Resident Evil leaker teases return of Jill Valentine for Resident Evil 9

Forgive my presumptuousness in saying this, but I know what you’re thinking, dear readers. Bit of a red flag of a word, isn’t it, that? ‘Leaker’.

Whenever it crops up in a title, it tends to portend news that is either: A, utterly ludicrous and not true, or B, equally ludicrous and – by some miraculous stroke of luck that doubtless has said leaker breathing a sigh of relief – is true. In short, it’s impossible to know whether such speculative rumour-mongering will bear fruit, and genuine ‘industry insiders’ appear to be becoming a rarer and rarer breed these days. It’s why I always recommend approaching such stories with as much salt as a direct hit on a Morton factory could provide, and today’s article is no different.

It’s Resident Evil fans that will be needing the sodium supplements on this occasion. As ComicBook.com reports, a prominent leaker associated with the series by the name of ‘Dusk Golem’ (which, I was surprised to discover, has not been claimed as a band name) has stated that popular character Jill Valentine “is possibly set to have a prominent role in Resident Evil 9.”

Why ‘possibly’? Well, turns out that ol’ Golem isn’t “100 percent sure of this information, noting the role may be for Resident Evil Outrage instead.” Hey, chuck enough darts at a board, eventually one will stick, right?

Who is Jill Valentine?

For the uninitiated, Jill Valentine is one of the most famous protagonists within the franchise, dating as she does all the way back to its inaugural outing in the ’90s. As such, her potential return in the newest instalment would be a super special treat for devotees, especially as we’d get to see her in a fresh light.

See, according to the current timeline the series is following, if we were to encounter Jill again, she’d be pushing 60 years of age by now; so more likely to be inclined to tell the zombies to get off her lawn than to pump a shotgun in their direction.

If this leak turns out to be true, which again I must stress it may not, RE9 would be “the first mainline game the character has been in since Resident Evil 5, not including minor appearances in various DLC releases.” Fingers, toes, and other extraneous appendages that would look appetising to zombies crossed, then.

Capcom has yet to comment, but we’ll be on it quickly if they do.

Are you excited by this rumour? Would you like to see Jill again? Let us know!

Via, ComicBook.com.