Resident Evil is one of the oldest and most prosperous gaming franchises of all time. Intelligent, unpredictable, and collected, Leon S. Kennedy is a protagonist of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 4, and Resident Evil 6. With so much hype surrounding the hugely successful release of the Resident Evil 2 Remake, there is a lot of buzz surrounding Leon.
Leon S. Kennedy tends to work alone, and players are given very little information about him in the games. Perhaps this list will shed some light on the character who tends to play the loner-type in most games. These are 13 facts that most players didn't know about Leon S. Kennedy.
Updated July 5, 2022, by Russ Boswell: Leon Kennedy is easily one of the most influential and beloved characters in the Resident Evil series. Although the modern games haven't seen the return of the RPD Rookie, players still hold out hopes that Capcom will include the character sometime in the near future. Thankfully, Leon Kennedy faithful did get some additional backstory for the now grizzled veteran with the release of some animated films. Although it's unclear just what kind of role Leon will have with the mainline games moving forward, players can look forward to the Resident Evil 4 remake, which promises to give even more backstory to Leon Kennedy, while simultaneously offering up a few twists on what made the original game so iconic. To celebrate, here are some more interesting facts about Leon Kennedy.
15 Leon Was Forced To Eliminate His Entire Squad During A Mission
Leon has been through a lot during his time as both a protagonist and side character in Resident Evil. Many of the games that feature him as a playable character see Leon acting as a bit of a lone wolf, only helping those that he meets during his travels. That said, Leon has worked with a team before, but it didn't go so well. The recent Resident Evil animated films gave more backstory for the RPD officer, and one particular storyline saw Leon lose his entire squad during a mission in Washington D.C.
Leon would end up being the old survivor for the botched mission (which went bad thanks to a Whistle Blower). During the events, Leon would find himself having to take down zombified versions of his squadmates and he was the only one that would survive the perilous ordeal. The messed-up mission takes a toll on him mentally, causing him to "take a vacation" to reflect on things.
14 Leon Has Appeared In Several Non-Resident Evil Games
As well as multiple Resident Evil games, Leon S. Kennedy has shown up in several titles outside of the survival horror franchise. He's one of three Resident Evil characters that can be unlocked in Capcom's 1999 game Trick'n Snowboarder and is also a solo unit in the Capcom, Namco and Sega crossover game Project x Zone 2.
Despite there being plenty of fan demand, Leon has never shown up as a playable character in a Marvel vs Capcom title, although does feature on one of the cards in the Heroes and Heralds mode of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Leon was once planned to be a playable character in another crossover fighting game, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, but was cut before the title's final release.
13 Leon Was Likely Inspired By The Titular Character In Leon: The Professional
Though there is no concrete evidence to confirm it, many believe that Leon was inspired by Jean Reno's character in the 1994 movie Leon: The Professional. As well as the pair sharing a name and a talent for armed combat, they each have a strong connection with the name Matilda. Not only is it the name of the Natalie Portman character who is taken in by the assassin near the beginning of the movie, but also the name of Leon's unlockable weapon in RE4.
Leon also has some connections with Ancient Greece, with his name being derived from the Latin word "leo," which loosely translates to "lion." This is something that the developers of Resident Evil 2 seemed to be aware of, as one of the very first puzzles that Leon solves during his debut outing involves a statue of a lion.
12 His First Appearance Was In A Cancelled Version Of Resident Evil 2
In Resident Evil 1.5 (also known as Biohazard 1.5), Leon's appearance was slightly different to that of Resident Evil 2. Resident Evil 1.5 is a canceled game that was once going to be Resident Evil 2. Capcom was dissatisfied with the resulting product, so they scrapped the project near the end despite the risks. Moreover, Claire was not present in Resident Evil 1.5.
Instead, a character named Elza Walker was the other story choice. Players can unlock Elza Walker's costume in Resident Evil 2 remake— which is an ode to the unreleased game. Leon S. Kennedy's first appearance was in Resident Evil 1.5 and not Resident Evil 2 as most people believe.
11 Leon's Job Has Changed Throughout The Resident Evil Series
When players were first introduced to the character of Leon, it was surprising to see how much he contrasted with Chris Redfield. While Chris Redfield relies on brute strength and weapon mastery, Leon S. Kennedy is intelligent and uses his wits and the help of friends to solve his way out of situations.
In Resident Evil 2, Leon S. Kennedy was a police officer in the Raccoon Police Department. In Resident Evil 4, he became a secret service agent who worked for the president. There's no telling what Leon S. Kennedy could be doing in Resident Evil 8. That is if they include characters from previous games.
10 Leon Has Strong Feelings For Ada Wong
Impersonating a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent is highly illegal, so Ada Wong must have been getting paid a pretty penny for her work as a mercenary. Leon S. Kennedy maintains an uncanny relationship with Ada Wong throughout the series.
For him to look the other way on Ada Wong's illegal acts shows that Leon S. Kennedy must have some pretty strong feelings for her. He doesn't even know if her real name is Ada Wong or if she is using an alias, however, so there's clearly quite a bit of room for growth in the pair's relationship.
9 Leon Was Only A Rookie In Resident Evil 2
Despite being someone proficient with every weapon and more confident with his skills than veteran police officers, Leon was only a rookie during the events of Resident Evil 2. Whether it's movies or video games, it seems that people just love to root for the underdog.
The reality is that a rookie police officer likely wouldn't have stood a chance against an outbreak of zombies or a devastating Tyrant like Mr. X. With that being said, Leon S. Kennedy had a heck of a first day on the job, and it's one day of his career that he'll probably never forget.
