It’s only been four years since the original Resident Evil film series starring Milla Jovovich concluded, but this property is already getting the cinematic reboot treatment. Actors like Robbie Amell and Kaya Scodelario have been assembled for a new big screen take on the Resident Evil video game franchise, and it’s been announced that the new movie is arriving a little earlier than expected.
In late 2020, it was reported that the Resident Evil reboot would arrive in theaters on September 9, 2021, but as of today, Sony Pictures will release it on September 3, i.e. nearly a full week earlier. Right now, Resident Evil’s only Labor Day opening weekend competition is Jackass 4 from Paramount Pictures, although the prior weekend sees the release of Universal’s Candyman, while later September releases include A Quiet Place Part II, Death on the Nile, The Man from Toronto and The Many Saints of Newark.
No specific plot details for the Resident Evil reboot have been revealed yet aside from the fact that it will chronicle the origin story of the Resident Evil world in 1998 Raccoon City. Preproduction on the movie began in early 2017, when Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was still playing in theaters. Following the departure of Mortal Kombat’s Greg Russo, Johannes Roberts of 47 Meters Down fame was tapped to direct and write a new version of the screenplay, and he later said that he was interested in re-exploring the events of the first two Resident Evil games. Interestingly enough, if Sony had moved Resident Evil to September 29, that would have been the same day that Resident Evil 2’s 1998 narrative took place, which would have been a fun connection.
As mentioned earlier, Upload’s Robbie Amell and Crawl’s Kaya Scodelario are among the Resident Evil reboot’s starring actors, with the actors playing brother/sister duo Chris and Claire Redfield. The cast also includes Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine, Alan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy, Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker, Lily Gao as Ada Wong, Neal McDonough as William Birkin, Donal Logue as Chief Brian Irons, Chad Rook as Richard Aiken and Marina Mazepa as Lisa Trevor. Principal photography began in Ontario, Canada On October 17, 2020 and concluded on December 24.
Right now, it’s unclear if the Resident Evil reboot is intended to launch a new film series or be a one-and-done affair, although given how popular the video game franchise still is after 25 years and Hollywood’s fondness for sequels, the former seems likely. There’s certainly enough mythology to warrant delivering a trilogy, if not expanding into a full-blown cinematic universe. It’s possible, though, that Sony is waiting to see how this first movie performs before deciding if it’s worth it keeping this particular continuity going.
Of course, this isn’t the only live-action Resident Evil project on the way. An eight-episode TV series is in development at Netflix that takes place across two timelines: the first follows sisters Jade and Billie Wesker moving to New Raccoon City and learning about their father’s dark secrets, and the second takes place over a decade into the future, with Jade an adult and living in a world where the majority of humanity and animals have been infected by the T-virus. Netflix also has an anime series in the works called Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness that stars Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield as its main characters, and it’s slated to premiere sometime in 2021.
So now that you’ve learned that the wait isn’t quite as long for the Resident Evil reboot, feel free to look through our 2021 release schedule to learn what other movies are coming out late this year. And once more concrete info concerting Resident Evil is revealed, we’ll be sure to let you know.
