It’s time to go back to Racoon City. Again. This time in a new movie rebooting the Resident Evil series’ on-screen universe.
Constantin Film, which made the existing Resident Evil movies, will work with writer-director Johannes Roberts to produce a film adaptation of the horror gaming franchise’s origin story, Deadline reported today. Maze Runner’s Kaya Scodelario will play Claire Redfield, Ant-Man’s Hannah John-Kamen will play Jill Valentine, Upload’s Robbie Amell will play Chris Redfield, and Zombieland: Double Tap’s Avan Jogia will play Leon Kennedy. The project also reportedly has Neal McDonough of Yellowstone cast as William Birkin and Tom Hopper of The Umbrella Academy as Albert Wesker.
“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, whose most notable credits include 47 Meters Down and its sequel, told Deadline.
This apparent reboot isn’t to be confused with the live-action Resident Evil Netflix series that’s also currently in production, or the CGI series that’s also coming to the streaming platform and was recently showed-off in a new trailer at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. Of course there’s also a new numbered Resident Evil game coming next year called Resident Evil Village, in addition to the recent remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3. Truly one of the definitive zombie franchises of our time.