It has been six months since Capcom revealed Resident Evil 8, the upcoming installment in the RE franchise. Now that the end of the year is fast approaching, the hype for Resident Evil 8 continues to grow day-by-day, given that Capcom revealed that the game is releasing next year, though a specific date is yet to be given by the studio. Despite this, Capcom has been consistent with providing players with just enough information to keep them interested. While there is still a lot about the game that is shrouded in mystery, Capcom continues to tease the role of Chris Redfield in the upcoming game.
In Resident Evil 8's first trailer, fans were shocked with how Chris was shown in the preview. Chris was seen shooting someone (presumably Mia Winters) point-blank in front of Resident Evil 7's Ethan Winters. This led to the trailer ending with Ethan's horrific scream, which clearly suggests that whoever Chris shot is someone close to him. The second trailer for Resident Evil 8 carried over the villain-vibe for Chris as he is seen apprehending Ethan Winters, which further drove speculation that he is the antagonist in the upcoming game. However, veteran fans would know that, ever since the first Resident Evil game, Chris has been leading the fight against bioterrorism. This begs the question: is Capcom trying to mislead fans on what Chris' true intentions are?
Chris Redfield's Agenda in Resident Evil 8
It is a known fact that Resident Evil 8 will continue the storyline started by Resident Evil 7. While most of that game's plot has been resolved, the ending and the DLC where Chris appeared seemed to tease what Resident Evil 8's story will be about. In the ending of Resident Evil 7, Ethan was rescued by Chris Redfield alongside the organization Blue Umbrella. Initially, some players thought that this version of Chris might be a clone, similar to how Ada was replicated in Resident Evil 7. However, Capcom confirmed that the Chris players saw in Resident Evil 7 is the true and only Chris Redfield.
In the Not a Hero DLC, Chris revealed that he was reluctant to work with Blue Umbrella when it requested his assistance in the Baker Mansion Incident, but decided to team up with the mysterious organization given that he is suspicious of its true intentions. To the uninitiated, Blue Umbrella was formed out of the original Umbrella Corporation and made it a mission to make up for the original company's atrocities by leading the research in weapons that would be effective against bioweapons.
The True Nature of Blue Umbrella
Now, assuming that Blue Umbrella is only pretending to lead the good fight to continue the Umbrella Corporation's legacy, it is likely that Chris Redfield is faking his allegiance to Blue Umbrella. Of course, to prove his loyalty to Blue Umbrella, sacrifices have to be made, which is unfortunate for Ethan and Mia Winters.
Regarding Chris' possible infection as teased in his latest artwork depicting him as a werewolf, it is possible that Blue Umbrella knew Chris' intentions all along and decided to infect him with either a new parasite or virus. The question now is, will Chris Redfield die in Resident Evil 8? At the moment, this is hard to speculate, given Chris' importance in the overall story of Resident Evil. However, Capcom did tease in the first trailer that someone's story is going to end, and based on what was shown so far, it appears that the character Capcom is referring to is Chris Redfield. This alone makes his role as a villain seem unlikely, as if Chris's end is coming, it would be best if he died a hero.
Resident Evil 8 launches in 2021 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.