In most of the Resident Evil games, the Umbrella Corporation serves as the primary antagonist. It's the Umbrella Corporation that creates the T-Virus and causes the Raccoon City incident, where the entire city was overrun with zombies. Umbrella's impact on the world was still felt long after the company was shut down, directly causing a variety of other catastrophes with bioweapons around the world.
Resident Evil 7 ignored the Umbrella Corporation almost entirely, except for the end of the game where it was revealed that Chris Redfield was working for a reworked version of the corporation known as Blue Umbrella. And then in the marketing materials for Resident Evil Village, Capcom was sure to show fans that the game featured some kind of stone structure with the Umbrella logo on it, hinting that the corporation would have a role to play in the new game.
Capcom didn't delve much deeper into Umbrella's role in Resident Evil Village leading up to the game's release, but now that the game is out in the wild, those who have completed it know exactly how Umbrella is involved. For those wondering, this is the role Umbrella plays in Resident Evil Village and why the company's logo shows up in the game. Be warned that MAJOR SPOILERS for Resident Evil Village will follow.
Umbrella Logo
It doesn't take long for Resident Evil Village players to find the Umbrella logo in the game. The Umbrella logo is the center of the altar that players visit after every boss fight, and it's where they add the different pieces of Ethan's daughter Rose, who has been separated into flasks. The Umbrella logo is the centerpiece of the altar, and so it's clear from the get-go that it has some kind of greater meaning in the grand scheme of things.
After Resident Evil Village players successfully add all of the Rose flasks to the altar, they will get the Giant's Chalice. With the Giant's Chalice in tow, Resident Evil Village players can then make their way to the ceremony site and gain access to Heisenberg's Factory. So while this is where players see the Umbrella logo in Resident Evil Village, it doesn't do much to explain exactly why the Umbrella logo is there.
Umbrella's Origins
Later in the game, Resident Evil Village players take on the role of Chris Redfield and blast their way through lycans and other monstrosities. As Chris is fighting his way through the hordes, he eventually makes his way to Mother Miranda's lab. It's here where Redfield finds all kind of information on Mother Miranda's lords, as well as an especially interesting file that has huge ramifications for the Resident Evil franchise as a whole.
The file in question was written by Oswell E. Spencer, the founder of Umbrella. In the letter, Spencer talks about how he was mentored by Mother Miranda, and how the two of them discovered in the Umbrella symbol in a cave. Spencer's work with Mother Miranda is what ultimately inspires him to conduct the research that eventually leads to the T-Virus, which is what kicked off the entire Resident Evil storyline to begin with.
Essentially, Spencer studied under Mother Miranda, and he was inspired by the Umbrella symbol that the two of them found in his creation of Umbrella the company. This revelation also goes a long way in better connecting both Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village to the previous games in the franchise, as it directly connects the black mold to the overarching Resident Evil storyline. No black mold, no T-Virus, no Umbrella. It all revolves around Mother Miranda and the research that she conducted while trying to bring her dead daughter Eva back from the dead.
BSAA
In Resident Evil Village's ending, Ethan Winters stays behind to sacrifice himself, allowing Chris Redfield to escape with Ethan's daughter Rose and wife Mia. Ethan's death is a huge moment in Resident Evil Village, but it's quickly followed up by a new startling revelation.
As Chris Redfield and everyone else escape on the helicopter, his team brings aboard what is believed to be a dead BSAA soldier. BSAA, for those who may not remember, is the organization dedicated to fighting bioweapons that Chris Redfield used to work for. For reasons that still haven't been fully explained, Chris left the BSAA organization between the events of Resident Evil 6 and Resident Evil 7.
As it turns out, the dead BSAA soldier was really a bioweapon. It seems as though the BSAA has started using bioweapons to fight fire with fire, so to speak, and Redfield is not happy about it. This revelation has Chris ask the helicopter pilot to take him straight to the BSAA headquarters in Europe so that he can get to the bottom of the situation.
With this, it seems as though the BSAA will be the new evil organization that the heroes in Resident Evil have to contend with. Umbrella has not only been dissolved, but fans now know exactly where the company originated from. Perhaps Umbrella will still have some kind of an impact in future Resident Evil games, but that remains to be seen.
Resident Evil Village is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
