A leaker has claimed that mermaids were originally planned to be included in Resident Evil Village.
Out of all of the Resident Evil games, Village perhaps strays the furthest from traditional zombies or infected enemies and instead focuses more on werewolves, bats, and vampires to fit the setting. According to a leaker, Village might have even featured mermaids at one point in its development.
This information comes courtesy of Resident Evil insider Dusk Golem, who has previously reported correctly on the series and was particularly involved with several of the original Resident Evil Village leaks. Dusk Golem revealed that Moreau's section of the game was cut down during development because "it needed some big reworks to become fully fun".
They then went further in explaining what the area was supposed to contain, "Moreau's section initially had a sorta' open swamp like section that was laid out similarly to the end of Zoe's swamp stuff, spent time in and out of water, and though ultimately linear, there was several paths through, often choosing to wade through water or to go by land."
Although the area being more open and free-form is interesting enough, the highlight of the reveal is that Village was originally going to contain mermaids, "In the water, there was various items scattered around to pick up off the trailer, but the water was home to Mermaid-like enemies. In the water they could swim for you quickly if spotted you, and you had to get to patches of land or kill them successfully before they reached you. Even on land though they could be annoying and do this screech attack which stunned you".
It's interesting to note that Moreau's section of the game was supposed to be expanded, as it's noticeably the shortest part of the game. It was also one of the least popular sections of the game upon launch, which makes a little more sense as to why it was pared down and focused up.