Resident Evil 2 director Hideki Kamiya has explained why the game introduced an entirely new cast, as opposed to bringing back the original STARS members. He says that being grilled about it resulted in the creation of Claire Redfield.
Kamiya is a legendary figure in the games industry thanks to his own creations like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Okami, and the woefully underrated The Wonderful 101, but it's easy to forget that he also started his immaculate directing career with the sequel to Resident Evil. And even though he'd only worked on two games prior, his directorial debut turned out to be what many consider to be the best game in the series (and eventually got remade as another one of the best games in the series).
