Tekken 8 introduces Victor Chevalier, a French soldier played by Vincent Cassel

Victor Chevalier is described as a "living legend" who founded the UN's independent armed forces.
vincent cassel tekken 8

Bandai Namco has revealed the latest fighter to join the roster of Tekken 8 – Victor Chevalier, a French soldier armed with a “haute couture suit” and special weaponry, played by actor Vincent Cassel (Ocean’s Twelve, Brotherhood of the Wolf). According to the character’s biography, he’s a “living legend” who descended from a lineage of noble knights, with experience working in the Navy and for the UN, where he founded their special armed forces.

“As he felt the world was being on the brink of being taken over by a corporate giant, he founded and trained the Raven Force, armed forces that have the authority to act at their own discretion to counter the corporation’s private armed forces,” Bandai Namco revealed. “Armed with an haute couture suit and the latest optical weapons, Victor takes up the mantle as leader of the UN forces, commands of his new forces and readies himself for the fight.”

Per gameplay footage, it appears Chevalier will specialise in melee and ranged combat, wielding a range of bladed weapons (swords, knives) in tandem with his guns for high-damage attacks. He also appears to be fairly fast, and able to use quick teleport-dashes for attacks on all sides. His ultimate-style Heat Move is sword-based, and sends enemies flying with a high-speed slash.

Read: Tekken 8 release date announced for January 2024

Chevalier appears to be a very lithe character, and will likely suit those who enjoy nimble, flashy fighters like his subordinate Raven, who also appears in Tekken 8.

Notably, Chevalier’s actor, Vincent Cassel, is a Tekken fan himself and in a press release, described his love for the series growing after the introduction of Eddy Gordo – as they both share a love for capoeira.

“I discovered TEKKEN in the 1990s and I really started picking it up when Eddy Gordo was introduced,” Cassel said. “He was doing capoeira and back then, so did I, so I was only playing with him.”

“What I like about Victor Chevalier is the fact that it’s a French character in such an internationally known game. In addition to that he is very sophisticated and promotes, through how he is and how he dresses, a certain idea of French elegance. This, and the fact that I had been called to voice Victor led me to be interested in the character.”

Cassel lends his voice and facial model to Chevalier, who looks to be a very interesting inclusion in the Tekken 8 roster. We’ll learn more about the character when Tekken 8 launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on 26 January 2024.

Tekken 8 – All characters confirmed so far (November 2023)

Leah J. Williams is a gaming and entertainment journalist who's spent years writing about the games industry, her love for The Sims 2 on Nintendo DS and every piece of weird history she knows. You can find her tweeting @legenette most days.