Resident Evil 8: Village is finally confirmed to be in development after the game was officially announced at Sony's huge PS5 event last Thursday. As expected, the official unveiling of Resident Evil 8 was made via a preview, which gave fans a sneak peek on what to expect in the next installment in the survival horror franchise. Although the official trailer of Resident Evil 8 answered the critical question of what Capcom plans to do with the Resident Evil franchise after the remake of Resident Evil 3, it also opened up many questions about the direction of the series, which many hope will be answered in the coming months leading up to the game's release in 2021.
Among all the things revealed about Resident Evil 8 in the recent trailer, its biggest mystery lies with a phrase that reads, "His story comes to a close." Unfortunately, the trailer never revealed who "he" is, but it is implied that one of Resident Evil's major characters will have his storyline end in Resident Evil 8. At the moment, there are only two returning male characters that are confirmed to be in the game, and here are the likely reasons why one of them could say goodbye to the Resident Evil franchise for good.
Ethan Winters
Ethan Winters is a newcomer to the Resident Evil franchise and made his debut in 2017's Resident Evil 7. His story began when he arrived in the Baker Mansion after receiving a call from his wife, Mia, who has been missing for the past three years. After arriving at the Baker residence, Ethan immediately found Mia but soon discovered that she, and the rest of the people living there, are infected with some kind of parasite. Throughout the game, Ethan desperately searches for a cure to the virus while fighting the corrupted members of the Baker family. Long story short, Ethan manages to escape the Baker mansion with Mia and cures her of her infection, and many believed that this is the end of Ethan's story.
However, with the official announcement of Resident Evil 8 last Thursday, it has been revealed that the game will continue the story of Ethan. Leaks about the game claim that sometime between Resident Evil 7 and 8, Ethan and Mia had a baby, who will play an essential role in the game. Of course, it is difficult to speculate if Ethan is the character that the trailer is referring to, but it wouldn't be unlikely if his story will end in Resident Evil 8 for the following reasons.
First, Ethan doesn't have any connections with the events that happened in other games before Resident Evil 7, and as previously mentioned, his story could have easily ended in that game. Another reason why Ethan's story could end in Resident Evil 8 is that unlike all the other protagonists in previous mainline Resident Evil games, Ethan is the only one who is not actively working to combat the threat of bioterrorism.
But of course, while Capcom could easily end Ethan's involvement in the Resident Evil franchise in the upcoming game, there are also many reasons why it may not be him whose story is ending in Resident Evil 8. First, there is still the organization known as The Connections, which was first introduced in Resident Evil 7, and is the former employer of Ethan's wife, Mia. Also, there have been talks about Ethan, and Mia's rumored baby could be a bioweapon due to Mia's past infection. But if it's not Ethan, then there is only one other person left that fans could say goodbye to towards the end of Resident Evil 8.
Chris Redfield
Unlike Ethan, Chris is a Resident Evil veteran and one of the franchise's first playable characters alongside Jill Valentine. Throughout Resident Evil's long history, Chris has appeared in six out of the eleven mainline Resident Evil games, excluding Resident Evil 8, which totals seven out of twelve appearances. Of course, apart from being the character with most appearances, Chris played a crucial role in several of Resident Evil's most important moments, such as the death of major protagonists Albert Wesker and Ozwell Spencer.
Given his long stint in the Resident Evil franchise, it is possible that the upcoming game would be Chris' last. In the trailer, Chris was made to appear as somewhat of a villain, and one of Resident Evil 8's key art showed Chris sporting a mold-like creature in his face, suggesting that he may be corrupted in some way. At the moment, no one knows how his story will come to a close if he is even the one that the trailer is referring to, but hopefully, it would be a conclusion that is deserving of all his heroic actions in the franchise.
Resident Evil 8: Village is currently in development and is set to release in 2021.
Image Credit: Ethan Winters Depiction by DemonLeon3D