Eric LeBlanc

Eric LeBlanc is the main protagonist of the 2016 survival-horror game The Forest and its 2019 short film adaptation of the same name. 
After a plane crash that leaves him stranded on an island inhabited by cannibals, he must save his son Timmy and survive the cruel, unforgiving wilderness while also uncovering the dark mysteries of the island. 
In the short film, he was portrayed by actor Christopher Mulvin. 
==Biography==
===Pre-Crash ===
Prior to the game's events, Eric Leblanc was a renowned survival documentary presenter and co-author of the Survival Guide, which he wrote with Sam Sounde. Eric, a Canadian native, was married but became a widower following his wife's unfortunate accident. Sometime later, he embarked on a trip to New York with his son Timmy, and it's at the start of the game that their journey back home commences.
===The Forest (2016)===
After surviving a plane crash, Eric finds himself thrown from his seat onto the plane's aisle. He awakens on the floor, witnessing a mysterious man covered in red paint taking his son, Timmy. Eric tries to reach them but loses consciousness. When he wakes up again, he scours the plane wreckage for supplies, finding a Plane Axe, his first weapon. His primary goal is to find Timmy, but he also aims to locate other passengers, build shelter, and more.
In his search for Timmy, Eric encounters savage cannibals from different tribes. He faces them in battles armed with his Plane Axe and crafted weapons. He explores vast underground caves where clues slowly reveal Timmy's location. Eric also faces mutated creatures stronger than regular cannibals.
His journey leads him to discover Sahara, a company on the peninsula hidden beneath the island. Descending into a sinkhole, he unlocks a vault door using a key card and enters a disarrayed Sahara research lab deep beneath the caves. Inside, he finds Timmy dead near a Resurrection Obelisk. Overwhelmed by grief, Eric places Timmy's toy on his son's corpse and connects the obelisk's cords to him, prompting the machine for more specimens. Eric sets off to find another.
Later, he encounters Dr. Mathew Cross's lifeless body, realizing that the Red Paint-covered Man who abducted Timmy was a scientist, not a cannibal. He uncovers disturbing information about Sahara's role in creating cannibals and mutants in an attempt to create immortality. Eric follows bloodied footprints and drawings to a room where he finds a young girl named Megan, covered in blood. As he approaches her, she mutates into a monstrous creature and attacks him. Eric kills her and places her body into the obelisk, but it requires a live specimen.
Eric retrieves a new keycard and uses it to access an elevator, ultimately reaching an observatory. There, he activates a second artifact and spots a second plane flying above the island. The player is given the option to either shoot down the plane or not. 
===Fate===
After Eric shoots down another plane, he kidnaps a survivor and uses them for a ritual to resurrect Timmy. A year later, they are both rescued and appear on a TV show. Eric, who has written a book about the crash and his survival, is invited to participate in a wood-chopping contest using the Modern Axe. As they compete, Timmy suddenly experiences violent seizures, resembling Megan's earlier transformation. The screen goes black for about 5 seconds before returning. Eric rushes to Timmy, who gradually stops shaking and opens his eyes. Later, Timmy is seen in a shower, examining information about the peninsula, but his arms randomly bulge and shake, likely a side effect of his revival.
If Eric decides to deactivate the artifact, he takes a different path through a cave to exit the labs. He briefly gazes at the plane he would have otherwise crashed, and then burns a photo of Timmy, symbolizing his acceptance of never being rescued from the peninsula. As a result, the player unlocks mannequins representing Timmy and his wife.
==Gallery==
File:RealMagazineFarket.webp|Eric with Timmy in Real! Magazine
File:Screen Shot 2023-10-08 at 1.10.04 PM.png|Eric in the live-action short film adaptation
File:Screen Shot 2023-10-08 at 1.10.21 PM.png
== Trivia ==
* In the game files he is/was referred to as "James" as a placeholder name before being officially called Eric.
*That list states that his passport number is 9DB6781.
*In the inventory you can see a "card" with a picture of Timmy and another covered in blood that is thought to be his passport.
*His last name, Leblanc, suggests that he is French-Canadian, as Leblanc is a French-Canadian surname along with the fact that the developers are located in Canada, and the airport code of "YYZ" (Toronto Pearson International Airport) is shown on the passenger manifest. It also could be a joke as his name used to be James Blank.
*If the alternate ending was chosen, Eric will exit the Sahara facility back to the peninsula. His right arm will be shaky thereafter, suggesting that the supernatural effects of the artifacts were beginning to take effect on him. That, or, he is struggling with accepting the loss of his son and his new life on the peninsula.
==External Links==
*Eric Le Blanc on the Villains Wiki
*Eric LeBlanc on The Forest Wiki
*Fan Art Credit - SovietMentality on Deviant Art
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