Rihanna could be the new face of Resident Evil
Celebrity cameos in video games are all the rage, and more than Samuel L. Jackson or Ray Liotta lending their voices to Grand Theft Auto characters, advancements in technology mean that modern video game characters can sometimes be dead ringers for their A-list counterparts.
Hellblade's Senua is the literal embodiment of Melina Juergens, while Death Stranding made us feel like we were actually in the room with Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, and Léa Seydoux. Now, Resident Evil could be about to get some unexpected star power from a very famous source. Is Rihanna joining Resident Evil?
Rihanna rumoured for Resident Evil
We'll take this one with a healthy pinch of salt, but according to an apparent leak from some anonymous Japanese account, Rihanna is the new face model for Sheva in the Resident Evil 5 remake. There are several problems here, and as well as the OG source being sus, a RE5 remake isn't officially on the way.
We know that Capcom is interested in more remakes, and while the end of 2023's Resident Evil 4 remake neatly cued an RE5 remake, the publisher hasn't confirmed its existence. Also, with Resident Evil 9 out there somewhere, we're logically expecting it'll be next before we go back to remakes.
Anyone can make anything up, and a bit like us randomly saying The Boys' Antony Starr will be the new Albert Wesker, it's easy to drum up hype by throwing ideas out there. Rihanna did team up with Riot Games for a Fenty x League of Legends collab, but as far as we're aware, she's not a known fan of the Resiverse.
We're not buying that Rihanna is in Resident Evil
Click to enlargeWhen the story spilt over to the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit, it was quickly pulled apart. One joked, "Unless Rihanna is a secret Resi fan, never in a million years would Capcom afford what she’d cost," while another added, "Lol that’d be funny as sh*t though."
A third said, "It;s 100% fake.Just because they cast a film actress for Ada doesn't mean they'll go a musician next. Rihanna of all people in a RE product? Sure she did Battleship but that's different. Still hoping we get RE Code Veronica next."
A particularly cynical non-believer concluded, "Capcom's internal developments are always leaked by credible sources, and they are extremely vigilant to ensure that they get the facts correct and they often do. Plus, to my knowledge Capcom has never hired celebrities from Hollywood to do motion capture or voice acting for any of their characters."
We did have Lily Gao as Ada Wong in both the Resident Evil 4 remake and the abysmal Welcome to Raccoon City movie, but that's a far cry from Rihanna. Still, the question of who'll play Sheva this time around is an interesting one. Someone said that Sheva's character model was Australian with American VOs, so it could go any way.
Resident Evil 5 finds itself in a problematic situation in terms of a remake, but after the RE4 remake continues Capcom's winning streak, we're excited to see what the team could do. While we're not expecting Rihanna to suddenly become the new Sheva, let's be honest, Resident Evil is known for weirder things than this.
