Resident Evil Requiem’s producer has attempted to address the persistent speculation that fan-favorite character Leon S. Kennedy will appear in the game, by branding a particular image as “fake news.”

Capcom continues to promote the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem as a new entry in the series starring fresh protagonist Grace Ashcroft, though has never explicitly stated that she is the sole playable character.

Indeed, when IGN sat down with Capcom at Gamescom 2025 in August, we were told that its staff members would not discuss any internet rumors of certain other characters appearing. But now, in an interview with Stevivor, producer Masato Kumazawa has at least acknowleged the ongoing speculation — and confirmed one particular image is a fan creation.

Resident Evil fans have recently been debating the veracity of an image shared widely on social media that features an older Leon with an eyepatch. Many had suggested the picture was likely AI-generated, and now, addressing this image specifically, Kumazawa has described it as “fake news.”

“Apart from any official information that Capcom has released, the rest is more [fan] detective work,” Kumazawa said. “So I would suggest to please not take everything at face value. Considering that now is the time when AI [can be used to make] videos and photos, we don’t know what’s right or what’s wrong.

“Players are free to believe what they would like to believe,” he continued, “what I’d like to tell is that, please, unless it’s officially released from Capcom, we can’t give you any confirmation.”

Looking at this again, I think this leaked image of RE9 Leon is fake. The pupil in his eye is missing. The eyepatch is blurred and out of place. The hair strands is painted on. ? pic.twitter.com/KT43m1NOU2

— Paintixir (VGen) (@Paintixir) September 20, 2025

Another recent source of discussion among Resident Evil fans is the labelling of DLC costumes for Grace Ashcroft found within the game’s deluxe edition. This pricier package advertises the fact it contains five additional costumes total, though only a couple for Grace have so far been showcased. As well as that, each in-game item is labelled with the “Grace’s Costume:” prefix, something fans have excitedly suggested means that more costumes for other characters (Leon) are being held back.

“There has been a photo lately of Leon with an eyepatch, and just basically saying there’s a DLC or a new costume for Leon,” Kumazawa stated, “but just to make sure, these are all fake news.”

Once again, however, Capcom appears to have stopped short of saying Leon isn’t in the game — and at this point, if he wasn’t, you’d think its developers would want to set the record straight in order to start managing expectations.

Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S — whether it includes Leon or not.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social