Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Cloud actor tells "shippers" that overtly sexualizing relationships can "ruin great story development"

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth hero Cloud shown against purple light — (Image credit: Square Enix)

The actor who plays Cloud in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has addressed the game's "shippers" and commented on the character's relationship with Aerith and Tifa.

Final Fantasy 7 is no stranger to "shippers." Plenty of people think Cloud should end up with Tifa, plenty of people think Cloud should end up with Aerith, and plenty of people think Tifa should end up with Aerith. The battles between those who share the two former perspectives have only intensified over the past few months, as we careen towards Rebirth's launch next month.

Now, Cloud's actor Cody Christian has commented on the whole situation. Responding to a Twitter user, Christian writes that "shippers" need to be open to the idea of a character having a "significant" relationship with more than one character. Yes, Christian's talking specifically about Cloud's relationship with Tifa and Aerith here.

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I appreciate u fr. here’s the issue.. “shippers” crumble under the idea that a character is allowed to have significant relationships with MULTIPLE characters. This provides overarching depth. The need to overtly sexualize every relationship can ruin great story developmentJanuary 15, 2024

However, Christian doesn't believe every relationship needs to be "overtly" sexualized - the actor even believes this drive can "ruin great story development." The actor believes characters, such as his Cloud, can have perfectly normal platonic relationships with other characters - not everything needs to be an explicitly sexual relationship.

Elsewhere in the responses, Christian says he isn't particularly worried about the response to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The actor says "a majority of people" wanted him fired from 2020's Final Fantasy 7 Remake before he'd even opened his mouth, so with all that in the rearview mirror, he has "no fear for Rebirth."

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launches next month on February 29 as a PS5 exclusive. We already know Zack will have an "immensely important" role in Rebirth, so what could be in store for Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith, and will it be a major departure from the original game?

Check out our full upcoming PS5 games guide for a look at all the other console exclusives coming to Sony's machine over the year.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.