Highlights
- Ethan Winters, though not as popular as other Resident Evil protagonists, still deserves recognition as part of the franchise's legacy.
- Ethan Winters endures a series of horrifying experiences, including losing limbs and fighting mutated creatures, in both Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village.
- Although it is possible for Ethan Winters to return in some form, Capcom has indicated that the Winters family storyline has concluded, and future games may focus on classic characters instead. His daughter Rose is a more likely candidate for a comeback, but with the Winters' story complete, that return would likely not come for some time.
The Resident Evil franchise is home to some of the most beloved protagonists in all of gaming, and some of them have been around for almost three decades now. From the original Resident Evil heroes Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, to the sequel's equally beloved Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, the Resident Evil franchise has more than its fair share of legacy heroes. While the more recent addition Ethan Winters isn't quite as popular, he's still worth a place in the hall of Resident Evil fame.
Over the course of just two games, Ethan Winters goes through a hell of a lot. Introduced in Resident Evil 7, Ethan Winters ventures out to the Louisiana Bayou in search of his missing wife Mia, and over the course of just one night, he endures an overwhelming number of attacks, some of which see entire limbs of his body severed and stapled back on. Then in Resident Evil Village, he's forced to fight his way through a European town crawling with werewolves and other mutated monstrosities in order to get his infant daughter back. And while Ethan Winters has certainly endured enough, Capcom could potentially put him through the wringer one more time in Resident Evil 9, though that seems a tad unlikely.
Resident Evil 9 Will Probably Move Away from the Winters Family
Big spoilers for Resident Evil Village here, but Ethan Winters dies at the end of the game. Technically, Ethan Winters actually died back in Resident Evil 7, but the Megamycete mold infected him, and has been living inside him ever since. When Chris Redfield destroys the Megamycete, Ethan Winters finally dies along with it, with it no longer regenerating his damaged cells. And while death is a rule that can be bent pretty easily in the Resident Evil universe, it does seem like Ethan Winters is gone, at least in his physical form.
In the Resident Evil Village DLC, Shadows of Rose, Ethan Winters' rescued daughter takes center stage. Taking place 16 years after the end of Village, Rose Winters is struggling to come to terms with her Megamycete powers that she inherited from being kidnapped by Mother Miranda. Seeking to get rid of those powers, Rose enters the Megamycete's realm, where she encounters a fading form of her father's consciousness that helps her escape. The end of the DLC, the end of Village, sees Rose visiting her father's grave before being picked up, presumably by one of Chris Redfield's agents, while a mysterious unknown figure walks toward the vehicle.
While Ethan Winters is probably dead and gone, Resident Evil Village and its subsequent DLC does leave things open enough where he could return in some form, and Rose Winters could definitely appear in a sequel at some point, using her powers for good. However, a big point against this is that Capcom itself has claimed that it's done with the Winters' story now. Back in September 2022, just before the Shadows of Rose DLC came out, Capcom's Kento Kinoshita stated that the DLC was intended to "conclude the Winters family saga," seemingly confirming that Capcom won't be using either Ethan or Rose in Resident Evil 9.
With the major success of the recent remakes, this decision to cut the Winters saga here does make a lot of sense. While Ethan was a solid protagonist, he never really gelled with fans the same way that the Resident Evil legacy characters have, and coming hot off the heels of Resident Evil 4 Remake, that's especially true. It seems likely that Resident Evil 9 will want to bring back some classic franchise characters, potentially as the main playable cast, and while it's always possible that Rose Winters will turn up in the series' future, it probably won't be for a little while.