There have been countless rumors about has been confirmed to be directed by RE7 director Koshi Nakanishi, but since the game's confirmation (which was hardly a surprise given how popular the franchise is), information about the title has been virtually non-existent. However, that doesn't stop the rumor mill from churning.

At one point, it was rumored that RE9 would star Leon Kennedy and Jill Valentine on an island and would be an open-world game. Since then, the rumors about Jill have faded, and it seems like most rumors are pointing towards Leon returning to the main character role for this long-awaited sequel. But with so many lost RE characters that could definitely use another appearance, and with one of the "big four" characters not having a mainline appearance since RE5, I'm convinced Leon shouldn't be the star of RE9.

Jill Valentine Has Been Away From the Spotlight Too Long

The Original RE Female Character Needs To Return

Jill starred in the Resident Evil 3 remake, but that was not a new mainline entry, and it faced a more mixed reception than the other remakes. Before that, Jill had been absent since Revelations, yet another non-mainline entry. The last major RE entry Jill appeared in was RE5 in 2009, and even then, she took a secondary antagonist role due to Wesker's mind control. She was only playable in the Mercenaries mode and the two DLC chapters, Lost in Nightmares and Desperate Escape.

While not a mainline entry, both Revelations (which starred Jill) and Revelations 2 (which starred Claire Redfield and Barry Burton) are considered canon. However, there has been virtually no mention of any plot lines or side characters from those games since their releases.

Out of the main RE characters, Jill has now gone the longest without a major playable appearance, with her last lead role in the main series being the original RE3 in 1999. Claire got Code Veronica in 2000 (though almost half the game is played as Chris). After that, the series shifted heavily to focus on Chris and Leon. Leon got his breakout role in the revolutionary RE4, Chris would follow him in RE5, and then RE6 was a jumbled mess of Chris, Leon, Ada, and newcomer Jake Muller.

Moving forward into the modern era of RE games, RE7 helped save the franchise after the negative reception to RE6 by bringing the series back to its survival horror roots, and also paying homage to many other classic horror franchises, like Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Saw, and even The Ring. While the game is often seen as one of the scariest games ever made, its story and choice to make Ethan Winters the lead character garnered some criticism. Now that the Winters Saga is hopefully over, it's the perfect time to bring the spotlight back to Jill.

The Story And Gameplay Possibilities With Jill Are Much Greater

The Other Characters Are Getting Much Older

The animated Death Island film featured Jill's first canonical appearance since RE5. In the film, we learn that Jill's body no longer ages after being infected with the T-Virus and saved by Carlos during the events of RE3 and also being Wesker's slave for a long period of time leading up to RE5. While this could have been an easy way for the film producers to just re-purpose her RE3 remake game model, almost everyone else received updated older models, though the film takes place between RE6 and RE7.

The story possibilities are much greater with Jill as the lead than with Leon. Death Island did touch on Jill's mental state and her desire to atone for the people she hurt against her will, but those ideas weren't fleshed out enough for a film. Jill has arguably survived the most trials of any RE character, and a lot can be explored with that. She survived the Mansion Incident, the pursuit of Nemesis and the destruction of Raccoon City, being Wesker's slave for years, and the Queen Zenobia cruise liner outbreak.

One of my biggest issues with the original RE4 was how Leon's character was completely changed from RE2 to his next appearance. He suddenly had a Devil May Cry Dante persona, and I didn't find that a believable transition from the events of RE2. Capcom corrected that in RE4 remake, making Leon express his trauma from Raccoon City and gave him a better reason for his personality change. The developers experimented a little bit with that idea in the RE3 remake with Jill as well, but there is so much more potential in the main timeline now.

Jill also has some of the greatest potential for gameplay elements. She is a skilled marksman, a "master of unlocking," and she was in rehabilitation until the Death Island film. RE9 could explore Jill's rusty abilities and lean into a more horror approach, or it could have lean into her broad skillset, playing more like RE4 remake. Without introducing another new character, it doesn't seem like any of the current RE characters would offer that flexibility.

RE9 Will Likely Reinvent The Series Again

The Mainline Series Has Been A Playground Of New Ideas

While the RE remakes have played it relatively safe in their executions (besides RE3 remake's controversial removal of key elements of the original game), featuring beloved characters, a third-person camera, a faithful story, and more traditional survival horror elements, both RE7 and Village took the mainline series in new directions. They both brought the series to a first-person perspective and added VR as an additional gameplay experience.

While Resident Evil Village was initially first-person only, the Winters Expansion DLC pack added a third-person mode, making Village the first and only mainline RE title to allow players to play in either first-person or third-person, as well as feature VR .

Village also re-introduced a lot of relics of the past for RE, such as the Duke, who would sell and upgrade weapons for Ethan, as well as offer new permanent stat upgrades with his cooked dishes that could be obtained from optional hunting quests. The Village acted as a gigantic hub area that would be returned to over and over again throughout the game in a Metroidvania style. This could have been the groundwork for the rumored open-world style of RE9.

It seems likely that RE9 will take the series in a new direction, and Jill would be the perfect character to explore that. She's got the layered story, the interesting combat abilities, and the fan demand. Leon is cool, and he is one of my all-time favorite characters, but I think he should step aside for a bit to make room for Jill's return in RE9. The game has had a lot of rumors, so it seems likely Resident Evil 9 might get announced this year, and if it does, I hope we catch a glimpse of Jill and not Leon or another RE character.