Since launching the Resident Evil 4 remake in 2023, Capcom has kept its next project under wraps. That said, various leaks have claimed that Resident Evil 9 is next up and will star Leon S. Kennedy. Jill Valentine has also been rumored to appear in RE9, but her involvement has been in dispute.
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Regardless of who takes the central role in Resident Evil 9, here are the Resident Evil characters who should join them in the next entry:
Carlos Oliveira
If Jill’s coming back, Carlos should join her. We haven’t seen him since Resident Evil 3 and Capcom put in a lot of effort to reimagine his character in the remake. For the most part, those efforts were successful, turning Carlos into a fan favorite. He doesn’t need to be playable this time around, but we are going to need him to punch a zombie.
Barry Burton
Speaking of Jill’s old friends, Barry Burton has been on the sidelines for far too long. The BSAA Consultant was last seen in Resident Evil: Revelations 2. Considering the last scene in Resident Evil Village was Chris and the Hound Wolf Squad talking about infiltrating the organization’s European HQ, Barry could easily get involved, potentially bringing his daughter Moira along for the ride.
Rebecca Chambers
Rebecca’s big starring role was Resident Evil 0. She’s been involved in the story from time to time, but she’s certainly become one of the more overlooked playable characters over the years. That said, Capcom hasn’t completely forgotten about the expert in biochemistry. She was one of the featured players in Resident Evil: Death Island, potentially signaling that she’ll be making a comeback to the mainline series soon.
Billy Coen
Look, Billy is probably never coming back to the Resident Evil series. Like Rebecca, he starred in Resident Evil 0, helping her survive the Ecliptic Express. However, he’s been M.I.A. in the years since, despite being a former Marine who would come in handy during a zombie outbreak. At this point, we don’t technically even know if he’s alive, but a Billy resurgence would be a great surprise, even if it’s only a small cameo where we hopefully learn he’s used a tattoo removal service.
Helena Harper
Many fans aren’t overly fond of the characters introduced in Resident Evil 6. And while Helena isn’t the most exciting character from the franchise, if Leon is back, it’d be a great opportunity to see what she’s up to. Of course, Ada Wong is much more likely to fill this slot, but we’d prefer a Helena-sized change-up.
Jake Muller
Jake is another Resident Evil 6 character that fans are split on. The son of Albert Wesker was born in Europe and has been missing since his last appearance. If RE9 does take players to Europe, Muller could get involved and potentially learn more about his father in the process.
The Duke
The Duke’s presence in Resident Evil Village left us with so many questions. Why is he in the village? Why was he helping Ethan Winter so much? How does a man of that size move around so quickly? Honestly, we hope Capcom never answers those questions but continues to bring The Duke back to delight fans.
Rose Winters
While the Winters saga is finished, that doesn’t mean the family has to go away. Remember, she eventually joins Chris and the Hound Wolf Squad following the Shadows of Rose DLC. Depending on when RE9 is set, she might not be old enough to participate, but she could still feature to keep up the franchise’s continuity. Plus, we need to know who that unseen figure was at Ethan’s Grave during the DLC’s final cutscene.
Resident Evil 9 doesn’t have a release date as of this writing. Hopefully, we’ll hear more about RE9 from Capcom later in 2025.
