Several days ago, Netflix announced Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, which is an upcoming animated series that is set in the same universe as the Resident Evil video game franchise. At the moment, the exact number of episodes and the overall plot is still being kept under wraps, but the upcoming Netflix show is going to feature Resident Evil veterans, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, as main characters.
It is worth noting that Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is different from the other Resident Evil series that is also slated to release on Netflix. While the former is an animated series, the latter follows a different timeline and will be shot in live-action. Of course, the big question now is whether Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness will feature other characters from the video game franchise apart from Leon and Claire. However, given that the upcoming animated series is set in the same timeline as the video games, it is likely that more will be featured in the show, and here are the characters from the games that should be featured in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness.
Jill Valentine
It might be surprising to see Jill Valentine on this list given that she is a major character in the Resident Evil franchise. However, it is no secret that Jill has been sort of neglected by Capcom given that fans haven't heard anything about Jill since the events of Resident Evil 5,and via a note in Resident Evil Revelations 2. Sure, Capcom just featured her in the 2020 remake of Resident Evil 3, but that game is only a retelling of events from her escape from Raccoon City and didn't really reveal anything new that fans don't already know about.
Having said this, it would be nice for Jill to make a return in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, since among the major characters in the RE games, Jill still hasn't appeared in any of the CGI films. In the upcoming Netflix animated series, Capcom can finally reveal what happened to Jill after she was mind-controlled by Wesker, and how she dealt with the damage that she unwillingly made during the Kijuju incident.
Sheva Alomar
Similar to Jill, no one knew what happened to Sheva Alomar after she served as Chris Redfield's partner in Resident Evil 5. Although Sheva isn't really involved in the overall plot of the franchise, it is likely that she is still a member of the BSAA and is involved in operations that seek to curb the threat of bioterrorism. It would make for an interesting subplot to see how Sheva is doing, especially with her work as one of the top agents of the BSAA African division. Given her long absence in the Resident Evil games, Sheva is a strong candidate to make a return, especially since Netflix has every opportunity to explore her storyline even deeper especially in relation to the next character that should be featured in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness.
Jake Muller
In Resident Evil 6, players were introduced to Jake Muller, who is the son of Albert Wesker. Should Netflix reintroduce Jake and Sheva into the upcoming series, it would be interesting to see how Jake will react to seeing one of the people behind his father's death. In Resident Evil 6, Jake showed aggression towards Chris Redfield after learning his involvement in Wesker's death but was prevented from taking any further action by Sherry Birkin.
For quite some time, it appeared that Capcom had huge plans to expand Jake's story, but due to the poor sales of Resident Evil 6, the studio had to reevaluate the future of the franchise and adopted a somewhat disconnected storyline in Resident Evil 7. While it is unclear if Jake will ever return to the video game franchise, it would be interesting to see how his story continued after Resident Evil 6, especially since he is Wesker's son after all.
Billy Coen
At this point, it is already obvious that Capcom likes to introduce protagonists in one game and then forget them totally in the next one. Such is the case with Billy Coen, who served as the co-protagonist alongside Rebecca Chambers in Resident Evil 0. After the events of the game, Billy and Rebecca parted ways, with Rebecca heading into the Spencer Mansion where the events of the first Resident Evil game took place. However, no one knew what happened to Billy afterward.
In Resident Evil 0, it is revealed that Billy is on his way to an execution facility after being unjustly accused of killing 23 people in a mission, and when Rebecca found out the truth, she took Billy's dog tag to use as fake evidence that he has been killed, giving him a clean slate. Now, it would be interesting to see how Billy coped with the second chance Rebecca gave him, assuming that he was able to escape the Raccoon Forest alive.
Nikolai Gonovaef
Another character whose status is currently unknown is Nikolai Ginovaef from Resident Evil 3. In the remake, Jill and Carlos left Nikolai stranded in Raccoon City, and it appears that he has been killed after the city was nuked by the government. However, it is worth noting that behind the helicopter that Jill and Carlos used to escape is another chopper, suggesting that Nikolai was also able to get away from the city before it exploded.
Moreover, it is worth remembering that in the original Resident Evil 3, Nikolai was seen fleeing using the helicopter that Jill and Carlos were supposed to use to escape. Luckily for the duo, Barry Burton came to the rescue. Now, assuming that Nikolai is still alive in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, it would be interesting to see him make a return and probably serve as one of the villains in the upcoming animated series.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness releases 2021 on Netflix.