“Resident Evil,” a highly popular series spanning multiple media types, has yet another installment coming out next year in 2025. Developed by Capcom and following the advent of “Resident Evil: Village,” also known as “Resident Evil VIII,” this new game is eagerly anticipated by fans. More importantly, the reveal that Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy are the main characters means that the chances of other certain characters have either drastically shrunk or increased. From a large selection of characters, fans of each of them want their favorites to appear once more. Among these favorites is Ada Wong, whom I personally believe should be the third protagonist of the game.
Among the anticipated characters, some stand head and shoulder above the rest, including Ada Wong, Leon S. Kennedy, Carlos Oliveria, Albert Wesker, Sherry Birkin, Billy Coen, Rebecca Chambers, Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, Ethan Winters, Rose Winters, Sheva Alomar, Alex Wesker, Jake Müller, Ashley Graham, Helena Harper, Lady Dimitrescu, the Dimitresce sisters, Jack Krauser and various other lesser-known characters from the spinoff “Resident Evil” games. The anticipation for characters such as Fong Ling, Billy, and Carlos to return in the new installment is high to say the least, as many of those characters have either not reappeared since their debut or are underrated. But since the chances of them reappearing are low, the discussion around them has been minimal. The characters that have been discussed in heated debates are the more relevant ones, such as the ones mentioned above.
Furthermore, many fans are desperate for content of their favorite characters, as this is likely going to be the last new installment of “Resident Evil” that isn’t a remake for a year at minimum. The reviews of the last few “Resident Evil” games, specifically the remakes, have been rather mixed to say the least, with some fans being upset that certain parts of the original “Resident Evil IV” had been cut from the remake, while some fans are glad that it develops the characters relationships, specifically Ashley, Leon, Luis, and Ada a bit more. This shows how Ada is a key part of the “Resident Evil” franchise and should be developed like the other popular characters.
Coming from more dubious sources, it has been revealed that Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy will be starring in the next game, and since those two are tied to other characters, with Jill bringing Chris and Leon always appearing with Ada, four characters fans will be pleased. More importantly for Carlos Oliveria fans, since the last game he had appeared in was Resident Evil III along with Jill Valentine, and in the remake players could play as Carlos, one could assume that since Jill is appearing, there is a chance Carlos will also appear.
Many characters such as Rebecca, Wesker, Billy, Krauser and Fong Ling are more unlikely to reappear for various reasons, such as being dead or being very unknown. Unlike them however, Ada is still alive, very popular and has potential. Personally I believe that it was a wasted opportunity for Ada to not be one of the main protagonists of the 9th game. I also believe Ada should have been more thoroughly developed, but I am pleased that it is essentially guaranteed for her to appear, and that we will hopefully get Ada and Leon developed in this game.
Ada should be the third protagonist of the new game, getting a DLC(Downloadable Content) focused on her, much like Resident Evil IV did with the Separate Ways DLC. Ada is a very popular character, appearing in numerous games and content. She debuted in Resident Evil I as a password for a computer, and since then she has appeared in “Resident Evil” I, II, IV, VI, the “Resident Evil” movie, and has had crossovers with franchises such as “Dead By Daylight,” showing her popularity, but despite all this, she is barely developed. Her relationship with Leon has barely progressed and is still unclear. Her motives are only money for now, and her backstory, age, origin, and ethnicity are still unknown, as compared to characters such as Wesker, Jill, Leon, Chris and Claire, who all have more detailed backstories and clear motives.
Given that Ada is an incredibly popular character, some development of hers should be present in “Resident Evil IX,” not only because Leon is in it, but it would also give her some much needed character and depth, more than just a mercenary spy. Her motives with Wesker were never really clear. She had told herself, “You know I don’t always play by your rules, Wesker” when he had given her an order earlier to destroy the island that Ashley and Leon were still on, sparing them.
At the end of “Resident Evil IV Remake”, she hopped into a helicopter, ready to deliver the sample of amber to Wesker, but suddenly changed her mind when he told her that many, billions even, of lives would be sacrificed for his “perfect” world. This moment was not in the original “Resident Evil IV,” and it shows more character growth for Ada, showing that she isn’t just after money and she does have morals. Fans of Ada like to see moments like this, a glimpse beyond the simple femme fatale Ada was made to be, moments that humanize her. I personally believe that Ada should have a large role with an appearance in “Resident Evil IX.”
