Nick Apostolides, best known as the voice behind beloved Resident Evil protagonist Leon S. Kennedy, revealed a hilarious voice line he pitched for RE9 that got cut from final game.
Apostolides’ performance as Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem saw him lean into the character’s badass, ’80s-action-flick persona that first blossomed in RE4, giving him a slew of lovably corny one-liners that he spouts off throughout the course of the game.
One of these quips was suggested by Apostolides’ during Leon’s fight with the Titan Spinner in Raccoon City — but unfortunately, it didn’t end up making the cut. And that’s a real bummer, because it’s priceless.
He revealed this information during a podcast episode with fellow voice actors Ben Starr and Alanah Pearce, where he said it would have been his “favorite” line in the game, had it been used in the final product.
“When you fight the spider, I wanted to say — and we recorded it — ‘You know, you’ve been a real itsy-bitsy pain in my ass,’” he said, delivering the line in Leon’s gruff, grizzled voice. “It would have been a banger.”
Pearce and Starr were in complete agreement, as were commenters across the net, with one writing on X, “This would have been freaking incredible.”
Instead, it seems Capcom went with a slightly different approach, with Leon saying, “You are a real pest, you know that?” and, “I don’t have time for pest control,” during the battle.
With Requiem in the books, fans are now looking forward to the Code Veronica remake, which is slated to release some time in 2027. Until then, there’s Zach Cregger’s film adaptation of the series coming to theaters this October, which has already been met with cautious excitement from longtime fans of the franchise.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.