Several weeks ago, Capcom released the highly-anticipated remake ofResident Evil 3, which received mostly positive reviews, but was criticized for being too different than its source material. Of course, withResident Evil 3out of the way, it is expected that Capcom will now be focusing some of its time supportingResident Evil Resistance, which is the online multiplayer game that launched alongsideResident Evil 3. Just a couple of days ago,the company revealed its roadmap forResistance, which will see the release of Jill Valentine this month, and another playable character in April. But of course, many are now wondering what is next forResident Evil? Will Capcom release another remake? Or is it now in the process of developingResident Evil 8?
Capcom will reportedly develop a remake ofResident Evil 4, due out in 2022 to potentially followRE8in 2021. Nonetheless, rumors about the still unconfirmedResident Evil 8are still prevalent online, with reports claiming that the nextResident Evilgame will once again reinvent the survival horror franchise. Previously, rumors are claiming thatResident Evil 8will feature a medieval setting, werewolf-like creatures, and a new enemy that borderlines the supernatural.
Of course, without any official confirmation from Capcom about the state of the nextResident Evil game, it is difficult to pinpoint just how exactly the sequel toResident Evil 7will be like. However, assuming thatResident Evil 8is in development and will once again reinvent the series, it’s worth wondering which character will take front and center. Will Capcom re-introduce veteran characters back into the mix? Or will it once again feature a new character that players have never seen before?
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Ethan Winters and Chris Redfield
While there are many rumors surroundingResident Evil 8,most of them are claiming that the next game in theResident Evilfranchise will star bothEthan Wintersand Chris Redfield. Of course, given that both Ethan and Chris also starred inResident Evil 7,which is the latest installment in the franchise sans the remakes, it makes sense that its sequel will continue the story of both characters. If Capcom would indeed include Ethan again inResident Evil 8, it will be interesting to see how the company would approach it especially since his story sort of ended inResident Evil 7.
Of course, the story is different for Chris Redfield given that he is one of the main protagonists of the franchise itself and is the characters with the most appearances inResident Evil’s23-year history. However, apart from Chris being the character that Capcom loves to include in mostResident Evilgames, his appearance inResident Evil 8is somewhat warranted, given that his involvement with the Blue Umbrella still remains a big mystery.Resident Evil 7, more specifically,the Not a Hero DLCleft many unanswered questions about Chris Redfield, which we hope gets answered inResident Evil 8.
Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveria
Another interesting possibility forResident Evil 8would be an appearance fromResident Evil 3’sJill Valentine and Carlos Oliveria. Similar to Chris Redfield,Jill Valentine remains to be one of the key charactersbehind theResident Evilfranchise, although it has been some time since Jill appeared in a newResident Evilgame. As far asResident Evil’stimeline is concerned, Jill last appeared in 2009’sResident Evil 5,where she was rescued by Chris after spending years in captivity and being mind-controlled by Albert Wesker.
At the moment, it is unclear what happened to Jill after the Kijuju incident, but an email sent to Barry Burton inResident Evil Revelations 2revealed that Jill is still recovering from her traumatic ordeal under the control of Wesker. However, several years have passed since the events ofResident Evil 5so Jill appearing inResident Evil 8would be the perfect opportunity for Capcom to continue her storyline and take advantage of Jill’s current popularity after the release ofResident Evil 3remake.
As for Carlos, including him inResident Evil 8would be a stretch especially since it is unknown what happened to him after escaping Raccoon City. InResident Evil 3, Carlos is a mercenary hired by Umbrella under the guise of rescuing citizens of Raccoon City. Prior to the events ofResident Evil 3, Carlos was not directly involved with Umbrella, and it is unclear whether he returned to a normal life or continued the fight against bioterrorism after the events ofResident Evil 3.However, given the new storyline introduced inResident Evil 7, which will probably be continued inResident Evil 8,it is not impossible for Capcom to re-introduce Carlos back into the mix, especially sinceResident Evil 3remake made an effort to flesh out his personalityand expand his role.
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Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield
Of course, both Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield are also important characters in theResident Evilfranchise and have since appeared in succeeding games. Afterthe Raccoon City incident,Leon was hired as an agent of the United States and is tasked to work with the government to prevent another incident from ever happening again. In later games and CGI movies, Leon is often seen working with Chris Redfield and is sent all over the world to combat other companies who are following the footsteps of the Umbrella Corporation, which met its demise after its involvement in the Raccoon City incident was exposed.
On the other hand, Claire Redfield immediately continued her search for her brother Chris after escaping Raccoon City. The Redfield siblings were reunited inResident Evil: Code Veronica,and after the events of that game, Claire continued her fight against bioterrorism by joining the organization, TerraSave. Claire’s last appearance in theResident Evilfranchise was in the game,Resident Evil Revelations 2, where she was abducted and taken to an isolated island. Towards the end of the game, Claire successfully escaped the island and was informed that Chris is in China, signaling the beginning of the events ofResident Evil 6.
Another Original Character
Apart from all the veteranResident Evil characters mentioned above, it is also likely that a new, original character will be selected to star inthe rumoredResident Evil 8. Similar to how Capcom approachedResident Evil 7,it is possible that the studio would want to expand the story of the game by introducing another original character to the franchise. WithResident Evil 7,it felt like Capcom wanted to give the franchise a soft reboot by introducing new storylines from the perspective of a new character. Of course, with no official information from Capcom, it is fairly difficult to speculate what a new character could mean for the franchise moving forward and how it will impactResident Evil’sestablished lore. But with recent reports about the possibility of aResident Evil 4remake as Capcom’s nextResident Evilgame, it appears that it will be some time before Capcom reveals any official information about the next sequel that would serve as the latest installment in the Resident Evil franchise.
Resident Evil 8is rumored to be in development.
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