In the early 2000s, Paul W.S. Anderson gave us the Resident Evil films. They were terrible, to put it bluntly. While slammed by critics and fans of the games, the series produced 6 films which continued to make bank. Since they were bringing in up to 7 times their budget at the box office, they doubled down on their formula which wasn’t faithful to the games.
It has only been 3 years since the final Resident Evil movie and now, we’re getting a reboot (via Deadline). But fear not, it’s not related to those movies and will be far more faithful to the early games.
The new Resident Evil film will take place in Raccoon City in 1998 during the outbreak. For those unfamiliar with the game, this is when the first three games take place. Resident Evil 2 and 3 take place about 24 hours apart two months after the first game. A sizable cast will be taking on all of the iconic roles from the franchise.
You can view the cast breakdown below.
- Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield
- Hannah John-Kamen as Jill ValentineÂ
- Robbie Amell as Chris Redfield
- Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker
- Avan Jogia as Leon Kennedy
- Neal McDonough as William Birkin
Johannes Roberts will pen the script as well as direct the Resident Evil film. His previous work includes The Strangers: Prey at Night, 47 Meters Down, and its sequel.
“With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and re-create the terrifying visceral experience I had when I first played them whilst at the same time telling a grounded human story about a small dying American town that feels both relatable and relevant to today’s audiences,” said Roberts in a statement.
Producer Robert Kulzer also teased that we’ll be seeing the Spenser Mansion, located on the outskirts of Raccoon City. If I had to take a guess, I would imagine they’re going to combine all 3 games into one night and condense them into a singular story.
“After a dozen games, six live-action movies and hundreds of pages of fan fiction, we felt compelled to return to the year 1998, to explore the secrets hidden in the walls of the Spenser Mansion and Raccoon City,” said Kulzer.
The film has no release date. Resident Evil is also getting a CG Netflix series in 2021. The eighth mainline Resident Evil game will also release in 2021 on Xbox Series X, PS5, and PC.
