Resident Evil Requiem is the furthest mainline game in Capcom’s horror universe. Set in an alternate 2026, the horror-action game saw Resi 2 protagonist Leon S. Kennedy return at the ripe old age of 51, and this may not be his last outing.
While the Resident Evil cast is ageing in real-time, Requiem game director Koshi Nakanishi explains that old age won’t stop the team from reusing its heroes. After Capcom’s older Leon design was “throughly refined” by “women in particular”, the team isn’t looking to retire its cast anytime soon.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Nakanishi explains that old age won’t keep Leon or any other characters from appearing in future titles. Additionally, the director says that “it’s not a cast iron rule that, whenever we come up with a new game and we decide to release it here, that we have to exactly age everyone up to match it or everyone like that”.
“Who knows, we could bring him back when he’s 70, and I’m sure he’ll still be a great character.”
Resident Evil Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi
However, the director says that Capcom doesn’t “feel the need to replace [its heroes] with younger characters” as new entries release. While the release of Requiem also saw the debut of newcomer Grace Ashcroft, the older age of the series’ most recognisable cast is not seen as a detriment for new entires.
Nakanishi teases that Leon S. Kennedy could still star in Resident Evil titles in decades to come. “”I mean, I think Leon is really appealing in his current form, the director says. “And who knows, we could bring him back when he’s 70, and I’m sure he’ll still be a great character.”
While there is not a push to replace the series’ older characters with younger newbies, the Requiem director is happy with how popular newcomer Grace Ashcroft has been. Recently, the character was used as a test subject for Nvidia’s gaudy DLSS 5 tech, which saw fans come out to defend Ashcroft’s original design.
“The fact a lot of players commented they really liked the original design of Grace and didn’t want to see it changed was a positive,” the director says. “It meant we got the design right [and] points to the fact that Grace quickly established herself as a fan favourite, that people had such strong opinions on her design.”
Resident Evil Requiem DLC is currently in development, likely adding more Leon Kennedy content to the game. Additionally, Capcom is reportedly working on multiple remakes for prior Resi titles. Alongside the long-awaited remake of Code Veronica, the studio is reportedly working on a full modern remake of the original Resident Evil game.
