The Resident Evil series. Even those not familiar with Resident Evil oftentimes recognize that iconic red and white logo. Even after the company's end, Umbrella continues to play a major role in the franchise.
The name Umbrella suddenly made a massive comeback at the end of Resident Evil 7, when a brand new Umbrella Corporation ends up saving Ethan Winters, with the help of none other than a newly designed Chris Redfield. This ending raised far more questions than it answered, even with the Not A Hero DLC that has players taking the role of Chris.
It was a bit shocking to see Chris Redfield working for Umbrella, but the game makes it clear that this is a new company, dubbed Blue Umbrella. Resident Evil 8 has a lot of questions to answer, but at the top of the list is Blue Umbrella and who's leading it.
Blue Umbrella Is One of Resident Evil's Biggest Mysteries
The original Umbrella Corporation was responsible for the creation of the bioweapons the series is known for. Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, the Europen company, and Umbrella U.S.A. aided the United States government in the research and creation of BOWs. Things took a turn for the worse, of course, when a virus leaked into Raccoon City, resulting in the U.S. government using a thermobaric missile to destroy all traces in the city. From there, Umbrella was found responsible, top executives arrested, and the company, and its subsidiaries, went bankrupt. Fast forward to Resident Evil Revelations and the existence of bioweapons now becomes public knowledge after Terragrigia.
From the details that have been shared on Blue Umbrella, it's known that the company was created from the original Umbrella's assets using Chapter 11. Blue Umbrella was supposedly established to combat bioterrorism, which is why they appear at the Baker mansion at the end of Resident Evil 7. Even though Chris Redfield is working with Blue Umbrella, he makes it very clear that he doesn't trust the company, which raises some red flags.
The biggest unknown about Blue Umbrella is who orchestrated its creation, and who's currently leading the company. The new Umbrella Co. creates anti-BOW weapons, like the AMG-78 gauntlet Joe Baker wears in Resident Evil 7's End of Zoe DLC. If the history of the Resident Evil series is anything to go by, corporations always have ulterior motives.
Resident Evil 8 Needs to Explain Chris Redfield and Blue Umbrella
Chris Redfield is the biggest question mark in the Resident Evil series right now, especially since the Resident Evil 8 trailer shows him brutally killing Mia Winters. At this point, fans have no idea about Chris' goals, other than the fact that he's working with Blue Umbrella despite his distrust. On top of this, there's no word on what other series' protagonists like Leon Kennedy and Jill Valentine are up to.
Capcom has always loved teasing fans with bits of story development or some new conspiracy, just look at Albert Wesker's role in Resident Evil 4. However, when looking at Resident Evil 7, it was a big gamble for Capcom. The company couldn't be sure fans would take to the drastically different first-person approach, which is likely why the story of Resident Evil 7 is mostly self-contained, only connecting to the larger series right at the very end. With that in mind, hopefully, Resident Evil 8 can delve much further into new elements like Blue Umbrella, and show where the series is heading. There's not as much of a risk with Resident Evil 8, especially since the last few games released, including the remakes, have sold incredibly well. Blue Umbrella appears to have pure intentions, but things are never that simple when it comes to Resident Evil.
Resident Evil 8 launches in 2021 on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
