“1996… I’ll never forget it.”It was the year video game publisher Capcom releasedResident Evil(orBiohazardin Japan) on the original PlayStation, setting the stage for a burgeoning genre named as soon as its opening cutscene concluded: “Enter the Survival Horror.” Like a lot of games in its generation,Resident Evilbased much of its production values on the film medium - specifically ground-zero zombie filmmaker George A. Romero’s work - and in the 24 years since, the franchise has kept its cinematic influence near and dear. Hollywood, naturally, has taken notice, andResident Evilhas received more game-to-screen adaptations than any other video game franchise (outside ofPokémon), with three animated films and a saga of six live-action movies.
Though it was the face of its genre for over a decade,Resident Evilspent the majority of the 2010s struggling with misdirection and mismanagement, and its multimedia consequently bled out and died as general interest waned. But the one-two punch of 2017’sResident Evil 7: Biohazardand 2019’s long-awaited remake ofResident Evil 2has rocketed the S.T.A.R.S.-studded series to gaming glory once again.Resident Evilisback, and its resurgence has appropriately resurrected cinematic interest in the property like a hapless victim of Raccoon City’s tap water.
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Three separate adaptations based on theResident Evilfranchise have been announced over the last two months, each with its own story, cast, and place on the series’ ever-twirling timeline. This article aims to distinguish them and address their connective canonicity with the core series.
Resident Evil, the Live-Action Netflix Show
A glance at theResident Evillibrary demonstrates the franchise’s fascination with chronological meandering. Even though the mainline games progress naturally, RE mostly deals in prequels, remakes, or reinterpretations of stories already told. Netflix andSupernaturalwriter Andrew Dabb arechallenging series conventions by leaping forward in time, literally turning a spotlight on the next generation ofEvil.
Announced in August, the generally-titledResident Evilstarsthe never-before-known daughters of fan-favorite series villain Albert Wesker. The “Wesker kids,” Billie and Jade, arrive in “New Raccoon City,” a corporatized rebuilt metropolis of Nemesis and Mr. X’s old stomping grounds. But that’s only half the tale - the series will spend just as much time sixteen years later, as Jade reaches her thirties and the world’s war on the zombifying T-virus reaches a bitter end. With humanity outnumbered by the billions, Jade must unravel - and likely grapple with - her father’s genocidal legacy.
It’s an ambitious premise, forgoing series precedent in favor of an underappreciated structural approach to episodic storytelling, alternating between two separate points in time. It also defieslong-established understandings of the Umbrella corporation’s superhuman founder. Although the idea of Albert Wesker fathering children has been explored in the series - specificallyResident Evil 6- the show appears to be taking it a step further, past purely genetic adoption and onto full-on parenthood. Since Wesker’s son has already been identified in the main games, this series will likely spin its own canon, branching into territories never explored (though not without the occasional cameo from the franchise’s finest).
Netflix’sResident Evilis currently in development.
Infinite Darkness,the Animated Netflix Show
Capcom’s “RE Engine,” the tech designed to power the latestResident Eviltitles, is arguably one of the most impressive and powerful in its industry, allowing artists and animators to build Raccoon City and the Baker house with beautifully moody lighting and outstanding character designs. The recent games’ production values are so excellent they seemingly negate any computer-generated RE media that doesn’t require a controller. Even so,Resident Evilis getting its first animated series, subtitledInfinite Darkness.
Like most Umbrella conspiracies,Infinite Darkness’existence was leaked. A trailer featuring Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy, the protagonists ofResident Evil 2, surfaced on Netflix Portugal’s Twitter accountbefore its official reveal at Tokyo Game Show 2020.
Unlike the upcoming live-action series, a teaser trailer and a vague promise of “horror with a sci-fi twist” is all the information at hand, with no premise or cast outside of the two returners. Leon and Claire look a bit older than when quarantined in the Raccoon City Police Department, but to what extent is currently unknown. The pair has headlined animatedEvilbefore - they starred in 2008’sResident Evil: Degeneration, the first of three CG-animated films. Leon would go on to lead the next two, 2012’sDamnationand 2017’sVendetta. Given the CG films were marketed as canonical stories in the series’ confusing chronology, it’s safe to assumeInfinite Darknesswill follow suit.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darknesswill release in 2021.
Resident Evil, The Live-Action Reboot Movie
Believe it or not,Resident Evilcinema is a billion-dollar industry. Agent Alice’s adventures in Umbrella’s wonderland of horrors encompass the single most profitable series of video game movies in history, despite their reviled reputation among critics and fans. 2017’sThe Final Chapterconcluded Alice’s escapades and proved that, if nothing else, the series could successfully take up residency on Sunset Boulevard (andrumors of a Netflix follow-upin March proved Alice could migrate to streaming platforms if necessary). But if there’s one thing the many survivors of the T-virus have learned over the years, it’s that nothing ever stays dead.
Constantin Film (the German production company that has owned the rights to RE adaptations since 1997) is bringingResident Evilback to the movies with a more traditional creative take. This new series of films will reportedly havea stronger focus on adapting the most famous games in the series, as opposed to dropping an original character into the middle of the franchise like a Tyrant in a trenchcoat. In particular, the first film will take place on a fateful night in Raccoon City and will introduce audiences to the major players under the red-and-white umbrella.
If nothing else, Constantin’s lineup is proving the alleged premise accurate.The all-S.T.A.R.S. have already been cast:The Flash’s Robbie Amell as Chris Redfield,The Umbrella Academy’s Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker, and Hannah John-Kamen - whom Marvel Studios fans may remember as Ghost fromAnt-Man and the Wasp- as the blue beret herself, Jill Valentine, among other important protagonists. With no connections to the previous movie series,Resident Evilhas a second chance to do right by its franchise and transform Jill, Chris, Leon, Claire, and even Albert into cultural titans.
TheResident Evilreboot will release in 2021.
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