The Resident Evil franchise is more popular than ever thanks to a flurry of new releases, including a new game, Resident Evil Village. Part of this RE wave is the upcoming Netflix anime Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. The first trailer for the series, which is canon to the games, has recently given fans a look at what happens between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5.
Starring in the series are franchise heroes Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, as well as a handful of new faces. Here's a rundown of who's who, their roles and their history in the series.
Leon S. Kennedy
The main hero of the series is Leon S. Kennedy, one of Resident Evil's major recurring protagonists. Leon made his debut in Resident Evil 2 as one of the dual protagonists before starring in the acclaimed Resident Evil 4 and being one of several playable characters in Resident Evil 6.
The story of the series is set after the events of Resident Evil 4, with Leon having gained the trust and respect of government intelligence officers and the president himself after saving his teenage daughter Ashley. His other experience includes dealing with a zombie outbreak on his first day on the job in the Raccoon City Police Department. This has all given him incredible combat experience and decision-making skills. He's voiced by Nick Apostolides.
Claire Redfield
Claire Redfield also debuted in Resident Evil 2, playable in that game and Code Veronica. She's the sister of the first game's Chris Redfield, and her story in the second game involved her searching for him after he disappears. She's subsequently played a role in the series as an activist, which is why in the show, she works with an NGO to help victims of chemical and biological attacks.
Claire also has combat and survival experience learned both from her brother and fighting alongside Leon. She's voiced by Stephanie Panisello.
Shen May
Shen May is voiced by Jona Xiao, and she's a federal agent who's particularly skilled with computers and hacking. Her role in the series involves her traveling to China with Leon and Claire in order to find out more information on who or what was behind an incident where the White House was hacked into.
Jason
Ray Chase voices the original character Jason, who's described as a war hero whose reputation on the battlefield belies a cool-headed nature. He formerly served in the "Mad Dogs" special forces team, where he became known as the "Hero of Penamstan" due to winning several key battles there.
Patrick
Though there have been characters in the games named Patrick, the character in the animated series seems to be unrelated to any of them. He's a rookie intelligence agent with little experience and almost completely in over his head. Despite his own lack of experience, he questions Leon's achievements and instead deifies Jason. Given his name and his appearance, he's likely based on actor Patrick Dempsey, though he's voiced by Billy Kametz.
Graham
Joe J. Thomas voices Graham, the President of the United States. Graham has a unique history with Leon, who saved his daughter Ashley during the events of Resident Evil 4. His role in the series will likely involve the aforementioned White House hacking event and its relation to the wider plot of the show.
Wilson
Wilson, voiced by Doug Stone, is an unscrupulous politician working as the Secretary of Defense in Graham's cabinet. He is ruthless in his endeavors and will do anything in his power to attain whatever he wishes, no matter the cost.
Ryan
Feuding many times with Wilson is President Graham's adviser Ryan. He's much more level-headed, leading to scuffles with the sometimes cutthroat Secretary of Defense. Ryan is voiced Brad Venable.
These are the confirmed cast members, at least so far, so fans of horror and the Capcom video games should check the series out when it hits Netflix this Summer.
Directed by Eiichiro Hasumi, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness stars Nick Apostolides as Leon S. Kennedy, Stephanie Panisello as Claire Redfield, Ray Chase as Jason, Jona Xiao as Shen May, Billy Kametz as Patrick, Joe J. Thomas as Graham, Doug Stone as Wilson and Brad Venable as Ryan. The CG anime premieres on Netflix, July 8.