Hot on the heels of the new Resident Evil CG series being announced, Capcom has announced a rebooted live-action Resident Evil movie.
The new film (via Deadline) is being handled by Constantin Film, and is focusing on an origin story adaptation, with “faithful ties” to Capcom’s classic and iconic zombie-horror franchise. Constantin and writer-director Johannes Roberts note the movie is focused on that fateful 1998 night, in Raccoon City.
Star actors have already been chosen, including: Maze Runner‘s Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield alongside Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Jill Valentine, Robbie Amell (Upload) as Chris Redfield, Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy) as Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap) as Leon S. Kennedy, and Neal McDonough (Yellowstone) as William Birkin.
Paul W.S. Anderson wrote and directed the original six live-action films, which starred Milla Jovovich and were loosely based on the video games. This could be a return to what fans have been wanting – a live-action movie focused on truly recreating the games and their iconic stories and characters.
“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,” Roberts said. Franchise producer Robert Kulzer also talked up the reboot:
“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,” Kulzer said.
Sony Pictures’ Screen Gems is handling domestic distribution of the movie, Constantin is handling German-speaking regions, Elevation is distributing in Canada, Metropolitan in France, and Sony Pictures Releasing International is handling the bulk of the other regions.