Constantin Film announced it is in pre-production on a reboot of the Resident Evil film franchise that will serve as an origin story. Maze Runner star Kaya Scodelario has already joined the cast alongside Ant-Man and the Wasp star Hannah John-Kamen and Robbie Amell of Arrow fame.
Based on the classic survival horror video games by Capcom, the Resident Evil reboot will be set in 1998 on a fateful night in Raccoon City, where the deadly T-virus developed by the Umbrella Corporation begins to spread and transforms victims into zombies. Scodelario and Amell will respectively portray siblings Claire and Chris Redfield while John-Kamen takes on the role of Jill Valentine. Joining the trio are Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy, and Neal McDonough as William Birkin.
The Resident Evil reboot is scheduled for a theatrical release in 2021 with 47 Meters Down director Johannes Roberts signed on to helm and write the screenplay, which will be based primarily on the first two installments of the video game franchise. "With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and recreate 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. Constantin Film producer Robert Kulzer added, "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."
The feature film reboot is just one of the Resident Evil projects coming down the line. Netflix is the process of developing a live-action series based on the games and recently unveiled the first preview for the animated series titled Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness.
While the prospect of rebooting the Resident Evil film series may be exciting to some, others may be upset to see the Constantin Film move forward with a new adaptation instead of continuing the run of films starring Milla Jovovich. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the previous six Resident Evil films have collectively scored $1.2 billion worldwide, making them one of the most successful series of video game adaptations.
Resident Evil will be released in theaters in 2021.
Source: Constantin Film