Many story details about the upcoming Resident Evil Village are still unclear. Who and what is the giant vampire woman, Lady Dimitrescu? Where is the game taking place, and why did Ethan Winters need to go there? And finally, the question that fans have been asking since the game’s reveal, why did the original series protagonist Chris Redfield invade Ethan’s home to seemingly steal his child and shoot his wife?

The apparent opening to Resident Evil Village has raised many questions, and it seems unlikely that the truth will be pegged down before the game releases. In Chris’ last appearance in Resident Evil 7, he was working for the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance alongside the reformed Blue Umbrella to apprehend Lucas Baker and stop him from contacting his mysterious benefactors. While he was conflicted about working with Umbrella again, it was for a good cause, and he shows no signs of diverting from his chosen path. One has to wonder if circumstances have significantly changed since then, or if he’s simply being framed by the trailer as more sinister than he is.

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One possibility is that Chris Redfield really is working with the villainous forces at play in Village. He may be working directly under Blue Umbrella now, and may have become desensitized to all of their bioterrorism and loose morality. They could be feeding him false information about his objectives and targets, and Chris could come to his senses later on. Chris might even be well-aware that what he’s doing isn’t the best course of action, but buckles under the weight of corporate pressure, as he’d really rather not have to take on a bioweapon outbreak undermanned again.

One other possibility is particularly grim: Chris Redfield is suffering from the effects of the latest virus. It’s unclear if Village will just focus on just one virus, considering the massive variety in powers infected individuals are exhibiting. What is clear, however, is that the various monsters in this Resident Evil are a lot better put together than the average zombie. Outside of the castle, enemies even look like mostly normal humans, in a manner very similar to Resident Evil 4. If the virus only shows itself under certain conditions, then Chris could be suppressing it with Umbrella-provided drugs while feeling side effects. If nothing else, Village’s cover art suggests some form of lycanthropy, which could take quite a while to reveal itself.

Of course, this could all be the product of deliberate misdirection. There are only a couple shots in the various trailers to go on, and they could be manipulating fans’ view of events. Mia Winters is presumably an ex-member of the biochemical-researching crime syndicate The Connections. There is a good chance that Chris is only tranquilizing her to bring her in for some harsh questioning, as, by all known laws in the Resident Evil universe, she is an accomplice to bioterrorism. The Winters’ baby could also be affected by lingering remnants of the fungal virus from RE7, which both Mia and Ethan were infected by. While the baby could be taken for sinister reasons, it could also be so that the game’s true villains can’t get a hold of its DNA.

On top of all of this, the obfuscated information the audience is being shown may not only be the fault of trailer editing; there is a possibility that Ethan is hallucinating parts of the game. The hunter character who appears at the end of the latest trailer is particularly suspect, as he is seen in a room surrounded by floating objects. There could be a perception-altering aspect of the latest virus, and almost everything shown is suspect. If nothing else, doesn’t it seem unlikely that a Resident Evil virus can allow a more-or-less functional human to dissolve their body and clothing into bugs and teleport? Chris could just look evil to Ethan, and later on his unclouded eyes could provide a better view of the truth.

There are plenty of questions still outstanding when it comes to Resident Evil Village. While the presence of the Umbrella logo in the castle and notable similarity of Lady Dimitrescu to a Super Tyrant suggests more is going on, there’s no way of knowing yet. Fans will have to wait until the game releases to see the truth, and exactly which side Chris Redfield falls on.

Resident Evil Village launches May 7 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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