The director of the original 1998 version of Resident Evil 2, which introduced series icon Leon Kennedy, has confirmed what inspired the character’s first name.
Hideki Kamiya stated on X that he came up with “Leon” because of the 1994 action-thriller, Léon: The Professional. He then pitched it to Resident Evil 2’s producer, Shinji Mikami.
“Back when we were developing the game, I consulted with Mr. Mikami about the protagonist’s name,” Kamiya said (via machine translation).
“After a few suggestions got rejected, I said, ‘Well, maybe I’ll take it from that movie I saw the other day,’ and proposed “Leon,” to which he replied, ‘That sounds fine.’”
Léon: The Professional was directed by Luc Besson and starred Jean Reno in the titular role. It also starred Natalie Portman in her feature film debut, and Gary Oldman as the main antagonist.
The film centers on Italian-American hitman Léon, who takes pre-teen girl Mathilda (Portman) under his wing after her family is murdered by a corrupt DEA agent (Oldman).
A connection between the film and Leon Kennedy has been widely speculated by Resident Evil fans since the 2005 release of the original Resident Evil 4. After beating the game, players unlock the “Professional” difficulty setting as well as the “Matilda” handgun – which are both thought to be references to the movie.
The Matilda gun returned in the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 and in Resident Evil Requiem. Kamiya mentioned that he did not come up with the weapon’s name, however, stating that credit for the Matilda name belongs to another Capcom employee.
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Written by Reece Heather
A veteran Zelda Universe editor and First-class journalism graduate, Reece emerged with a Nintendo 64 and a lifelong obsession after a narrow escape from Santa’s Naughty List in 1998. Outside of games, he’s reading Punisher comics, being bossed around by his cocker spaniel, and cornering innocent bystanders to rant about the importance of game preservation.
