The original series of Resident Evil films starring Milla Jovovich and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson were some impressively successful movies, raking in decent box office numbers in a time where video game adaptations were often risky prospects. One thing that slightly disappointed fans, however, was the fact the films rarely, if ever, took direct inspiration from the games, often choosing to supplant established Resident Evil stories and characters with their own versions of those same ideas.
An obvious example is Jovovich herself, who played a woman named Alice, a character who has never appeared in any of the games. Over the course of 6 films in this particular continuity, Alice went on many adventures that were loosely inspired by the original games and some characters from the games would pop up, like Albert Wesker or Jill Valentine. However, they were often supporting characters and rarely stuck around much longer than a film or two.
Once that series of films came to a close with Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, fans were left wondering what might be next for the film side of the franchise. As some predicted, the series wasn't going to be left alone for too long, with another Resident Evil film announced to be in the works and coming up soon. This time though, the project would be much more closely tied to the game side of the franchise, drawing direct inspiration from the first 2 games.
The first film in this reboot series will be Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, and it will star several iconic characters from the first 2 games, including Albert Wesker, played by Tom Hopper. While Wesker starts off as an ally in the first Resident Evil, he quickly goes on to become one of the franchise's most memorable recurring villains, and according to Hopper, they're hoping to drill down into the character's pre-villain days: "There's an origin element to Wesker in this, and what he maybe was before he turned into the one we see in a lot of the games."
Not only that, but the visual design and atmosphere of the film will draw heavily from the original titles, including an appearance from the first game's iconic Spencer Mansion. Hopper was even encouraged to play the games as research for the character, attempting to recreate the feeling of prowling through the mansion as unseen Resident Evil foes lurk around every corner. The sets are supposedly incredibly faithful to those games, as is the character and art design: "It is an aesthetic that, certainly when we were shooting it, that I was like, 'Man, it feels like the game.'"
That's all great news for Resident Evil fans, who will no doubt be excited to see some of those classic games recreated in live-action. Hopefully, they pull it off and really blow audiences away when the film finally releases.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is slated to release on September 3rd, 2021.
Source: Collider