Resident Evil has seen versions of its story play out in video games, novels, and movies, and at one point, it could have been a TV series as well. As recently revealed by Mance Media and writer/director Shawn Lebert, a Resident Evil TV series was in development under the working title Arklay, but plans were scrapped before it could meet its planned release date in 2015.
In an attempt to sell Arklay to studios, Lebert created a short film called Dave that acted as a proof-of-concept for his Resident Evil TV series idea. Had it gone into production, Arklay would have been a show about an original character named Detective James Reinhardt, who is investigating a series of strange murders that seem to be caused by a mysterious virus. Reinhardt discovers that he himself is infected with the virus, and attempts to unravel the conspiracy behind it all in search of a cure.
As fans of the franchise may recall, the murders are what prompted the S.T.A.R.S. teams to be sent to the Arklay mountains in the first Resident Evil game. Considering this, it's likely that Arklay was meant to be a prequel to the games.
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If Arklay was actually developed and proved popular enough, it's likely that popular series characters like Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine would have eventually ended up on the show. After all, Arklay could only stick with the murder investigation angle for so long before the mansion incident and Raccoon City being overrun with zombies, so one has to imagine it would start adapting the games' stories at some point.
Unfortunately, Resident Evil fans will never know just how far Arklay would have gone, as the show never materialized beyond Lebert's short film. However, there does seem to be an appetite for a Resident Evil TV series, and considering the success of the games and films, one has to imagine that a TV series is possible down the road.
In fact, many fans reacted positively to a fake Netflix series poster that made the rounds last year, claiming a Resident Evil TV series was coming to the popular streaming service. With fans enthusiastic for a theoretical Resident Evil show and Netflix finding success with its Castlevania adaptation, a Resident Evil TV series remains a distinct possibility.
A Resident Evil TV series is not currently announced.