Square Enix creative director Tetsuya Nomura confirmed in an interview with Dengeki Online on Thursday that the late Keiji Fujiwara will still voice the character of Reno in the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth game.

When asked by the outlet, he explained:

"Reno will still be voiced by Keiji Fujiwara . We learned of his death shortly before recording began for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and we couldn't immediately bring ourselves to find a replacement. So, I made a request to the scenario team, that we use past recordings of Fujiwara so he could take on the role of Reno again, and they adjusted for me. I want to apologize to all the fans, however, especially the overseas fans, as this means Reno has a smaller appearance in this game. For the next game, there will be a new cast [for Reno] and Reno will play a bigger role."

Nomura also revealed the decision to recast Barrett's voice actor from Masahiro Kobayashi to Mahito Funaki came from Kobayashi's desire to take a step back from acting.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth releases worldwide on February 29, 2024 on two discs for PlayStation 5.

Square Enix describes the game:

After escaping from the dystopian city of Midgar, Cloud and his friends set out on a journey across the planet. New adventures await in a vibrant and vast world – sprint across grassy plains on a Chocobo and explore expansive environments.

Square Enix is also offering a "twin pack" bundle including both Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth .

Square Enix released the Final Fantasy VII Remake game on PlayStation 4 in April 2020 after a delay from March 2020. The game was a PlayStation exclusive until April 10, 2021. The game's new Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade version with additional content launched in June 2021 on the PlayStation 5, in December 2021 on PC via the Epic Games Store, and in June 2022 on PC via Steam .

Fujiwara died at the age of 55 after battling cancer in April 2020. He was known for voicing Axel in Kingdom Hearts , Ardyn in Final Fantasy XV , Reno in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Final Fantasy VII Remake , and ACDC in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure .

Source: Dengeki Online via Siliconera