Fourteen years is a long time for anything in life, but doubly so for a franchise of films based off of a wildly popular video game. Much like the games it loosely borrows its name and story from, the Resident Evil movies have fallen upon hard times, with their box office power declining after the fourth entry, Resident Evil: Afterlife. So much like Saw before it, the folks behind the zombie saga's production have decided to pull the plug with Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, and it looks like we finally have info on when this final outing will get off the launchpad.
Through a recent post on her official Facebook page, Milla Jovovich mused about getting ready to give birth to her second child with husband/writer-director of the Resident Evil franchise, Paul W.S. Anderson. Thankfully, part of that message contained the following kernel of information as to when Resident Evil: The Final Chapter would be in front of cameras.
I'm really proud of myself for not gaining the same amount of weight that I did with our first child (75 lbs.) because I have to be ready to start filming Resident Evil- The Final Chapter in August of this year and I will also be nursing an infant simultaneously (get ready wardrobe department for Alice's new 'easy mama access' costume;)) so I don't want to be on any extreme diets to get ready to go back to 'action hero' mode!
So instead of seeing a new Resident Evil film in the usual "every two or three years, tops" release slot this September, Paul W.S. Anderson and crew will be creating the final entry for all who still show up to the theaters to see a healthy cleansing of the Earth's zombie hordes. The last-minute delay of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter actually made franchise history, as it puts the final film at about a four year delay, with the previous entry, Resident Evil: Retribution, being released in 2012. Considering how much of a nosedive the films took once Anderson stepped back into the picture on 2010's Resident Evil: Afterlife, one would ambitiously think that this longer delay could mean more time to get it right. But as any Resident Evil fan could tell you, Anderson's eight year absence brought him in the completely opposite direction.
Right now, the final installment is looking at a September 2016 release date. With next March marking the 20th anniversary of the first Resident Evil being released on the Playstation, it'd be quite the marketing success if Paul W.S. Anderson could have a trailer for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter completed and ready for release. Considering that Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice is being released around the exact date of the anniversary, you'd have nostalgia and box office clout backing the last entry in Milla Jovovich's zombie killing spree. It's truly the end of an era with Resident Evil's films coming to an end next year. If you're saddened by this turn of events, take comfort in this fact: the original game was remade, so who's to say the movies can't be?
