This week, Zach Cregger delivers some icky, sticky goodness with Resident Evil. The film has already been a massive critical hit and is the highest-rated live-action video game adaptation on Rotten Tomatoes. It's great news for the Weapons director, who took a big swing with a film fuelled by a 27-year legacy of incredible video games and a 24-year legacy of movies that, well, weren't. The trick with this entry, however, is that Cregger tells a story that seems to run adjacent to the events that take place within the doomed Raccoon City. Brace yourself now, as we're about to head into a spoiler-heavy zone that hasn't been quarantined.
This new film follows an out-of-his-depth organ-delivery guy, Bryan (Austin Abrams), who heads to Raccoon City on his last job of the night. Naturally, it isn't long before he runs into some undead activity, very bad dogs, and giant creatures that are difficult to look at. With horrors like this unfolding, die-hard Resident Evil fans could be forgiven for hoping that at some point through the nail-biting nightmare, an appearance from franchise favorites would occur. While Bryan fights for his life, where are Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, and is there any chance they make a last-minute appearance? Cregger has previously acknowledged fans' frustration with supposedly not including Resident Evil legends, but has he really?
Is there a chance that this has been one long bluff from Cregger? Might Bryan's day be saved by a dude with a haircut that impairs his vision when gunning down the undead? Or a woman looking for her brother, Chris? Well, we've got the confirmation on whether they do swing by this scarefest, and where they could turn up in the future if this new installment pumps life back into the Resident Evil franchise.
Are Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield in the Resident Evil movie?
Let's get the bad news out of the way first, shall we? If you're a fan of the franchise, then you might be let down by the news that neither Leon nor Claire makes an appearance in the film, nor are they even referenced in the movie. Bryan's only significant interactions with people caught up in the carnage of Raccoon City are with entirely original characters: a police officer named Maxine (Kali Reis) and an Umbrella Corporation suit named Carl (Paul Walter Hauser).
That's because this isn't the Raccoon City you're familiar with. The film is set in the present day, not 1998. So if there is a Leon or Claire wandering the city streets in this alternate universe, then we never get to meet them. However, with that being said, there's a chance, courtesy of the movie's monstrous final act, that they could make an appearance in a sequel if it ever got the green light. We don't want to call it too soon, but given how much of a hit it is already, that could happen, and it already has a villain waiting in the wings to be at the center of it all.
Could Leon and Claire appear in a sequel?
There's no confirmation yet of another Resident Evil movie being in development, but with an expected $50+ million box office weekend expected (via Deadline), and critics salivating over how good this one is, it wouldn't be a surprise. If it did go ahead, it would also be perhaps even more fitting that iconic Resident Evil characters that didn't appear in this turned up in the next chapter instead. Leon and Claire making their debut to this potential franchise in Resident Evil 2 just feels right, and with the frightening foundations that Cregger has already laid out, they've already got a brand new monster to face off against, as well.
Given that the film ends with Bryan fully transformed into a horrific monster, ready to bring down what appear to be military helicopters coming his way, having him return to the wreck shop in the next movie would work wonderfully. Plenty of beasties in the video game franchise have had tragic pasts, and Bryan's is no different. Could it lead to our heroes eventually seeing the man beneath the monster, or could we instead see Leon apply the classic method of blowing him up with a rocket launcher? Both are perfectly fitting options for an alternative look into Resident Evil, and we'd love to revisit it as soon as possible.
Resident Evil is out now. For more, check out our spoiler-free Resident Evil review, or dive into our spoiler-filled Resident Evil ending explained.
