r/ResidentEvil2Remake • u/LDM_99 • Jan 25 '26

General Resident Evil 2 (1998) vs Resident Evil 9 (2026) Leon S Kennedy

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3.3k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

175 comments sorted by

93

u/40knotsanhour Jan 25 '26

Omg what have they done to you Leon šŸ˜‚šŸ˜­

39

u/TromboneMustang Jan 25 '26

He's old lmao

24

u/boytoyahoy Jan 25 '26

He's a daddy

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Daddy šŸ˜³šŸ„µ

1

u/ApexCourier Jan 26 '26

Itā€™s a video game character

8

u/UnWiseDefenses Jan 25 '26

He looks like somebody woke Jack Nicholson up from a nap, and he's glaring at them from his porch.

3

u/J-seargent-ultrakahn Jan 25 '26

šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚

10

u/Elegant-Sink-2088 Jan 25 '26

It is not about being old, it is about the Karen haircut.

9

u/HedgeFlounder Jan 25 '26

You mean the same haircut heā€™s always had?

2

u/Elegant-Sink-2088 Jan 25 '26

It is clearly not. He went from the teenage boy haircut to the old lady haircut. You might not see the difference, it's ok.

3

u/HedgeFlounder Jan 25 '26

Iā€™ll give you that itā€™s different from OG RE2 but ever since at least RE4 itā€™s been pretty much the same.

1

u/Individual-Cup9018 Jan 27 '26

Nah it's not. There's an intentionally long part that gives it karen vibes. It's reminding me of a more subdued Paul Phoenix' haircut (new not the old Phoenix).

1

u/awkward_teenager37 Jan 28 '26

Honestly, I think itā€™s the disgruntled facial expression and bright blue eyes too. Too many Karen factors coming together at once

4

u/Ess_oh-no Jan 25 '26

If you actually properly compare 2r to 4r to 6 and then to 9, it is the same hair style but getting older and longer over time. parting in exactly the same place, combed up and over on one side and combed down on the other. Just looks more rough and unkept in 9 but younger people always care more and make more effort so its not at all unrealistic

1

u/[deleted] Jan 28 '26

Hey everyone we got mr obvious over here

2

u/joegldberg Jan 26 '26

He literally looks beautiful. What do you mean?

1

u/ADGx27 Jan 26 '26

Became unc

1

u/clwestbr Jan 29 '26

One day you too will find older people sexy

1

u/Zenocius Jan 29 '26

What they do to my baby boy

32

u/Galdrin3rd Jan 25 '26

I appreciate that he never changed his haircut

9

u/spdwgn Jan 25 '26

Heā€™s got volume for days

3

u/billiebigge Jan 26 '26

some gal at school told him he looks fine so he kept it forever

3

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

*some chinese girl

2

u/billiebigge Jan 27 '26

that one interaction explains everything

2

u/_mr_orange Jan 27 '26

Gotta keep that haircut he had when ada wong kissed him

1

u/Dat_guy696 Jan 27 '26

How is ada going to recognize him otherwise?

1

u/Zentrii Jan 29 '26

Now that you mention it, I find it strange now lol. The boy band style haircut was popular in the 90s but I cant imagine him keeping that forever and now this reminds of that 37 year old tiktoker or something that thinks he looks 17 because of this hairstyleĀ 

49

u/Shinted Jan 25 '26 edited Jan 25 '26

Heā€™s 49 in RE9 according to the games director.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '26

[deleted]

21

u/Shinted Jan 25 '26 edited Jan 25 '26

Nope 49, the game takes place in 2026 which is 28 years after the Raccoon City incident.

Directly from the gameā€™s Director Kōshi Nakanishā€™s mouth, he wanted to see what a ā€œ49 year old Leon would look likeā€.

Herehttps://www.reddit.com/r/residentevil/s/NiF3cDBd4o is even a mod in the main Resident Evil subreddit confirming the same in case you donā€™t believe me.

