In a recent interview with Japanese outlet Dengeki Online, Tetsuya Nomura confirmed that late voice actor Keiji Fujiwara will still be the Japanese voice for Reno in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The prolific voice actor died due to cancer on April 12, 2020 at the age of 55, just two days after the release of FFVII Remake. [Thanks, Dengeki Online!]
Here is what Tetsuya Nomura had to say about the posthumous role of Keiji Fujiwara as Reno in the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth:
“Fujiwara-san will remain as the voice of Reno for this game. The news of his death came shortly before the recording sessions for FFVII Rebirth commenced, so we were not able to replace him immediately. Because of this, I asked the scenario team to let me use past recordings of Fujiwara-san’s voice for Reno in Rebirth, and they made the necessary adjustments.”
After this statement, Tetsuya Nomura apologized to all fans, especially international fans, and informed that screentime for Reno in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has been reduced to account for the death of Keiji Fujiwara. Nomura also confirmed that the third part of the FFVII Remake series will introduce a new Japanese voice actor for Reno and that the character’s presence will increase in the next entry.
Other famous roles performed by Keiji Fujiwara include Axel from the Kingdom Hearts series, Maes Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist, Leorio in Hunter × Hunter, and Hiroshi Nohara in Crayon Shin-chan.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will release worldwide for the PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024. The exclusivity period will end on May 29, 2024.
