100 Things You Never Knew About Resident Evil
17. The Man Who Who Would Be Chris
Being first revealed E3 2005, Resident Evil 5 still had a long development period before hitting store shelves in 2009. In fact, this is the longest time between a first reveal and final release in Resident Evil history.
Whilst some of the most basic ideas are down - Chris Redfield in bright, sunny Africa - there were a lot of changes to be made during those nearly four years. In 2007, Capcom dropped another trailer of Chris giving a monologue which isn't at all dissimilar to the one in the opening of the final game. Except, it would eventually be Roger Craig Smith who would read the lines as Chris. In the trailer, it was Kevin Dorman, who was ultimately recast due to scheduling conflicts with James Cameron's Avatar.
However, in an example of life working in mysterious ways, Dorman found himself getting a chance to play Chris ten years later in the CGI film Resident Evil Vendetta. Even though he's yet to play him in a game, the actor returned to the role in 2023's Death Island movie.
So in a funny sort of way, Resident Evil 5 gave us two great Chris Redfields.