8 Modern Leon Is Much Different From His Rookie Counterpart
Unfortunately for its characters, the Resident Evil universe is downright punishing. Most of the characters involved in the series have been through the paces, so to speak, and it's no different for everyone's favorite RPD Rookie. Although Leon starts out his Resident Evil journey as a tenacious Rookie bent on saving as many people as possible and escaping the events of Resident Evil 2, he morphs into a grizzled veteran similar to Chris over the years.
In the most recent animated films, Leon is shown as a battle-hardened special ops agent, having lived through the events of Resident Evil 4 and many more bioterrorist attacks. The end result of Resident Evil: Vendetta, even sees Leon questioning how long the group will have to fight against Umbrella and other extremists. The once bright-eyed rookie has been through a lot, and it will be interesting to see how his character morphs moving forward.
7 Leon S. Kennedy Was A Bright Student At The Police Academy
Leon S. Kennedy graduated from the police academy at the top of his class. His remarkably high test scores are what made him an easy pick for the Raccoon City Police Department. Leon S. Kennedy decided to join the RPD after hearing about strange reports of grizzly murders in the area.
Carrying many of the characteristics of a fine police officer, what Leon S. Kennedy lacked in experience, he more than made up for in knowledge. Since his first day on the job, he has vowed to stop the Umbrella Corporation wherever they appear and has been a constant thorn in the evil organization's side.
6 79% Of People Chose To Play As Leon First In Resident Evil 2
Following the release of Resident Evil 2 Remake, Capcom set up a website to share stats about the game. One of the most interesting pieces of information provided on the site is that a whopping 79% of players opted to play through the game as Leon first. There have also been almost 20 million playthroughs started with the rookie cop, more than 5 million more than have been begun with Claire.
Fans have consistently voted Leon as one of the most popular Resident Evil characters of all time. Claire Redfield also ranks high, but, as is the case when it comes to first playthroughs, Leon is typically chosen ahead of her. One thing that Claire does have going for her though is that players are a little more likely to clear the game while playing as her, with Claire boasting a 42% clear rate to Leon's 38%.
5 Leon Fought Chris Redfield To Protect Ada Wong
Although many would agree Resident Evil 6 is one of the weakest entries in the Resident Evil franchise, it is worth playing for diehard fans who want to gather bits of the storyline. In one part of Resident Evil 6, Leon fought Chris to protect Ada Wong. Ada was working for Neo Umbrella, but Leon wanted to protect her anyway.
The pair fought in hand-to-hand combat and even drew their firearms on each other at one point. Putting aside who's the bigger badass, it's still a little strange that Leon is willing to break all of the rules for someone whose name he may or may not know, let alone risk his life.
4 The Voice Actor Who Voices Leon S. Kennedy Changes In Every Game
Unlike the Resident Evil movies, the game featured Leon S. Kennedy more than once. It would seem like a no-brainer to feature Leon (most people's favorite character), but the studio behind the Resident Evil movie franchise squandered its potential.
Notably, the voice actor behind Leon S. Kennedy has changed in every video game. Even the Resident Evil 2 voice actor is different from the one in Resident Evil 2 remake. Voice actors like Paul Haddad, Paul Mercier, Christian Lanz, Matthew Mercer, and Nick Apostolides have voiced Leon S. Kennedy.
3 The Actor who Leon Is Modeled After Also Changed Multiple Times
Many people might not realize that Leon's design is actually based on a real person. Like his voice actor, though, the actor after whom Leon is modeled has changed multiple times over the years. In RE4, Leon is based on Christian Duerre, but later entries in the series have used actors Jamisin Matthews, Bart Voitila, and Eduard Badaluta in Duerre's stead.
It's not just Leon's voice actor and model that have changed on multiple occasions either, but also the actor providing mocap for the zombie-smashing protagonist. Teruaki Ogawa was the first to take on the role during the production of RE4, although since then, four other actors have taken up the mantle. Nick Apostolides was the most recent and also provided the voice of Leon in RE2 Remake.
2 Leon's Character Is Being Explored More In Films
Some fans of the Resident Evil series are likely aware of the film franchise featuring Mila Jovovich as the titular Alice, a character that has made a name for herself across the Resident Evil universe. Although the films are a wild ride for any fan looking to experience something action-packed and "different concerning the beloved game series, it's important to note how disconnected the titles feel from the games that inspired them. This can be a bit of a letdown for players that are looking for some additional story containing some of their favorite characters, moreso than just cameo appearances.
Thankfully, Capcom has given dedicated Resident Evil fans a bit more lore lately with the release of some animated films that follow beloved characters like Chris Redfield, Rebecca Chambers, and Leon Kennedy. Resident Evil: Vendetta was a great way for fans to see both Kennedy and Redfield in action together and helped flesh out their characters even more.
1 Leon S. Kennedy Was One Of The First People To Know About Raccoon City's Zombie Apocalypse
When Leon Kennedy started working in the Raccoon City Police Department, he was aware that there had been a series of suspicious murders in the area but did not know who or what was behind them. It didn't take too long for him to find out exactly what was going on, however.
At first, the Umbrella Corporation created a controlled outbreak that remained largely contained during Resident Evil 2. Later, however, the Umbrella Corporation spreads the virus to other areas of the world and in Resident Evil 4, Leon encounters the virus again when he travels to a village in Europe to investigate a kidnapping.