Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu Design Started With RE7’s Mia

During a recent interview, Resident Evil Village art director Tomonori Takano divulged that original prototypes for Lady Dimitrescu were based on reused Mia character models from RE7. Alcina Dimitrescu, aka Lady Dimitrescu, quickly became an overnight sensation when Capcom began sharing first details about RE Village earlier this year.

The Lady’s appearance in PS5’s Maiden demo especially sealed the deal on the public’s fascination with her, as it reinforced her towering height and made the character seem all the more terrifying and eerily alluring. Of course, Takano’s confirmation that Lady Dimitrescu stands a staggering 9’6″ worked to further intrigue the internet, which now celebrates the character with cosplay, fan art, and outlandish theories that posit what she may have in store for Ethan Winters once Resident Evil Village drops next month.

Speaking with IGN about the evolution of Lady Dimitrescu, art director Tomonori Takano said the Vampire Lady has been a part of the development team’s plans for RE Village since the beginning. She didn’t begin as the enigmatic Tall Lady that we know and love today, however. According to Takano, prototypes for Lady Dimitrescu started with reused character models of Resident Evil 7’s Mia. The developers adorned the character model in a dress and a hat, initially thinking that “would be enough to give her a ghost-like quality, but we couldn’t make her feel scary. Then, we decided to make the character model much larger. That was the beginning of Lady Dimitrescu.” The design came together after Takano drew concept art depicting the Countess as stooping down to pass through a doorway, he added.

The crew then attempted to craft an environment that would best befit the mistress’ design; thus, Castle Dimitrescu was born. Director Morimasa Sato divulged that in an attempt to make Lady Dimitrescu even more terrifying, he and the team toyed with ideas of devising “more creature-like” qualities for her. However, they figured the Countess’ towering physique worked well to make her feel like an imposing boss figure.

It’s strange to think that Lady Dimitrescu started as a reused Mia character model, then evolved into the Tall Lady. Her evolution throughout RE Village’s development sounds nothing short of intriguing. That the gothic castle in which she resides came into the picture because of her final form is equally compelling; such a revelation seems as though it may accentuate the new locale’s personality.

A direct follow-up to the events of RE7, RE Village places Ethan Winters and his wife Mia at center stage once again. This time, Ethan finds himself trapped in the titular village, facing all manner of ghoulish creatures such as vampires and werewolves. Who knows what other horror await?

Resident Evil Village launches on May 7 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Source: IGN

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Brianna Reeves
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A Senior Writer on Screen Rant’s Game News team, Brianna Reeves graduated from Sam Houston Statue University in 2018 with a Master of Arts in English Literature. Brianna’s enthusiasm for games dates back to Mortal Kombat Trilogy on PlayStation 1, along with classics like MediEvil, Syphon Filter, and THPS2. However, Red Dead Redemption reinvigorated her love for the medium; hopefully, that passion reflects in the work she has contributed to Comic Book Resources, PlayStation LifeStyle, GVMERS, and Screen Rant.

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