For quite some time now rumors have been swirling that Netflix is planning to produce a TV series based on Capcom’s survival horror video game franchise, Resident Evil. However, after a lengthy development and several months of searching for a showrunner for the Resident Evil Netflix series, the streaming giant has confirmed that the show has been green-lit and will feature eight hour-long episodes.
At the moment, specific details about casting and when the series is bound to release are still being kept under wraps, but surprisingly enough, Netflix revealed the general plot of the upcoming show, including the introduction of the Wesker twins. Of course, the revelation of the show’s plot opened a lot of questions about the series such as how faithful will it be to the games? Who are the Wesker twins? And what does their inclusion mean for the Resident Evil series in general?
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According to Netflix, Supernatural co-showrunner Andrew Dabb will be overseeing the Resident Evil series for Netflix and producer Constantin Film. Moreover, the plot of the show will be told across two timelines. The first revolves around 14-year-old sisters Jade and Billie Wesker who are moved to New Raccoon City. The streaming giant didn’t really provide any details about New Raccoon City apart that it’s a “manufactured, corporate town.” As both girls spend more time in New Raccoon City, they discovered that their father is concealing a dark secret, which could destroy the world.
On the other hand, the second timeline is set more than a decade into the future where humanity fell victim to a deadly outbreak, which reduced the Earth’s population to 15 million. The second timeline follows the story of Jade, who is now 30 years old, as she struggles to survive in a world filled with 6 billion monsters, while secrets about her sister and father continue to haunt her. At the moment, this is the only information about the show Netflix has revealed. However, this short blurb about the show’s plot is already saying a lot about what players can expect in Netflix’s adaptation of the Resident Evil series.
Based on the plot description released so far, there are three main things that tell fans what to expect in the upcoming show: New Raccoon City, the Wesker twins, and the massive global outbreak. But, it is important to remember that New Raccoon City and the massive global outbreak never occurred in the video game franchise. Additionally, although the names Jade and Billie Wesker were never mentioned in the games, it appears that their story will be somehow connected if not similar to Project W in the video game franchise.
To those unfamiliar, Project W was a eugenics project headed by Umbrella founder Oswell E. Spencer. The purpose of the project is to develop an advanced race of superhumans. The project was named after its first director, Dr. Wesker, and all eligible child candidates were renamed with this surname. Of course, veteran Resident Evil fans would know two of the most prominent Wesker children: Albert and Alex Wesker.
Analyzing the plot summary carefully, it is obvious that out of the three main things it revealed about the upcoming show, the Wesker twins storyline is the only one that can be directly connected to the main plot of the Resident Evil games. Although Netflix’s blurb did not specifically mention the existence of Project W in the TV adaptation, it is probably the secret that Jade and Billie Wesker’s father has been keeping from them. Nonetheless, one thing that the Wesker twins made clear is that the Resident Evil Netflix series will not be a scene by scene adaptation of the video game franchise and will probably serve as an alternate or supplementary timeline to the longstanding survival horror franchise.
The Resident Evil series is currently in development for Netflix.
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