Resident Evil Requiem from The Game Awards finally confirmed that Leon S. Kennedy will return as the game’s second playable protagonist. Although he has aged a bit since we last saw him, Japanese fans on social media are praising Leon’s suave, older appearance.
Resident Evil Requiem, scheduled for a multiplatform release on February 27, 2026, is the ninth mainstream title in Capcom’s survival horror franchise. It will introduce recent main character Grace Ashcroft, an FBI analyst who investigates a series of mysterious deaths that appear to be linked to Victor Gideon, a former Umbrella Corp. investigator. While it appears that elements of Grace will be more of a typical survival horror game, the recent trailer below gave fans a glimpse of Leon’s more action-oriented zombie-fighting gameplay, complete with chainsaw. “Grace’s gameplay style is based on Resident Evil 2, while Leon’s is based on Resident Evil 4,” director Akifumi Nakanishi revealed in a recent interview with Denfaminicogamer.
While Leon has always had his fans, the middle-aged DSO agent’s incarnation is highly regarded among Japanese-speaking X users. He is already affectionately known as ikeoji (literally “hot uncle” – a cold and attractive older guy). “Leon is gradually becoming a hot uncle.” user he thought. I’m sharing some screenshots, another user he said from “Leon is aging in a cool way.” Another user summarized: “Leon from Resident Evil 9 is too hot. Is he 49 years old in this (as of 2026)? He’s so suave.”
Fans also get inspiration to draw Leon’s recent look. “Leon’s new Resi 9 trailer is damn good,” one user said, posting the fan art below. “He’s aging in a miraculous way while remaining calm. I’m really looking forward to meeting this Leon,” he gushed another user. “He’s turning into a hot older guy like Keanu Reeves!” said one commentator.
Leon is so good in the recent RE9 trailer. pic.twitter.com/PIkrWuylo1
— □ (@dbox_2525) December 12, 2025
Other trailer viewers are eagle-eyed noticed that Leon appears to have some sort of rash on his neck, which raises concerns that he has been infected. While many people seem to like Leon’s middle-aged appearance, others they worry about whether he should still be fighting mutants at his age, and one person says, “I love Leon, but they should give him a break.” In the aforementioned interview with Denfaminicogamer, the Resident Evil Requiem director revealed that Leon is hiding a “major secret” that will have significant implications (but remains quiet on what exactly that is).
I talked about it in the comments
Leon… are you infected? …#Resident Bad Requiem pic.twitter.com/6GY05WqofY-Let’s try it with a jet! (@neko_sougo) December 12, 2025
Legendary Japanese game developer Hideki Kamiya also commented on Leon’s recent look and how some of Capcom’s beloved characters have had enough. “Uncle Leon, at least I want you to live happily in your old age,” Kamiya commented, sharing a timelapse of Leon’s aging face. In response, another user wrote that while he didn’t mind the game’s characters aging, he hoped that the characters from Resident Evil and Devil May Cry would get the ecstatic endings they deserve. In response to this, Kamiya thought, “Even if Dante is happy, won’t he always be poor?”
Uncle Leon… at least I want you to live happily in your senior age… https://t.co/EzsvnVHp54
— Hideki Kamiya🍀 Hideki Kamiya🍀 (@HidekiKamiya_X) December 12, 2025
The creators of Resident Evil Requiem have already done this already revealed that switching between playing Grace and Leon will be like “hopping into a cold bath after a hot sauna” – such is the contrast between the tense survival horror stealth game and Leon’s uncompromising action. According to director Akifumi Nakanishi, the split between newcomer Grace and fan favorite Leon will be almost even. “Even though he’s a character who carries a lot on his shoulders, we tried hard to make him ‘ikeoji’,” Nakanishi concluded. “The response to the trailer on that front has made us happy (laughter).”
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who was previously the editor, contributor and translator of the gaming news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and films for various publications.