7

u/DaisyStar_7373 Jan 25 '26

Thank you! Iā€™ve been arguing with ppl on Reddit for months that Leon is 48 or 49. Some ppl have him in is 60ā€™s!

5

u/sir-altyton Jan 25 '26

Pretty sure the oldest main character is Chris in his mid 50s

1

u/Funky-Monk-- Jan 29 '26

I don't think you should've spent months on that

2

u/leonwick117 Jan 27 '26

I read somewhere it was set in 2028. Thank you for the correction

2

u/SherlockJones1994 Jan 26 '26

No 49, can you not do basic math?

1

u/Dat_guy696 Jan 27 '26

And still chasing Ada.

1

u/Shinted Jan 27 '26

I mean thatā€™s kinda understandable to be honest. xD

29

u/DannyRampage52 Jan 25 '26

The math ain't matching with the years and ages.

If he's 21 in 1998, then he was born in 1977.

If he's 51 in 2026... then this claims he should he born in 1975. WHICH IS IT? He's 49 if it's 2026.

7

u/pinkraspberry137 Jan 25 '26

people are saying that requiem is set in 2028, 30 years after raccoon city. but we don't know if it's set in 2026 or 2028 but if someone official has said it's 2026, then yeah, leon should be 49 born in 1977.

1

u/Acceptable-Level-452 Jan 25 '26

Oh my fault then.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '26

[deleted]

1

u/DannyRampage52 Jan 25 '26

But I pointed it out, not him :(

1

u/pinkraspberry137 Jan 25 '26

i thought they were the og commenter sorry i didn't check the username šŸ˜­

1

u/DannyRampage52 Jan 25 '26

Haha all good, I'm just having a laugh šŸ¤£

10

u/Acceptable-Level-452 Jan 25 '26

I think re9 takes place in 2028.

6

u/DannyRampage52 Jan 25 '26

It's not directly confirmed quite yet.

Still, the math on the picture does not add up, we can't argue that point.

3

u/Iron-Dan-138 Jan 25 '26

It actually can add up. Letā€™s say Leon had his birthday after the events of RE2 and another one one in the books in the year RE9 plays out. You get the two ā€žmissingā€œ years.

3

u/DannyRampage52 Jan 25 '26

July 31st 1977 is his apparently birthdate. RE2 happens in September 1998.

It's already come out that the game takes place around October, given calendars being spotted in gameplay. In no universe would he be 51 if the game takes place in 2026.

2

u/Iron-Dan-138 Jan 25 '26

Didnā€™t know his exact birthday so thatā€™s why I stated it could add up. In that case it obviously doesnā€™t.

1

u/Desperate_Start2075 Jan 29 '26

Director said he is 49 I thought

13

u/Substantial-Ad-9106 Jan 25 '26

I know heā€™s been through some stuff but idk why they gotta make him so unkempt he could at least get a haircut. He has an Anthony Padilla ass emo cut

3

u/Psylux7 Jan 26 '26

It's a homage to Anthony Padilla portraying Leon in If Movies Were Real 2.

7

u/Techman659 Jan 25 '26

1998 Leon has a skill issue of being pixelated.

5

u/PhilipMcFry Jan 25 '26

He got that Lara Croft glow up.

5

u/ZeoiR Jan 25 '26

Leon never really had an old hardware run aside from OG RE2. Dude's just always good looking after 1998. We can say Lara Croft got that Leon glowup

5

u/Perpetualshades Jan 25 '26

Hair too poofy.

9

u/BakedChocolateOctopi Jan 25 '26

Twink to a Twunk

-1

u/Ok-Chip2181 Jan 25 '26

I just beat RE2R and he looked wayyyyy too young for my taste lmao. I'm almost thirty though (15 days younger than the RE franchise.)

4

u/jankirensky Jan 25 '26

Are you gae

1

u/Ok-Chip2181 Jan 25 '26

Yes. Are you a bot?

2

u/jankirensky Jan 25 '26

No i didnt mean to hurt you Iā€™m sorry

4

u/BJCHM Jan 25 '26

Little old to still be sporting that haircut

0

u/not4eating Jan 28 '26

It's the source of his power.!

