Resident Evil Requiem’s theory engine has been in overdrive for months. Before the recent gameplay showcase, there were only a handful of trailers and a short demo to work with, but this didn’t stop the community from mass theorising. Gaps were filled with wild speculation, half-buried lore, and narrative leaps – some of which feel feverishly unhinged.
In Requiem, the developer has ingrained just enough ambiguity to invite conspiracy, and fans have responded. Some of their ideas are pure wish fulfilment while others feel eerily plausible. Now, we’ll dive into ten theories doing the rounds; some outlandish, others more grounded. Either way, Requiem’s large-scale hypothesising reflects the richness of Resident Evil’s legacy, and the narrative potential of the series’ ninth entry.
Grace’s Blood is Significant
One of the most persistent theories is that the blood of Grace herself holds the key to unlocking Elpis. Now, the mystery surrounding Elpis is a theory in itself – it could be a new virus strain or, as Gideon speaks of setting it free rather than, say, releasing it, it might be a physical entity; perhaps a BOW or genetically-altered organism.
Whatever it turns out to be, for Gideon’s ploy to progress he needs Grace’s blood. See, her mother Alyssa’s exposure to the T-Virus during the Raccoon City Incident means any antibodies present in her system would be passed on to her children. The result: Grace’s blood contains the Daybreak vaccine; coveted by Gideon as a cure for his own mutations, perhaps, or to perfect Elpis, which presumably requires the T-Virus to be eliminated.
As far as Requiem’s theories go, it’s almost certain Grace’s blood holds narrative significance. And it would fit Resident Evil’s long history of turning people into biological solutions – from Sherry Birkin’s G-virus immunity to Eveline’s engineered family dynamic in RE7.
The Stalker is Someone We Know
The relentless, wall-shambling goliath from Requiem’s Gamescom demo has sparked a flood of theories. The most popular suggests the monster is Alyssa Ashcroft – Grace’s mother. After her murder – or, at least, her apparent murder – her body was taken for Gideon’s experiments.
Another, more nostalgic, angle claims the creature is none other than Lisa Trevor, exhumed through extreme retconning. Resemblances aside, there isn’t much weight to this one (that, and the developer has said it isn’t Lisa).
The most offbeat theory here proposes the stalker is a clone of Grace herself, with some fans pointing to Greek mythology and the concept of the Three Graces as symbolic foreshadowing. This idea, of course, not only proposes that there is a “third Grace”, but that Requiem’s playable Grace isn’t actually Alyssa’s biological daughter.
Grace Isn’t Alyssa’s Biological Daughter
And, leading us right to it, this more grounded theory proposes that Grace isn’t the biological child of Alyssa Ashcroft at all, but a surrogate daughter instead. The suggestion is Alyssa rescued Grace as a baby from an Umbrella facility during the fall of Raccoon City, likely during the events of RE Outbreak. Grace, then, is a product of illicit biological experiments, perhaps tied to virus research. After snatching Grace, Alyssa kept her hidden; her journalist’s instinct informing how dangerous it would be if she fell into the wrong hands. This idea is oddly compelling, reframing Grace’s identity but also giving context to Gideon’s caw: “You can’t escape your destiny”.
The FBI Are Involved in Gideon’s Plan
Okay, so, Grace being “chosen” might not have questionable origins. Instead, the answer hides in plain sight. The FBI, building on their long, murky history in Resident Evil lore, has been actively involved in Gideon’s scheme, monitoring Grace for years. Centring on the instruction of Grace’s suspicious superior Nathan Dempsey, she’s been deliberately positioned, selected, and coerced into trailing her mother’s investigation. The FBI in Requiem might just represent corruption; systemic rot that allows shadowy figures like Gideon to continue Umbrella’s work.
