There has been an insane amount of discourse about Resident Evil before it has even come out. Zach Cregger’s horror film set in the titular video game franchise universe hits theaters this weekend. As of the time of writing, it has been seen by very few people. Everything everyone is saying is purely speculative.
Check the comments on any video or post about the movie, and you’ll find a common theme: a vocal minority screeching about the movie. They’re mad about everything, from the setting of the film, the trailers, what Cregger has said, and the omission of the game series’ main characters.
“You guys know Leon isn’t in the movie,” a comment under a video showing excitement for the film might read. “I’m pretty sure he just made a zombie movie, and studios wanted to brand it Resident Evil,” another one might add. It’s all so utterly silly, but it has somehow dominated film discourse for months.
And while I’m far from the definitive voice on the franchise, I can say that it is a good thing that Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine, Albert Wesker, and other game characters aren’t in this movie at all.
Thank the Lord Leon Kennedy Won’t Show Up in Resident Evil (2026)
When discussing video game adaptations, there are a few I believe are the peak of how to do it right. The Last of Us Season 1, Fallout, and Sonic the Hedgehog. The first season of The Last of Us is not like the others in that it directly adapts the events and plot of the first game, with a few detours and changes to help fit the medium.
You might think that it’s a bad example to boost my argument, but the second season that followed it is a cautionary tale. Season 1 did a good job adapting the story of the first game, but the second season highlights all the potential pitfalls. So even when a creative or creative team working on this hits the nail on the head, they can’t catch lightning in a bottle twice.
Fallout and the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy work so well because they don’t bother trying to adapt direct stories. In the case of Fallout, which may be the best comparison for the Resident Evil show, there are virtually no characters from the games. Lucy, Maximus, and The Ghoul, the three main characters, are not present in the game series.
Enter New Characters
Sonic the Hedgehog keeps characters, and some side characters from Fallout (Robert House, for example) are in the games, but the main focus is on new characters or new events. You can’t watch those two seasons of the Fallout show or the three Sonic movies and get anything from the games spoiled.
That is why it’s a good thing Resident Evil is going its own way. Zach Cregger is a capable writer, so he could probably adapt the events of Resident Evil 2, 4, or any other game he chooses, but there are problems there. Everything comes under a microscope. When the character, like Leon Kennedy, exists and is beloved, the actor, the script, and the design are all scrutinized.
No one would be satisfied with the way he looks, talks, or acts because he wouldn’t be game Leon. Why bother then? The same goes for the story. A video game story, and this is especially true in this franchise, is sometimes not as deep as film stories are. They’re also often much longer.
Some People Will Stick with the Original
You can play through Resident Evil 2 in under 10 hours, but that’s for one of two main points of view. Combine Leon and Claire Redfield’s experiences, and it’s much longer than that. Cutting it all down to a 90-minute film would be hard, and people would complain that Cregger didn’t include certain events because he just didn’t have the time.
And even if he could do all that, why would anyone want him to? If people want to experience the story they love, they can simply boot up the game (in the book world, they can simply go read the original story). If you know everything that’s going to happen, what is the point of the movie?
Cregger Made a Wise Decision
It’s also limiting creatively. Cregger has a few things he needs to adhere to, and he’s already tweaked some (understandably) to better fit his vision. Do we want creatives and artists to be limited by an extremely strict source material? That would cheapen the story and likely force Cregger into a box he’s not comfortable in, resulting in an inferior product.
I have no doubt that Cregger could adapt the events of a game and include all the characters. I have no doubt that he could make an original story while using all the characters in the game as Easter eggs or cameos. But as we saw with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, that does not make a good movie. Quite the opposite, in fact, so thankfully, Leon Kennedy isn’t going to show up in Resident Evil.