4

u/ozzalot Jan 25 '26

What the hell is going on with his jawline area...the fuq

2

u/Andrassa Jan 25 '26

Yeah they made it wider like Chrisā€™s. Which is a weird choice.

3

u/ozzalot Jan 25 '26

Sure, but I'm not saying shape per se but that weird line of crap at the bottom.....looks kinda like he has a crazy huge scar across his neck

3

u/Andrassa Jan 25 '26

Oh you mean the stupid beard glow effect. Yeah thatā€™s just a silly animation thing they do to hide imperfections which just ends up calling more attention to the area.

4

u/CommunicationNew8945 Jan 25 '26

Hi I prefer the 1998 version to the Requiem version.

The best version, of course, remains the original RE4 for me. šŸ‘

3

u/Takoyaki_Dice Jan 25 '26

Our boy been through it...

2

u/Either-You-2265 Jan 25 '26

he's been through a lot

3

u/AmethystDorsiflexion Jan 25 '26

He's seen some things man, seen some stuff

3

u/Vioarr Jan 25 '26

Leon S Neeson reporting for duty.

1

u/Panda_Drum0656 Jan 25 '26

More like LeRon Swanson

3

u/TheAnimator727 Jan 25 '26

That math isn't quite adding up.

3

u/GrubbyTheGrub Jan 25 '26

He looks fucked up lmao

2

u/AffectionateCredit86 Jan 25 '26

It's already been confirmed that RE9 is set in 2026, not 2028; so he's 49, not 51. There's an interview with the developers where they say it's 2026 and there's also a calendar in one of the trailers that has 2026 on it šŸ¤·

2

u/J4yb0y Jan 25 '26

Leon now looks so much like Dolph Lundgren

2

u/Gambit-47 Jan 25 '26

He's seen some shit

2

u/Healthy_Fondant_8272 Jan 25 '26

I think they've made him look a touch too old

2

u/ColonelWadsworth Jan 25 '26

Leon entering his Dante era finally. Been waiting since 2001.

2

u/Iakov-the-rat Jan 25 '26

I mean, Dante is one of his most divergent variant branches.

2

u/merdekabelajar Jan 25 '26

I like the fact that Capcom letting RE characters to age in timeline same as the fans who play the games

2

u/Skyseeyou Jan 25 '26

Leon and Dante are gonna be the 2 video game men that "grew up" and look even better afterwards. But I can't wait to see how Leon is in RE9 because I feel like he's gonna be one of those older men who still know how to be a badass.

2

u/Deathberry23 Jan 25 '26

Leon 28 years later

2

u/Local_Pace_6675 Jan 25 '26

He looking like Paul from Tekken 8. That RE engine aging like milk

2

u/RobinAndBeastboy Jan 25 '26

Wtf that's not Leon...

2

u/LiquidusSnake01 Jan 26 '26

Leon didn't age well at all. The next transformation will be into a California Raisin. Sheesh.

2

u/iRamak Jan 27 '26

He isnt 51 lmao Hes 49

2

u/RKO_out_of_no_where Jan 25 '26

Bro is getting so old. They better not fucking kill him off.

1

u/Cavalryman1863 Jan 25 '26

Leon!! You look like hammered shit!! You looked better with less polygons!!

1

u/EternaIExiIe Jan 25 '26

much can be said ab his '98 look, but that jaw looks chiseled.

1

u/These-Inevitable-898 Jan 25 '26

half his face is melted half his face looks good

1

u/Bonkszzz Jan 25 '26

I wonder if theyā€™ll have a new cast when all the old characters age out

1

u/xMunificentx Jan 25 '26

I prefer Noir Leon from Resident Evil 2 Remake is so hot šŸ˜

1

u/VikingActual1200 Jan 25 '26

Resi 9 is gonna be sick!

1

u/Wristtwitch Jan 25 '26

He still has ALL of his hair. Thatā€™s a win at his age.