Gideon is Actually Part of The Family
One of the most intriguing theories proposes that Victor Gideon is an affiliate of The Family, the secret society first mentioned in Resident Evil 6. Their place in RE’s lore posits they operate above governments, institutions, and the military, controlling global events from the shadows. The evidence is thin, but there are tantalising suggestions if you look hard enough. Gideon wears a distinctive ring, as do some of Requiem’s high-functioning undead – even the FBI’s Dempsey adorns a ring, although counteractively this could be explained as a wedding band. Still, if true, Requiem’s conflict, and Gideon’s role within it, is completely recast. It indicates a generational power structure that was always designed to outlast Umbrella, pulling the strings throughout each Resident Evil entry after the downfall of Raccoon City.
Brandon Bailey is Requiem’s True Antagonist
So far, Victor Gideon is Resident Evil Requiem’s most visible antagonist, but what if he’s a smokescreen and someone else is orchestrating events from the sidelines? Well, certain corners of RE’s fandom are theorising that Brandon Bailey – the Umbrella co-founder who formed rival organisation The Connections after being exiled by Oswell Spencer – is the true architect of Requiem’s events.
Bailey connects early Umbrella lore to the series’ most recent games – continuing Umbrella’s legacy by engineering bio-weapons like Eveline in RE7 – but he’s been a consistent, unseen presence; he’s felt instead through in-game notes and speculation. The Baker Incident Report, readable in RE Village, speaks of Bailey specifically, his links to Mother Miranda and the connections he established whilst Director of the Umbrella Africa Research Center. The bottom line: he’s set up for a larger role, it’s whether the developer opt to follow through on his narrative foundation now or save him for a future Resident Evil game.
Leon is Infected, and May Die
This one has become more and more likely the closer we get to Requiem’s release. It’s likely Resident Evil Requiem will be Leon’s final arc, but there’s concern that Leon has been exposed and he’s hiding it. Requiem, then, will chart his decline.
Trailers show him examining an infected forearm, lingering on it deliberately as if it was his own. Should Grace’s blood provide a cure then we might see Leon saved yet, but a dark extension to the theory is that Leon will lose a limb to survive; most likely his arm as a final containment measure. Resident Evil has flirted with dismemberment-as-survival before, but never as symbolically weighted as this – the reluctant hero tangibly succumbing to the virus.
Grace is Leon’s Daughter
Spectacularly unsubstantiated, but impossible to ignore. Amongst the wildest of Requiem’s theories is that Grace is Leon’s biological daughter. Now, given the boy scout that he is, playing the absent father isn’t in Leon’s nature, so should this theory be true it’d lean on coincidence rather than reason. Still, with mention of Grace’s father notably absent up to now, and Resident Evil’s penchant for bloodline drama, it wouldn’t be totally leftfield if this one bore fruit.
A New Bioweapon Has Yet to Be Fully Revealed
In one brief trailer shot, we see a towering figure step across a closed door. Some fans declare this as a new tyrant, while others speculate it’s something else. The supposition for the former relies on some of the other theories proposed in this rundown being true, given the existence of a new BOW would confirm an organisation has been continuing Umbrella’s work. Possibly, it’s a product of The Family, The Connections, a new splinter group entirely, or another one of Gideon’s personal machinations. One thing is for sure: Resident Evil loves a flagship monster, and it’d be no surprise if Requiem is saving its iconic horror for you to discover yourself.
Albert Wesker Will Return
Despite his apparent death in Resident Evil 5, the nebulousness of cloning, the Progenitor’s viral revival, and abundant narrative loopholes pockmarking RE’s lore has encouraged some fans to speculate that Wesker isn’t truly gone. If Resident Evil Requiem aims to tie elements of the series’ unresolved origins to new narrative threads, then a return for Albert Wesker, the Wesker children, or any other personnel connected to Project W would be a goldmine. With only the odd hint so far in Requiem’s trailers, this theory feels a tad too indulgent. But, if the developer can somehow give Wesker’s return some narrative credibility, sight again of Spencer’s superhuman can’t be ruled out.