of Sephiroth's voice actors, particularly Toshiyuki Morikawa, the original Japanese voice actor, whom he considers his "North Star" for the character. "I love how he is able to be light and alluring and then sometimes very dangerous and menacing, and there’s so much that’s unclear about Sephiroth. He’s so ambiguous," Willingham stated.
He also shared insights from voice director Kirk Thornton, who advised him that Sephiroth "always feels like he’s in control of every situation. There’s nothing that’s gonna confuse him or surprise him." Willingham added his own take: "There is always, to me, nothing more dangerous than the villain in the room that doesn’t need to shout to be heard."
Willingham is not the only member of the Critical Role ensemble joining Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. His wife, Marisha Ray, will also be in the game as Polydroid Shiva, an NPC the party will encounter. Ray joins her husband Matt Mercer, who is also part of the game's cast. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is scheduled to launch on April 8.