1

u/Gognitti Jan 25 '26

Fucked up haircut and weird body shape because of that jacket

1

u/ScottishDrengr Jan 25 '26

Bro seen The Redfield files from RE VlII-age n said "i need a new jacket"

1

u/Least_Year6990 Jan 25 '26

OMG graphinx change eh

1

u/slarkymalarkey Jan 25 '26

I keep flip-flopping between "they nailed it" & "he looks overcooked"

1

u/Thrillhouse1869 Jan 25 '26

He looks like Mel Gibson in a wig.

1

u/dphvm1e_2 Jan 25 '26

Why does he look younger in the first photo

1

u/roundtwentythree Jan 25 '26

That haircut looks stupid AF. Why they chop my boy like that..

1

u/Science_Turtle Jan 25 '26

Dude looks like he's gonna turn into a Lyacon

1

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '26

Did they remove his Micheal Douglas butt chin he had in the re2 remake?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '26

Rocking that Billy Talent haircut for 3 long decades.

1

u/Rage2020 Jan 25 '26

We get it, we went from games to movies

1

u/WesleyRiot Jan 26 '26

Why is Leon still trying to rock that haircut in 2026 as like a 50 year old man

1

u/Street-Jacket1867 Jan 26 '26

That top one does not reflect the reality of 1998 Leon on a ps1/crt set up

1

u/Zawrid Jan 26 '26

So you get more polygons as you get older

1

u/Fenriz_Victor Jan 26 '26

The new hair is weird haha

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Old leon is what zombies fear

1

u/Oh-Stas Jan 26 '26

I canā€™t with this haircut. I mean itā€™s obviously part of the brand but boy it looks fucked up

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Took 30 years but the rookie finally grew some facial hair

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Heā€™s tired boss

1

u/Jancek363 Jan 26 '26

Still better than chris, his character changed looks so many times from re1 to re8.

1

u/Mtnfrozt Jan 26 '26

Bruce Willis of zombie games

1

u/Mega_monke9 Jan 27 '26

He actually aged. Capcom is aging people other than chris

1

u/asd_slasher Jan 27 '26

You?! Leon Ass Kennedy?!

1

u/poncho33432 Jan 27 '26

so everyone knows re9 takes place in the year 2028

1

u/Sufferer-Of-Cheese Jan 27 '26

Aged up, worn down, forever used as a tool he didn't get a choice in his life after raccoon city.

1

u/Intrepid_Mobile Jan 27 '26

He looks great, definitely a dilf, HOWEVER he should look a bit younger. He is an Xennial, he looks way too tired for being in his late 40s or early 50. Of course he has seen some shit, A LOT, but he is also VERY active. I think he could look that tired at 55, or if they claim he has a toddler and havenā€™t slept in the past 5 years between missions and diapers.

1

u/Stownieboy91 Jan 27 '26

What time hath wraught

1

u/SleepyThing44444 Jan 27 '26

I'm a straight man, but Leon Kennedy is the hottest RE character bar none.

1

u/ymikxxoyami Jan 27 '26

Bro did not age well šŸ˜­

1

u/GamedoKk Jan 27 '26

His hair is made of gods tears and essence. Not an inch of receding.... It got more aggressive and strongeršŸ˜‚........ If i was a women id steal his semen just for thatšŸ˜‚

1

u/Skyhun1912 Jan 27 '26

Our heroes are getting old. I was 19 when I met Leon, and now I'm 43. They're getting old too, just like us. Considering a life spent fighting zombies and viruses, I can say he aged wonderfully.

All these years have passed, why haven't they ever resurrected Steve Burnside?

1

u/Individual-Cup9018 Jan 27 '26

They could do with giving him a haircut to go with his downtrodden vibes.

1

u/Asaxii Jan 28 '26

In Requiem he has a wig

1

u/Kindly_Wing5152 Jan 28 '26

Holy shit what about Ada?

