Leon Kennedy Gets Confirmed as Playable Character in “Resident Evil 9: Requiem”

The fandom knew it was bound to happen, and now we have confirmation. The newly released trailer for the upcoming Resident Evil 9 Requiem video game showcases Leon S. Kennedy as a playable character.

With how RE9 has been promoted to tie back to the zombie attack in Raccoon City, including the stuff that happened during the spin-off title Resident Evil Outbreak, fans knew there was no way the game wouldn’t feature the iconic Leon S. Kennedy as a playable character, especially after how Chris Redfield showed up for RE7 and RE8. And now it has been confirmed. Leon will indeed be jumping back into action to fight the undead and other monsters while doing what he can (and Leon sure can do a lot!) to save Grace Ashcroft.

The tonal shift between Grace and Leon is quite apparent in the third trailer for RE9 Requiem. Even though she’s an FBI agent, Grace’s clearly in a situation that’s way over her head. I mean, there’s a difference between researching missing people cases, possibly linked to the Umbrella Corporation, while sitting in front of a computer screen and being thrown into the deep end of a horrific situation, complete with being kidnapped by a mysterious person who thinks of you as the “Chosen One”.

On the other hand, Leon arrives at an important destination looking cool as heck. This isn’t his first time gunning down the undead while pursuing a scientist wanting to release yet another biohazard into the world. I can’t wait to hear Leon’s sarcasm as a man in his 50s. The trailer shows him still capable of kicking zombies as if it’s nothing. But then again, I’ll let that slide because it’s a video game and Leon’s always been the more “nimble” one compared to Chris Redfield’s more tank-like persona.

With Leon being in RE9, it’s safe to assume Ada Wong will be nearby. I wouldn’t mind seeing Ada do her usual thing of lending Leon a hand when things get a bit too hairy. However, having said that, I would like their romantic relationship to have progressed somewhat after the duo shared a kiss during the events of RE6 (as well as the animated movies RE Vendetta and RE Death Island, if you want to consider them canon to video game lore). The “will-they-or-won’t-they” situationship doesn’t really suit two individuals in their 50s.

And of course, I would like Claire Redfield to also play some kind of role, especially with the storyline linking back to Raccoon City.

Here’s the exciting trailer!

The villain is a guy named Dr. Victor Gideon, who has ties to the Umbrella Corporation and Grace’s mother, Alyssa. From what was shown in the trailer, Victor wants to conduct experiments on Grace because, according to him, she holds the key to releasing something called Project Elips.

Elpis is an Ancient Greek word for hope. In Greek mythology, Elpis is a minor goddess of hope. There’s a story of Elpis being the only thing remaining after Pandora opened the box/jar and released curses toward mankind.

I don’t know what Victor plans to do. But it surely won’t be anything good even if the project is named Elpis.

Resident Evil 9 Requiem will be available on February 27, 2026. It will be playable on the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. There are pre-order bonuses up for grabs.

Are you excited about Leon Kennedy’s return?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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