David "Graven" Gallagher, the talented voice of beloved Kingdom Hearts character Riku, apparently auditioned for the role of Cloud in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy years ago.
Gallagher reveals as much during a recent Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories stream on YouTube. The actor first compares Cloud to his Kingdom Hearts character, joking, "He's the Riku of Final Fantasy." He goes on to recall an audition he participated in a "very, very long time ago" for the role of Cloud. "I did read for Cloud when we were making one of the Kingdom Hearts games we were recording," admits Gallagher.
"This was a very, very long time ago, and I was brought in by the team that recorded me for Kingdom Hearts to read for Cloud in all the Remake games that they're still producing." After reiterating that certainly wasn't a recent thing, Gallagher reveals that Square Enix has "been working on those games for a very long time" – a statement that definitely checks out when considering the ongoing journey from Final Fantasy 7 Remake to the unnamed third part.
"And of course, it was a thing where I couldn't talk about it, right? They wouldn't even tell me what I was going to read for until I got into the booth, and I saw the cutscene, and I had to do the thing," continues the actor. "And it makes sense that Cloud is like the Riku of Final Fantasy, and that they would then, while they were looking for their Cloud, ask me to give it a shot." As a fan of both Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts myself, I can definitely see it.
Gallagher then confirms that, yes, he's talking about the Final Fantasy 7 Remake – and it all really did happen a long time ago, "way before" he even recorded lines for Kingdom Hearts 3, which released in 2019. He also understands why Square Enix was so hush-hush. "It makes sense that for their Final Fantasy games, they're going to be really protective over it. That's their big IP, and it always has been for the past many decades. So, it totally makes sense."
As for Cody Christian, who ended up securing the role of Cloud in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Gallagher says he's "sure they found exactly who they were looking for" and "I'm sure they found a great fit." The voice behind Riku concludes that, however, it took Square Enix "a while, from what I understood, to find their Cloud," restating that "they did at some point ask me to give it a shot."
There's no denying that Gallagher could've made a solid Cloud, but Christian killed the role, too – with all that said, Square Enix has quite the skilled pool of actors to pull from.
While you wait for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 and Kingdom Hearts 4 to finally arrive, a browse through these other exciting new games can't hurt.
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