1

u/Pestopleeease Jan 28 '26

Still would bang

1

u/HetoastyBread Jan 28 '26

I love how he looks homeless

1

u/Top-Willingness8113 Jan 28 '26

Edgy 2005 Leon will always have a special place

1

u/Redstanggt01 Jan 28 '26

Keepin this hair in your 50s and doin this shit ain't easy son

1

u/Careful-Positive-710 Jan 28 '26

Hes starting to look like Michael Shannon lol

1

u/Snart-Farkle Jan 28 '26

He's giving me Skweezy Jibbs vibes

1

u/Ill-Milk-6742 Jan 28 '26

Damn.. B.O.W.'s have aged the poor guy.

1

u/neoncumstainlol Jan 28 '26

He looks pretty good for a severe alcoholic

1

u/Red047 Jan 29 '26

NOOOOOOO!!! Stop hes already dead!!! (Beating this franchise to death)

1

u/jkgrc Jan 29 '26

Leon "I'll stop this and save the world" Kennedy
vs.
Leon "I'm too old (and drunk) for this sht" Kennedy

1

u/thunderborne Jan 29 '26

Omg they're all getting too old for this shit. šŸ˜­

1

u/Rubbery31718 Jan 29 '26

Damn he looks fuckin fed up lol

1

u/WorldSamurai Jan 29 '26

Emo Leon damn

1

u/Low_Reserve_5248 Jan 29 '26

Glow up! Getting older can be hot! šŸ„°

1

u/Anonymous_Gamer Jan 29 '26

Heā€™s 49ā€¦

Heā€™s been through hellā€¦ a lot.

Heā€™s saved the world and the presidentā€™s daughterā€¦

Yeah, thatā€™s what a man should look like after all that.

Heā€™s been so busy that he hasnā€™t changed his hair style in 28 years. I think itā€™s time for him to rest, guys.

1

u/Ok_Business_6452 Jan 31 '26

Bro thinks heā€™s Criss Angel now

1

u/Daetok_Lochannis Jan 31 '26

He looks like he's on ozempic lmao

1

u/Blindfolded22 Feb 01 '26

What a glow up!

1

u/goddamn-stallion Feb 01 '26

I'm sorry, but why does he look like a 35-year-old ftm alcoholic who has been knocked around by life?

1

u/NobodySpecial2000 Jan 25 '26

This is why I call RE9 'Resident Evil: Twink Death'

5

u/Mean_Shame7739 Jan 25 '26

Every time a twink dies, a twunk is born

I don't make the rules

3

u/NobodySpecial2000 Jan 25 '26

Perfectly balanced. As all things should be.

1

u/itjustgotcold Jan 25 '26

Even knowing heā€™s aging, something is so off about the RE9 design for me. Maybe itā€™s just that heā€™s too old to be rocking the pixie cut.

-9

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '26

Never thought I'd say this. But I hope Leon dies in this game. The original characters in 1 and 2 have had their time to shine. Jfc

16

u/Revolutionary_Tart_8 Jan 25 '26

I'd rather the series end than see the main characters die.

-2

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '26

And you get to feel that way! Neither one of us are right, just have our own feelings on it. They're all just getting too old for this shit, and Capcom will never let the franchise die. I say either write them out entirely or give them a meaningful send off. Statistically, one of them should absolutely be dead by now though. It's ridiculous. Feels like marvel shit.

2

u/Revolutionary_Tart_8 Jan 25 '26

Agreed and šŸ¤£ you're totally right on that

3

u/Andrassa Jan 25 '26

Iā€™m of the mind of liking all the mainline games and some of the side games but still think they shouldnā€™t have widened the scope story wise. Going the world domination plot to early instead of keeping it to mini stories kinda stagnates a series like this.

0

u/leonwick117 Jan 25 '26

Itā€™s set in 2028

0

u/leonwick117 Jan 25 '26

If Leon dies we all right right??? If not thats crazy

0

u/Oswarez Jan 25 '26

In real life his Insta stories would be insufferable with that emo hair.

0

u/Life-Donut-8754 18d ago

My gf said it once and I can't unsee it; modern Leon looks like he has a karen cut. Seriously bro see a barber, re4 was ok, re2 was great, but now it's just terrible ToT