After the release ofResident Evil 3 Remake, Capcom developers confirmed that the origins of the Nemesis' creation have a direct connection to Las Plagas parasites in the lore, just weeks before the release of theResident Evil 8trailer. Specifically, this comprises the Nemesis' parasite, which Umbrella used totransform a Tyrant monster into the Nemesis.
While fans do not yet know precisely if or howResident Evil 8could connect itself toResident Evil’sprevious story arcs, including the T-Virus and Las Plagas parasites, the trailer makes it pretty clearResident Evil 8takes place somewhere in Europe, perhaps the Caucasus, where Umbrella had a facility, eastern Europe, or France, the latter of which Umbrella had another facility.
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Umbrella Europe
While Umbrella’s American facilities were concerned with creating bio-weapons which could put out massive amounts of damage or chaos, Umbrella’s European facilities were focused on bio-weapon development that preserves high intelligence in its subjects, which is why the Nemesis' parasite was created there and shipped over to US.
Since Capcom has confirmed the Nemesis Parasite—better known as the Nemesis Alpha or NE-α Type—was biologically engineered using the Las Plagas parasites as its base model, it can be deduced that Umbrella had known about theLas Plagas parasitesat least as far back as the late-1980s. This is the time period when Umbrella tested the NE-α Type on its first test subject, Lisa Trevor. This is also long before the events ofResident Evil 4, when fans previously assumed Umbrella had no idea nor any connection to the Las Plagas parasites' existence.
Given the village inResident Evil 8looks very old and the Umbrella emblem in the trailer suggests the corporation has long held some sort of dark presence in this village, there should be some speculation thatResident Evil 8will provide fans more insight into Umbrella’s activities in Europe throughout theResident Eviltimeline. Given that theNemesis Projectbecame one of Umbrella’s central focal points for research in the late 1990’s in order to complete the Tyrant Project, aResident Evilgame set in Europe with historical tie-ins to Umbrella should provide some insight into Umbrella’s biggest project before their collapse.
The Mold - A Link?
The weak-link in this theory isResident Evil 7’sautonomy from the rest of the series' story arcs thus far, as it introduces a new Mold fungus which takes over hosts to become puppets to a leader, in this case Eveline. But the Mold itself is also mysterious in its origins, which leaves Capcom to easily fill in the blanks and perhaps connect it to the T-Virus or Las Plagas story arcs, both of which are already becoming interconnected in the lore, thanks tochanges in the Nemesis storyline.
IfResident Evil 8creates an origin story for the Mold which can connect it to the T-Virus or Las Plagas parasites, or both, then the entireResident Evilseries can complete a full circlefinally. And while there is not any hard evidence, yet, to determine which type of infections will plagueResident Evil 8’s village just yet, there are some interesting aesthetics which certainly look reminiscent of Las Plagas-based experiments.
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There is a symbol shown in theResident Evil 8trailerwith some sort of creature inside a circular emblem with four crow’s wings decorating it. The creature strongly resembles a human fetus in the early developmental stage, and what looks to be a strange surgical scar on its head. The round emblem appears to look like an embryo it is inside of. Given the fact that the Nemesis Parasite has to be surgically implanted into the Tyrant’s brain, and experiments focused on brain functions are the focal point of Umbrella’s European facilities, there may be some relevant clues into the origins of the Nemesis Project inResident Evil 8.
Furthermore, there are even rumors of aNemesis-like monster inResident Evil 8, which will take the form of some sort of witch who uses swarms of insects at her command.
There is already some evidence in the lore which suggests the Mold fromResident Evil 7may have a connection to previous story arcs. Firstly, it was developed as a team project with Albert Wesker’s H.C.F. paramilitary organization. While the exact role of H.C.F. in creating the Mold is unclear at this point, it would seem to be an obvious guess that the various samples of Umbrella’s lab experiments could have contributed, which H.C.F. and Albert Wesker had got their hands on over the years.
Additional RE8 Rumors
Additionally,Alex Wesker is rumored to be returningas an antagonist inResident Evil 8, and even more recent rumors suggestResident Evil 8will explain the background of the mysterious organization that created the Mold, known as The Connections. If this insight includes H.C.F.’s role in the matter, then there is a strong chance the Mold’s origin story can be connected to previous story arcs, especially given that Umbrella’s presence is all but confirmed in the village ofResident Evil 8’ssetting.
Resident Evil 8could also answer long-standing questions about why the Nemesis Project was quickly abandoned in Europe afterthe events inResident Evil 3 Remake, given that other projects continued. Given that the Mold was created shortly after the Raccoon City disaster in the timeline, perhaps Umbrella saw it as a superior replacement, or even an evolution of the Nemesis Project, if such a link is written into the lore later on.
Whatever transpires from further revelations from Capcom,Resident Evil 8will certainly keep fans talking and theorizing. At the very least,Resident Evil 8should hopefully provide a strong insight intoUmbrella’s activitiesin Europe over the years, and hopefully it ties the series into past titles conveniently.Resident Evil 7presented more questions than answers in the end, but hopefullyResident Evil 8answers these questions and provides more insight into the Nemesis Project.
Resident Evil 8: Villageis in development and set to release on the PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2021.
