At this point, it really seems like Resident Evil Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi is just trolling us about Leon Kennedy not being in the game at all.
Despite Leon having been heavily rumored to be in Resident Evil 9 to some degree, he was completely absent from the game's reveal trailer. Instead, the trailer introduces FBI agent Grace Ashcroft, daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak hero Alyssa Ashcroft, who Nakanishi has said is "the new main character."
Naturally, that has done very little to quell the chorus of Resi fans insistent that the next installment will let them play as their favorite Raccoon City copper, their optimism largely buoyed by rumors from noted leaker Dusk Golem claiming there are at least two playable characters in the game and that Leon is in fact "the main character."
Still, in Capcom's new Creator's Message video on Resident Evil Requiem, Nakanishi once again strongly suggests Leon isn't in the game, going as far as to call the bonafide horror icon a bad fit for the genre.
"We always thought about making Leon the protagonist, but making a horror game based around him is difficult," Nakanishi says. "He wouldn't jump at something like a bucket falling. No one wants to see Leon scared by every little thing. So he's actually quite a bad match for horror."
This is bait. I can see it in Nakanishi's eyes. Resident Evil Requiem is launching a month before the series' 30th anniversary; what better way to pay homage to its roots than to bring back the original protagonist? And the focus on the RPD? Get outta here.
I don't doubt that Grace will play a significant role in the story, and she very well could be the main protagonist, but I'm more convinced than ever that Leon's coming back.
In fact, now that I'm thoroughly overthinking this, I'll be surprised if he doesn't come back as a playable character, purely because Capcom is doing so much to conceal and now seemingly tease his appearance. It'd be pretty anticlimactic for all of these shenanigans to culminate in a non-playable appearance.
For what it's worth, I checked in on Dusk Golem after watching this new video and he still maintains, "I'm 100% Leon is the protagonist still." And to be fair, Nakanishi doesn't explicitly say Leon won't be in the game, or even that he won't be the main character! It wouldn't be terribly unusual for a game creator to outright lie in service of a good surprise reveal, but it seems Nakanishi wants to maintain his good name if and when Leon is revealed.
We'll find out when Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27 for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Or, possibly before that, because leaks and all.
