With the recent leaks about Resident Evil 9, it’s the perfect time to speculate about details that haven’t been confirmed yet. The leaks were centered around the possible location where the game would be set and the style of the game being open world. However, there hasn’t been any information about the characters who might return, if any characters from past games return at all.

Resident Evil, as a franchise, has a cast of characters who could potentially appear in future games. However, that doesn’t mean that just because a character could reasonably be brought into RE9, they should be included in the game. Instead, there are just as many characters who shouldn’t make a return as those who should be brought back for the chance to be included in another viral adventure.

10

Manuela Deserves The Chance To Be In A Main Game

Before Leon appeared in Resident Evil 4, he went through another journey that was limited to a rail shooter for the Wii. This rather hidden story also explains the rift between Leon and Krauser that formed after they worked together on this mission. Their goal was to find Javier Hidalgo, and they ended up coming across his daughter, Manuela, in the process. As she helps them against her own father, Manuela proves that she deserves to be more than a side character.

Manuela is infected with the T-Veronica virus and receives regular organ transplants while her body adjusts to the virus. This was done to cure her of a terminal illness, but now girls are being kidnapped and killed to supply organs for her. So, she uses the power of the virus she’s infected by to help kill her father, and later ends up in the hands of the government. If she successfully assimilated with the virus, then she could’ve been made into a huge asset in the fight against bioterrorism, and that makes her perfect for the role of the main character.

9

Chris Should Be Left Out On This Mission

Chris Redfield appears in a lot of Resident Evil games. In fact, he likely makes more appearances than any other character in the franchise. Because of this, the next Resident Evil game shouldn’t have Chris in it, whether that’s RE9 or another installment in Revelations. He might be one of the original characters in the franchise, but he’s been used too often to the point that his presence has become stale.

Since Resident Evil follows an actual timeline, Chris is getting increasingly old canonically. It would make more sense for him to follow the path that Barry took and step back into a leadership role, handling the planning, logistics, and maybe training new recruits for the BSAA, rather than leading the missions himself. This would open up the potential for him to still be included in games, but also make room for new characters to take over the franchise.

8

Sherry Could Use Another Chance To Shine

After being saved as a child by Leon and Claire, Sherry ends up in the custody of the government, and they experiment on her to test the ability of the G-Virus she has. Later, she appears in Resident Evil 6 as a government agent with the job of securing Jake to find a cure for the C-Virus. However, since she ended up being a main character in a game that wasn’t exactly loved, she could use another chance to prove herself as a main character.

Sherry’s healing abilities from the G-Virus would be a useful mechanic if she was the main character in RE9. Instead of worrying about her health getting too low, she could possibly regenerate her health slowly over time. Given the flow of time in the RE universe, she’s perfect for leading a new generation of main characters, and she has connections to other main characters, so there’s a level of familiarity about her.

7

Rose Winters Has No Reason To Return

In the DLC for Resident Evil Village, Rose makes it clear multiple times that she doesn’t want to be involved in the world of viruses. By the end of the DLC, she accepts her powers and joins Chris’ team to help hone her abilities. Still, it’s unclear if she actually enjoys this position, or if she accepted it out of necessity or obligation. However, it’s unlikely that she would go into an area by herself to deal with an outbreak.

Instead, she’d be better suited in a support role with a team. Additionally, while her abilities would be useful, creating mechanics that are suited for her could be difficult without making her feel either too weak or too strong. Since the story of the Winters family has concluded and feels complete, there’s no need to drag Rose or Mia back into the chaos of bioterrorism.

6

Claire Hasn’t Led A Main Game In Too Long

Aside from appearing in remakes, the last time Claire was a main character was in Resident Evil: Revelations 2. Unlike Chris, she ended up working at a company that deals more with information and rebuilding areas that were devastated by outbreaks instead of going to deal with the outbreaks herself. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible for her to be sent into the middle of an outbreak, especially since she’s one of the few people with hands-on experience.

