Resident Evil 4 Remake will be reimagining the original game and of course, that means Capcom has to utilize new actors for the various characters. While we don’t know the full cast of the game quite yet, it has already been confirmed that Resident Evil 6 actor Matthew Mercer will not be reprising his role as Leon Kennedy in this remake. This was largely a foregone conclusion for many given he didn’t return to the character in the Resident Evil 2 remake, but still, there were some hopeful fans that wanted to see him play Leon once more. We don’t know who will be playing Leon yet, but it’s assumed that he will be played by Nick Apostolides who played him in Resident Evil 2 Remake.
One of the few people confirmed for the game is the model for Ashley, one of the game’s main characters. Model Ella Freya took to Twitter to express her excitement for Resident Evil 4 Remake, stating that the trailer made her “almost cry”. Freya will serve as the face model for Ashley Graham, but it doesn’t seem like she will be doing the voice or performance. This isn’t an uncommon practice in the industry. Sometimes this is because the actor they’ve chosen doesn’t physically resemble the character the developer has created, so they have a model that serves as the face and body, but the actor’s performance is essentially projected on to that model. Games like Marvel’s Spider-Man and The Last of Us Part II have both made use of this technique.ย
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Given Resident Evil 4 Remake is… well, a remake, people have an expectation of what Ashley will look like. Thankfully, it seems like Freya was able to serve as a realistic counterpart to the character. Freya also noted on Twitter that she is “glad to join the RE family”. Ella Freya is an Instagram and Patreon model and states she isn’t tied to any agency. With that said, it’s pretty impressive that she was able to secure such a major gig without the help of an agency.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is slated to release on March 24th, 2023 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Are you excited for Resident Evil 4 Remake? Let me know in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
[H/T VGC]