Fans of Resident Evil have certainly been having good fortunes lately. Between the critically acclaimed reboots of Resident Evil 2 and 3, and the upcoming Resident Evil: Village, the franchise's future seems bright. However, video games haven't been the only medium of choice for the zombie-horror IP, as the franchise has a long and interesting history of spin-off films that looks set to continue, but with a film that isn't quite a continuation.
Many are likely familiar with the Resident Evil films led by Milla Jovovich and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The various films ran for quite some time and gained a dedicated audience despite having very little to do with the original series of games. It had seemed, however, that Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, did exactly what it was named for, and closed the book on that particular storyline, leaving no guarantees of the film series ever returning to theaters.
So, of course, there was some rejoicing when the reveal came that a new Resident Evil film was in the works. This time, however, the project would be a reboot that follows much more closely with the traditional storyline of the video games. It seems they weren't kidding either, as the new film purports to be a retelling of the original zombie outbreak, and will include longstanding characters like Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy, and Albert Wesker.
Not only that, but the film has finally gotten an official title: Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. Director Johannes Roberts confirmed the title during an interview with IGN at SXSW’s online event. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the franchise will of course know that Raccoon City is the setting of several early games in the franchise, and more or less the epicenter of the zombie outbreak that most of the story is based on.
Going even further into speculation territory, the film is being produced by Constantin Film, which is also working on a live-action Resident Evil series for Netflix, suggesting that there is the potential for crossover. Given the radical success and even more radical profits to be had with the cinematic universe model, it's not crazy to suggest that Capcom and friends might be interested in establishing some continuity ties in their various upcoming projects.
Still, all of that remains to be seen. The first priority is, and always must be, making a quality film that audiences enjoy, and hopefully, all is going well in that department. Fans will no doubt be eager to see more once the project can start putting out some advertisements, teasers, and trailers.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is scheduled to be released in theaters on September 3, 2021.
Source: IGN