Summary
TheResident Evilfranchise has no shortage of iconic characters, and it’s a roster that keeps growing with each new entry. When thinking aboutResident Evil’s most iconic characters, classic legacy heroes like Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, and Leon S. Kennedy, or legacy villains like Albert Wesker and Ada Wong, tend to come to mind first. But in the last few years, another handful of iconic characters have joined the franchise, appearing at just the right time.
FromResident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu to the ‘faceless’ protagonist Ethan Winters, the newerResident Evilgames have tried their best to expand the series' cast. But despite its best efforts to move on, theResident Evilseries keeps being asked to return to one legacy character in particular, though it now needs to time her reappearance carefully.
Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine Should Only Return When the Time is Right
Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine Hasn’t Been Seen for a While
Debuting alongside the series back in 1996, Jill Valentine has been one of the most belovedResident Evilcharacters for almost three whole decades now, even despite having surprisingly few appearances in the mainline series. After appearing in the series' debut, Jill Valentine would go on to be themain playable character inResident Evil 3, where she continued to cement her place as one of the series' most capable characters, managing to take out the monstrous Nemesis.
Jill wasn’t seen again in the mainline series untilResident Evil 5, where her character takes a bit of a divisive turn. After raiding the Spencer Estate alongside fellow BSAA partner and long-time friend Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine comes face to face with Albert Wesker, the hidden villain of the firstResident Evilgame. Using his newfound superhuman abilities, Wesker brings the duo close to death, and in an attempt to save her partner, Jill grabs Wesker and throws herself out of the mansion’s window. Jill then returns as an antagonist inResident Evil 5’s story, suffering the effects of Wesker’s mind-control.
Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar eventually manage to free Jill from Wesker’s control, and that marks her last canon video game appearance to date. Technically, though, Jill’s canonical story continued in last year’sCG movie,Resident Evil: Death Island, where she teams up with other legacyREcharacters to take down some new threats in San Francisco, one of her first major missions since being controlled by Wesker.
Resident Eviloften plays fast and loose with the canon in its CG movies, so this could end up being retconned in a future game.
Resident Evil 9 Might Be Too Crowded for Jill Valentine
Though fans got to play as Jill Valentine again inResident Evil 3 Remake, andDeath Islandgave some teases about what the character has been doing since the events ofResident Evil 5, a proper return for her character inthe mainlineResident Evilseriesis in high demand, just like Chris Redfield got inResident Evil 7andVillage. But at this point, Capcom needs to be careful about when and where it decides to bring Jill Valentine back.
There have been a ton ofleaks surroundingResident Evil 9over the last two years or so, and while all rumors should always be taken with a big pinch of salt, many signs are pointing to the game possibly being a tad crowded already. Some leaks suggest that Chris Redfield will be the main playable protagonist ofResident Evil 9, and if that’s true, then it would make a lot of sense for Jill Valentine to accompany him once more as his long-time partner.
But other leaks suggest that bothLeon Kennedy and Claire Redfieldare also set to appear in the sequel. While a big reunion would be a lot of fun to see, Jill Valentine’s long-awaited return is worthy of a bit more fanfare. Her return must make complete sense for the story, and genuinely add substance to the narrative—she can’t be a simple throwaway cameo just for the sake of fan service.
Resident Evil
Resident Evil is a long-running survival horror franchise developed by Capcom. Spread across numerous mainline and spin-off entries, the series is known for it’s third and first-person action horror, zombie-related monsters and references, and challenging puzzles.
