Where Does Resident Evil Go from Village?

The latest entry in the Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil Village, continues the story of Ethan Winters and explores the mysteries of a small European village. As the series has taken different twists and turns since its 1996 release, it hasn’t always been easy to predict what the next entry in the franchise will hold. Survival horror or fast-paced action? Veteran characters we know or meeting brand-new faces? With Resident Evil 7, Capcom went back to its roots and crafted a game that was more heavily steeped in atmosphere and survival than some of its predecessors. Resident Evil Village continues that trend while adding smooth gunplay and responsive haptics if you’re playing on a PlayStation 5 console. So what will Resident Evil 9 look and play like? The Resident Evil Village ending gives us some clues to what the next future Resident Evil game will be like.

Warning: this post contains spoilers for Resident Evil Village.

Resident Evil Village Ending Explained

To say that the Resident Evil Village endgame sequences were a whirlwind of emotion would be an understatement. You go from piloting a tank that’s equipped with machine guns, explosive shells, and a chainsaw (because why not?) while battling a mecha Heisenberg, to Ethan getting his heart ripped out, to a Call of Duty-esque raid sequence as Chris Redfield, to Ethan coming back to life and finally facing off against Mother Miranda, only for him to then die for real (maybe? More on that later) before Mia, Chris, and his team escape.

It’s… a lot. And that’s before you even get to the Resident Evil 8 after-credits sequence, which features a grown-up Rose at her father’s gravesite before departing in a black SUV. In the final moment, the game fades to black and reveals the final text: “The father’s story is now done.” The Resident Evil Village ending leaves many loose ends. What is Rose’s new role in all of this? She appears to be working with the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) and is the next step in their use of deploying bioweapons into volatile environments. As an organization founded to stop bioweapons around the globe, the BSAA has clearly changed their priorities, and seeing as Chris Redfield appears to be part of Rose’s training, he seems to have come around since the final scene where he wanted to confront the BSAA over deploying bioweapons at the village. We don’t see the result of that confrontation, but hopefully we’ll get some Resident Evil 8 DLC that will reveal more of this story.

One question that does get answered is, how does Resident Evil Village tie into the rest of the series? Near the very end of the game, in Mother Miranda’s Lab, there’s a single document you can examine that finally links the events at the Baker House in Resident Evil 7 and the village in Resident Evil 8 with Umbrella and the T-Virus: Umbrella’s founder Oswell E. Spencer. Turns out, as a young man, he visited this very village and learned about Mother Miranda and her capabilities with the Megamycete, the mold that gives people unnatural abilities. It’s this inspiration that leads Umbrella to ultimately develop the T-Virus. Resident Evil Village brings us back in time with Resident Evil lore further than the previous games, and sets up a story that has been over a century in the making.

Who Is Mother Miranda?

When it comes to Mother Miranda, Resident Evil Village reveals that she was alive during the Spanish Flu pandemic and lost her daughter, Eva, to the disease. Not wanting to go on, she literally crawled into a cave to die, only that’s where she found the Megamycete. We discover that Megacymete is the source of all the strange abilities we saw in Resident Evil 7, and even has connections to the T-Virus in other Resident Evil games. The Megamycete made Mother Miranda immortal, but more than that, she realized the mold is able to store the consciousness of those who have died. Miranda went to experimenting on the residents of the village to find the perfect vessel to resurrect Eva. Most turned to lycans, but some of the more promising candidates turned into Miranda’s disciples: Lady Dimitrescu, Salvatore Moreau, Karl Heisenberg, and Donna Beneviento. Ultimately, Miranda discovered that Ethan’s daughter Rose was the perfect vessel, as she’s the child of two parents infected by mold, making her the right choice for Eva.

When Does the Resident Evil Village After Credits Take Place?

After the hectic battles of the game’s finale and the credits finally roll, the Resident Evil Village post-credits scene shows a grown-up Rose visiting the gravesite of her father. Her exact age is not given, but it’s clear many years have gone by…. Maybe. More likely, similar to Eveline in Resident Evil 7, the Megamycete caused Rose's growth to accelerate. With this in mind, we’re likely within 3-5 years of Resident Evil Village instead of a decade-plus.

When Rose is picked up by the mystery man in the black SUV and he calls her Eveline as a jab, she mentions to him how she has abilities that not even Chris knows she can do as she slams him against the side of the car. A sniper is prepared to take her out, but the agent calls him off. This post-credits scene ends with some text telling us the father’s story is done, setting up Rose to be the go-to protagonist for Resident Evil 9.

But this is Resident Evil, a series literally built on the concept that dead things don’t typically stay dead.

Is Ethan Winters Really Dead?

Probably not. We still don’t know enough about the Megamycete to know exactly how resilient it is, but Ethan was likely able to reform after the explosion. There’s also the phrasing of the final words of the game: “The father’s story is now done.” His story might be over, but that doesn’t mean his life is. By Keeping Ethan alive in some respect, Capcom reserves the ability to involve him in some future game if they decide to. Plus, we don’t actually see a body or his remains. As a rule, deaths that take place offscreen typically don’t last.

But the biggest evidence that Ethan is still alive? During the end-credits sequence you can see a figure in the distance that Rose’s car stops in front of before the screen fades to black. Modders were able to create a free-roam camera to approach this figure and discovered it does appear to be Ethan, face and all. His hands are badly burned and bandaged, but otherwise he’s looking pretty healthy (although his eyes look pretty dead). 

Is this Capcom trolling everybody, or is there greater significance here? Why would Ethan hang out while the world thinks he’s dead and approach his daughter in his own graveyard? The best explanation is that Ethan is, in someway, part of Rose. Just like Ethan would see flashes of Eveline even though she was gone, her consciousness lived on in the Megamycete inside of him. This connection now likely exists between Rose and Ethan. Whether Ethan’s involvement in future games is more corporeal or he serves as a spiritual link to Rose, he’ll probably be a key figure in future Resident Evil titles. Whether that’s good or bad remains to be seen, for as we’ve covered already, Ethan both makes and breaks Resident Evil Village.

What’s to Come After Resident Evil Village?

Whether the next Resident Evil game takes place five years or 20 years after the events of Resident Evil Village, we haven’t seen the last of the Megamycete as it has now played a key role in the latest two titles. With Rose as a future protagonist, we’ll be able to see her new abilities that not even Chris knows about, adding an extra layer of extrasensory combat that Capcom will be able to get creative with. In a series that practically started the survival-horror genre, these extra abilities will make Rose more of a force in Resident Evil 9, likely leaning more into action and combat like RE Village did..

As of right now, no DLC has been announced for Resident Evil Village, but seeing as how Resident Evil 7 received several updates over the years we’ll probably see Village get the same treatment, especially since sales of this title have so far exceeded expectations. I expect any DLC to be about Chris dealing with the BSAA, or involving other characters like Ada, who has concept art that’s only available through the Trauma Pack download. As for Rose, I don’t expect to see her story continued until Resident Evil 9.

What did you think about the Resident Evil Village ending? What was your favorite part of the game? Do you think we’ll see other veteran characters return in future titles? Let us know in the comments!