Last Thursday, Capcom finally revealed Resident Evil 8: Village at Sony's PlayStation 5 presentation, making it one of the event's biggest announcements. Of course, the reveal of Resident Evil 8 didn't come as a surprise, given that several reliable sources have previously leaked that the game will be announced at the event. The official confirmation of Resident Evil 8 was announced via a debut trailer, which showed players what to expect in the upcoming sequel to the long-standing survival horror franchise.
Additionally, the trailer also confirmed other leaked information about Resident Evil 8 such as the inclusion of a medieval-style village, enemies such as what appears to be a witch and a werewolf, and the return of characters including Ethan Winters and Chris Redfield. As seen in the trailer, it appears that Ethan will be the game's main protagonist, but interestingly enough, Chris was made to appear like he is now Resident Evil 8's villain. Towards the end of the trailer, Ethan witnessed Chris shooting someone that is close to him, and he even apologized to Ethan before shooting an unknown person point-blank. Of course, this opened up an important question for Resident Evil fans, is Chris a bad guy now?
Did Chris Cross Over to the Dark Side?
Prior to Resident Evil 8, Chris Redfield served as one of Resident Evil's primary protagonists and he made his debut in the franchise during the events of the first Resident Evil alongside Jill Valentine. Throughout the franchise, Chris led the fight against bioterrorism and was successful in bringing down the Umbrella Corporation and killing Albert Wesker, who has been a key figure during the events of all Resident Evil games from the first one, up until Resident Evil 5 where he met his demise under the hands of Chris.
Of course, given the many years that Chris spent in bringing justice to those who have suffered from the atrocious experiments conducted by various pharmaceutical companies, it really isn't in his character to cross over to the dark side especially after all his contributions in ensuring that the world is safe from the threat of bioterrorism. Additionally, if Chris really did switch alliances in Resident Evil 8, then he would be betraying all of his teammates, from S.T.A.R.S. to the B.S.A.A., who have died or sacrificed themselves to combat these evil companies who are conducting bioweapons research.
Given everything that he's been through, it is unlikely that Chris is now a bad guy. However, Resident Evil 8's debut trailer made him appear that way, but there may be two possibilities as to why the game is making him appear as a villain. Of course, we still don't know anything about Resident Evil 8's plot, so players should remember that everything that will be discussed here is pure speculation.
Chris is Being Mind-Controlled
The last time players were able to see Chris was during the events of Resident Evil 7, and its DLC, Not a Hero. Towards the end of the game, Chris made a surprising appearance when he rescued Ethan Winters and provided him with a weapon to kill Evelyn. During this moment, it was revealed that Chris is now working with Blue Umbrella, which is a reformed division of the original Umbrella Corporation that is committed to researching weapons against bioterrorism and is on a mission to make up for the atrocities of the original company. In the DLC, it has been revealed that the B.S.A.A., where Chris is a founding member, conducts combat missions on behalf of Blue Umbrella, and during Resident Evil 7, the company requested Chris to lead the mission.
During the Not a Hero DLC, it was revealed that Chris distrusts Blue Umbrella, given that he is suspicious that the company may have a hidden agenda that many people are not seeing. It is possible that sometime between Resident Evil 7 and 8, Blue Umbrella was able to place a mind-control device on Chris, allowing them to have control over everything Chris says and does. As to how Blue Umbrella was able to achieve this is pretty hard to tell, but if this is what happened, then it will most likely be explained in Resident Evil 8.
This scenario is no longer new in the Resident Evil franchise because this is exactly what happened to Jill Valentine in Resident Evil 5. After being captured by Albert Wesker, many thought that Jill was killed in action. However, the biggest twist in Resident Evil 5 was when it revealed that a mind-controlled Jill is now under the control of Wesker. Luckily for her, Chris and his new partner Sheva Alomar were able to remove the mind-control device, freeing Jill of Wesker's control. Jill then revealed that she was aware of everything that she is doing but has no control to stop it.
Chris Is Working Undercover to Expose Blue Umbrella
While the scenario of Blue Umbrella placing a mind-control device on Chris is plausible, it is somewhat unlikely given that Capcom already explored this storyline with Jill in Resident Evil 5. However, another likely scenario as to why Chris appears as a villain in Resident Evil 8 is because he is working undercover to expose the truth behind Blue Umbrella. As previously mentioned, Chris is suspicious of the company, especially since Blue Umbrella's executive board is comprised of former Umbrella employees. In hopes of learning the truth about Blue Umbrella and exposing it to the public, it is likely that Chris is posing as the company's ally, in order to collect information and evidence that Blue Umbrella is not what it seems.
Although Resident Evil 7 did not really provide any clues that Blue Umbrella is up to something, the company may have a motive in helping the world combat bioterrorism by developing weapons against B.O.W.s, because by doing so, they are also able to get combat data and other information about the research of other pharmaceutical companies. Of course, they could have just created a new company and conducted new research themselves. However, posing as an ally to the anti-bioterrorism cause puts them in the position to collect all these vital data, without raising any suspicion. It should be remembered by players that the original Umbrella Corporation was also posing as a pharmaceutical company, but in reality, the bulk of its operations were focused on illegal bioweapons research.
As of the moment, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly as to why Chris appeared like a bad guy in Resident Evil 8's debut trailer. As the game approaches its release next year, players will learn more about the game and maybe Capcom will even give a hint as to what Chris is really up to. For now, Resident Evil fans should rejoice that the highly-awaited sequel to Resident Evil 7 has now been confirmed for development, and hopefully, when the game releases next year, it will reveal the truth about Chris Redfield.
Resident Evil 8: Village is currently in development and is set to release in 2021.