New Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth trailer further fuels a wild - but plausible - fan theory

gamesradar.com:

Fans are digging into the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth trailer for clues about where the Remake saga heads next, and the possibilities are just as out there as I was hoping for.

For the benefit of those needing a reminder, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a largely faithful retelling of part of the original. I say 'largely', as this time we sporadically see spectres – called Whispers – who ensure fate flows correctly. Remake ends with a heap of those arbiters of time getting clobbered, which means all bets are off as to where we're going over the next two games in the trilogy. 

Some fans have also taken the ending as a meta-narrative from Square Enix to those worried that the remake wouldn't be a simple graphical update. After all, when the remake was first revealed, the trailer's narrator said, "The reunion at hand may bring joy, it may bring fear. But let us embrace whatever it brings." 

All of that context is important to keep in mind when viewing the new Final Fantasy Rebirth trailer and what fans are theorizing about it. One of the biggest teases from the end of Remake is that Zack Fair is still alive. As both the Soldier that Cloud thinks he is and a love interest of Aerith before she met the brooding blonde, you can imagine what kind of difficulties that throws up.

The start of the new trailer depicts shots of Midgar following the events of Remake, though this time Aerith, Tifa, Barret, and Red 13 are being stretchered away. It's interesting when you remember that the post-credits scene of the Intermission DLC sees Zack rushing back to Aerith's church only to find people in mourning – significant as that's where he was headed at the end of the prequel game Final Fantasy 7 Crisis Core, which itself got a remaster last year,