Claire is a fan favorite character, and given how many other characters she knows, there’s potential for a lot of pairings that haven’t been seen before. Of course, she could also return and work with Leon again, reviving a classic partnership. Alternatively, Claire and Jill partnering up for a game would make them the first women-only pairing.

5

Sheva Has No Reason To Make A Return

Every now and again, Sheva comes up in conversation as a character with the potential to return. However, she’s part of the West African BSAA branch, so she doesn’t have a reason to return in another game unless the setting is close to her location again. It’s not impossible for her to make a future return, but it’s not likely given the leaked information about RE9.

According to the leaks, RE9 will be set in Southeast Asia. Because of this, Sheva wouldn’t have a reason to make an appearance. It’d be possible if she was requested as back-up, but again, there are so many other options that it’d be better to let her keep working on any issues that are more local for her. It could be fun to see her return, but the next game doesn’t seem like the best opportunity for that.

4

Ada Wong’s Return Can Spotlight New Villains

Ada’s work as a spy means that she doesn’t have clear allegiances, but it also offers an inside view into what the villains are planning. It’s unclear if Capcom would return to Neo Umbrella for the antagonists, like in RE6, or if there would be a new organization brought into play. Either way, Ada offers insight into the other side of the fight against bioterrorism.

It’s also a chance to show what Ada has been up to, since the last time she appears in the timeline is during RE6. At that point, Wesker is dead, so she’s no longer working for him or Umbrella. It also doesn’t seem like she ever worked for Neo Umbrella. Considering how many times she’s helped Leon, it could be time for her to join the side of the heroes officially.

3

Barry Should Be Allowed To Enjoy His Retirement Instead Of Returning

Barry is a fun character, and he made a return in Resident Evil: Revelations 2 to search for his daughter after she went missing, which led to him also adopting Natalia, an orphan he found on the same island as Moira. However, he makes it clear that he doesn’t want to be actively involved in dealing with bioterrorism anymore. While he used to hold a leadership position in the BSAA, it seems that he’s done with that aspect of his former career as well.

Because of this, he’d avoid getting involved unless he had no other choice. If he was unlucky and happened to be on vacation in an area where there’s an outbreak, then he’d probably participate in dealing with it for the sake of his family and the innocent people affected. However, short of those circumstances, he has no reason to make a return in RE9.

2

Jill Valentine Has Been Ignored For Too Long

Jill is perfect for Resident Evil 9 since she has plenty of experience dealing with virus outbreaks, and she could potentially be stronger than a normal human because of the experimentation she underwent while captured by Wesker. Additionally, she still has the T-Virus in her, although it’s not clear if that has lingering effects like the G-Virus, aside from making her immune to Uroboros.

After appearing in Resident Evil 5, Jill has disappeared from the franchise. She doesn’t even receive a mention in RE6, unlike Claire, who’s mentioned when Chris and Sherry talk. As one of the original characters, she deserves better than to be forgotten, and not even mentioned in games any more by other characters. A new game is the perfect time to bring her back into the story, ready to deal with any villains who come her way.

1

Albert Wesker Should Stay Dead

Wesker has a way of returning as a villain after surviving situations that would normally be impossible to make it out alive. In RE5, he’s shot by an RPG while in a volcano, so he should be suitably dead after that. As such, he shouldn’t be brought back for RE9 through methods that are increasingly unbelievable for explaining his survival.

It’s not impossible to bring him back as a villain again. Considering all the experiments that have been done, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Wesker clones to exist, and an Ada clone kind of exists in the form of Carla, who became a clone of Ada in a twisted way. However, Wesker has been used as a villain more than enough, and it’s time to let other, new characters step into the role.

As a franchise, Resident Evil has no shortage of characters to use for new games. However, there are both characters who should be used again, and those who are better off being left out of the next game. Plus, even with this large cast of existing characters, Capcom could choose to use all new characters for Resident Evil 9.