Zombie fiction is back – and who better to lead the shambling, rotting charge than venerable sci-fi horror franchise Resident Evil? Spanning 26 years, 14 consoles, and 7 movies – some more well-received than others – Resident Evil’s gritty, action-heavy campiness has earned it a devoted following and a solid place in video game legend. Now, Netflix is trying its hand at a live-action Resident Evil adaptation, and the result looks to be going to some interesting places.
For the uninitiated, the plot of the first few mainline games takes place in and around a fictionalized Midwestern town called Raccoon City, which is the site of multiple nefarious biological experiments conducted by the sinister biomedical group Umbrella Corporation. Most notable among their innovations is the T-virus, a mutagenic agent that is responsible for all the zombies and other monsters running around menacing the protagonists. Some of these protagonists hail from S.T.A.R.S., a special operations force attached to the Raccoon City Police Department; others are civilians who are dragged into the proceedings by forces outside their control, which is an appropriate theme for a survival horror game. Astute viewers will want to keep an eye out for these themes and concepts when Resident Evil releases.
The trailer opens on hell: a flyover through what was once a city and is now a wasteland crawling with the maddened undead and the embattled survivors fighting desperately to escape them. In a voiceover, we hear an adult Jade explain that while “they said the world ended in 2036,” the actual end of the world took place much earlier. The scene then cuts to a clean, bright city surrounded by greenery. A sign greets the lone car approaching it: “Welcome to New Raccoon City.”
A new voiceover takes over: as a younger Jade and her sister Billie explore their new home, a calm woman’s voice extols Umbrella Corporation, “a company besieged by scandal” that is “now trying to reinvent itself.” There is a creepy, Stepford-like air to both the voice’s delivery and the shots of the city: too clean, calm, and perfect to be quite real. The effect is only heightened when we get a glimpse of the speaker: presumably a representative of the Umbrella Corporation of some kind, she smiles blandly as she says, “The things we’re working on today – they’re gonna change the world.”
Billie holds what looks to be an odd caterpillar up to the camera, observing it as it crawls across her hand. Then, everything abruptly changes: the pavement cracks, red dirt explodes upward, and we see Jade running from her life from a huge, monstrous worm. This is the beginning of the end of the world adult Jade spoke about. “We have a problem,” says their father Albert as we see a lab rat cracking the glass of its cage; then we cut to him as he explains soberly, “The drug contains a T-virus. The T-virus can make monsters,” he elaborates, and we see some of those monsters as he speaks: shambling undead humans, a vicious undead dog. Billie appears menaced by something, and in the next shot she appears dead or unconscious; we see young Jade screaming in anguish. More disturbing imagery flashes past: of Billie, other survivors, and various monsters, until we see adult Jade again, covered in blood. She hisses an expletive, stands up, and proceeds to wreck shop with a chainsaw. The next few scenes show Jade and other people fighting back against the zombified hordes, intercut with the series tagline: “Evil Has Evolved.”
When And Where Will Resident Evil Be Released?
Resident Evil will be released on July 14, 2022, exclusively on Netflix. No word yet as to any plans for a physical release – that may depend on audience reception to the new series.
What Is the Plot of Resident Evil?
The story will take place in two different years. In 2022, sisters Billie and Jade Wesker are moving to New Raccoon City with their father, Albert, a biotechnologist of some sort. Though their new home seems idyllic, it soon proves to be a nightmare when Umbrella Corporation, responsible for a mass outbreak of T-virus zombies over 20 years ago, releases a new anti-anxiety drug called Joy that happens to contain that same virus. Predictably, an outbreak happens, and in the chaos, something unspecified but horrifying happens to Billie. Jade escapes with her life, but without her sister.
In London in 2036, we catch up with Jade, one of only 15 million humans left alive in a world all but destroyed by the zombie apocalypse. What her goals are outside ‘survive’ will depend on exactly what happened to Billie, as well as what happened to her father, Albert Wesker, who helped engineer this crisis and whose fate is so far unknown.
Who Are the Creators of Resident Evil?
The first two episodes will be directed by series executive producer Bronwen Hughes, known for her work on fellow live-action zombie series The Walking Dead as well as Better Call Saul. The center of the project, however, is writer Andrew Dabb, previously known for his work on Supernatural.
Who Is In the Cast of Resident Evil?
Taking on the role of series antagonist Albert Wesker is Lance Reddick, previously known for his role as the enigmatic Charon in the John Wick series of films. He’s also appeared in White House Down as well as lending his vocal talents to the video game Horizon: Forbidden West, so he’s no stranger to action or gaming. He’s joined by Ella Balinska as Jade Wesker (Run Sweetheart Run, Charlie’s Angels), and Siena Agudong as Billie Wesker (No Good Nick, Upside Down Magic).
They’re joined by Tamara Smart (Are You Afraid of the Dark?), Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Paola Nuñez (Bad Boys for Life), Ahad Raza Mir, Connor Gosatti, and Turlough Convery (Belfast).
How Is Resident Evil Connected To The Game Franchise?
According to Andrew Dabb, the story told in the mainline Resident Evil games is canon to this new series. Specifically, the 2022 portion of the story apparently takes place at roughly the same time as the most recent game, 2021’s Resident Evil Village. Fans of the series may find this odd, as Albert Wesker in the game series is canonically dead. As Dabb told EW in an interview,
“I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say the explanation for why Wesker is the way that he is and how he is still alive go hand in hand.”
Between this and the Raccoon City callback – the original Raccoon City was destroyed by a nuclear warhead in 1998, in the government’s hamfisted attempt to end the T-virus outbreak once and for all – it’s clear that there’s a lot of history that has yet to be revealed. However, if you’re new to this franchise, don’t be intimidated – Dabb’s taken pains to make sure his take on Resident Evil can be enjoyed by everybody, from newbies to seasoned veterans.
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