It looks like Capcom has some other film projects in the pipeline that fans can be excited about. Everyone at this point knows that the over-the-top and borderline B-movie trash of the Resident Evil films was rough for fans. The film franchise, helmed by Paul W.S. Anderson, made money even though a lot of people feel it was tonally all wrong. And with Anderson busy directing the Monster Hunter film, which was just moved up to December 2020 release, things could be looking up for Capcom fans.
A Resident Evil movie reboot has been confirmed, with pre-production already underway. As reported by Deadline, Constantin Film has picked up the reboot and already booked some solid talent for leading roles.
Claire Redfield will be played by Kaya Scodelario, with Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine and Robbie Amell as Chris Redfield. Albert Wesker will be taken up by Tom Hopper. Leon S. Kennedy and William Birkin will be played by Avan Jogia and Neal McDonough respectively. So it looks like the Resident Evil movie reboot could be blending story elements from the first two games together.
Image Credit: Deadline
Constantin and writer-director Johannes Roberts have teamed up to tackle the project and bring it back to its roots. The timeline is getting rewound back to the original 1998 setting of Raccoon City and the initial outbreak, effectively removing the other films from the picture entirely.
“With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and re-create 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, who also directed the B-movie horror title, 47 Meters Down and its sequel.
Fan’s reactions to this directorial choice have seemed pretty positive, with some feeling that the unique tone of the games all but requires a little bit of restrained silliness. I would say that many felt the other films both went too far into the absurd while completely removing the source material from relevance. it looks like Capcom and this film are working to correct that.
But this isn’t all Capcom has planned for 2020 and beyond. A CG series, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, is also coming to Netflix. There is of course the upcoming release of the eighth mainline game, Resident Evil Village, which will arrive in 2021.
