Anyway RED POET MAN IS FUCKING IN. Nomura being coy about "secrets" is basically a "fucking YES we're bringing Genesis back DEAL WITH IT".
So Sephgeal might be the relationship focus of Ep 2. But that's not to say that Genesis won't show up at some point. Remember: there are THREE character slots for a reason. THREE.
"B-but Alto!" you cry. "Nomura has previously been coy about characters appearing before only to have them not appear at all! What if this is the same?"
Literally the first fifteen seconds of First Soldier:
They are setting shit up. I guarantee it. If Genesis never shows up, I will gladly eat my words and fume for the rest of my days. But this is foreshadowing at the earliest available moment. It exists for a reason beyond easter eggs. First Soldier sets up Sephiroth as if you're being introduced to him for the first time. Therefore it's counting on you to look at visual cues and expect them to become relevant later. Also there's no way that they're just going to have Angeal as a solo unit he literally enlisted because of Genesis. They aren't going to just reverse-manifest Genesis out of canon. He's a critical character, both for Sephiroth and as the main antagonist in CC. They won't ignore him during what should be a Genesis-critical period of FF7 lore.
My boy Genesis is iconic for so many reasons. I could never hate him. He's a published literary scholar. he's a war criminal. he's a bitch. he's a traitor to the state. he's a thespian. he's terminally ill. he's ginger. He's the self insert of a popular music artist Nomura liked and just told "Hey you wanna make music for my game and be in my game" and Gackt was like yeah sure. His Japanese voice is the same voice that sings dancing samurai. His first canon appearence was Gackt cosplaying him over a greenscreen for a secret ending in a game he had no role in at all. Fucking legend