Leon S. Kennedy has now been an instrumental part of what broughtResident Evilback due to the modern third-person remakes made from the original sequels. Leon has always been incredibly popular as a legacy character, and because he has had so few entries to himself it was great to see him in the remakes forResident Evil 2andResident Evil 4. However, the next remake seems poised to feature Chris Redfield as at least one of its playable protagonists ifResident Evil 5is indeed being planned. In this case,Resident Evilwould have a ton of Chris content in the future.
Many fans want Capcom’s next remake to beCode: Veronica, and that is still a possibility. In the meantime,theResident Evil 4remake’s post-credits sequenceseems to allude heavily toResident Evil 5, andCode: Veronicawould have needed to take place beforeResident Evil 4’s remake if it is attempting to follow a chronological order. Interestingly, aResident Evil 5remake would also seemingly launch nearResident Evil’s ninth mainline installment, which could also feature Chris and show how he has changed in the time since.
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Resident Evil’s Remakes Are Gaining on the Mainline Continuity
Now thatResident Evil’s remakeshave caught up toResident Evil 4, there are only a couple logical directions this niche continuity could be taken. Seeinghow Leon developed betweenResident Evil 2andResident Evil 4has been incredible since it is less obvious of a character development in the original games. It would be great to see theResident Evil 2remake’s Claire Redfield in aCode: Veronicaremake for the same reason.
Unfortunately, the firstResident Evilinstallment has not had its own modern third-person remake, and therefore it will be an awkward transition for fans who have only caught up with the franchise’s narrative through its remakes. Chris has obviously been through a lot in the originalResident Evil, but aResident Evil 5remake would skip over that entire adventure in the Spencer Mansion, let alone how he lost Jill Valentine during their infiltration of another Spencer estate.
Either way, Capcom only has two chronological installments to remake before it has caught up withResident Evil 7and the mainline continuitythat will presumably continue with an eventualResident Evil 9. Some assumeResident Evil 9will follow Chris and his team to the BSAA headquarters in Europe. That’s certainly what the ending cutscene ofResident Evil Villagesuggests.
Resident Evil’s Future Might Feature a Lot of Chris Redfield
It is possible thatResident Evil 9could follow any protagonist on any other journey, but all signs currently point toward Chris being a playable protagonist in his own entry once again. The timing of this is convenient for Capcom, then, if both aResident Evil 5remake and aResident Evil 9feature Chris. Capcom could use what it plans to design for Chris for both installments regardless of them not being connected canonically, such as ifResident Evil 9could have NPC companions.
It would be even more interestingif Sheva Alomar or Jill returned inResident Evil 9, giving fans a more intimate perspective of either character with an updated character model and a place in the franchise’s future.Resident Evildoes not like to kill off its legacy characters, and it is always possible that they could return at any point. However, the amount of Chris Redfield content may be a lot to digest in the next several years ofResident Evilgames.
Resident Evil 5is available for PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
