The backstory of the mysterious villain of Resident Evil Village, the meme-spawning Lady Dimitrescu, is slowly being revealed. Speaking in a recent interview, RE Village Art Director Tomonori Takano and Game Director Morimasa Sato unveiled new background details concerning the magnetic lady of the village. And from what they’ve said, the horror franchise’s latest villain is very much unlike what we expect from video game adversaries, even beyond her imposing 9’6″ tall figure.
Fans have made Lady Dimitrescu into something of a meme, based on the comments section of IGN’s recent PlayStation 4 Pro gameplay of Village getting littered with jokes. Despite this, developers Capcom want you to know that it’ll be no mean feat to beat her in-game.
Village’s director Morimasa Sato revealed that the initial plan was for Lady Dimitrescu to be more visibly monstrous like the franchise’s classic villains. However, the team decided that “a towering woman was the most simple yet powerful thing we could do” to give players something different. At first, her now-iconic design was meant for Resident Evil 7’s Mia, but this was abandoned in the design stage before being brought back for Village.
The interview also explores some of the team’s inspirations behind the game’s vampiric, cult-inspired design. Takano touched on The Addams Family and Audrey Hepburn as examples of the 1960s-era aesthetic present in the mysterious village. He also touched on the other horrors we can expect from Castle Dimitrescu, namely the Lady’s daughters. There’s Bela, the oldest sister, followed by Cassandra and Daniela, all of whom provide different challenges for the protagonist, Ethan. The focus on witchcraft is something the Resident Evil franchise has yet to tackle, but Takano assures fans that after some tweaking of the concept, the series’ horror-based roots are still present.
With Resident Evil Village only a month away from release, it won’t be long before fans can find out exactly what level of threat Lady Dimitrescu will pose. It seems the game is going for a more gothic aesthetic, with the classic Resident Evil formula mixed in. But when lining up against other villains like the Nemesis and the Tyrant, expectations are high.
