It won’t be long before the darkened alleys of Raccoon City, and all the undead creatures waiting in their shadows, come back to life on the big screen. 2021 marks the reboot of the Resident Evil movie franchise, and there’s a lot of hype surrounding Robbie Amell and the rest of the cast present to make it all happen. Of course, with hype comes questions, and we’ve got seven that could use some answering when it comes to this new era of the Umbrella Corporation’s checkered history. Get ready, as we’re about to ask, and try to answer, seven questions we still have about the Resident Evil reboot.
When Will We See A Resident Evil Trailer?
We already know that Resident Evil is headed to theaters on September 3, 2021; which is a little earlier than we had previously expected to see it. Provided that the release date for the film doesn’t get shifted in any way, shape, or form between now and then, our first real question is when we should expect to see the first footage from Resident Evil’s brand new reboot? In the realm of best guesses, one could assume that we’ll get a trailer at some point in the summer, most likely in the June/July window. We’ll still cross our fingers for a teaser in the more near future, as fans are waiting to see what this new movie will look like.
What Will Resident Evil Be Rated?
It’s widely assumed that Resident Evil is going to score an R-rating. The previous iteration of the franchise was a solely R-rated enterprise, and zombies tend to leave a lot of blood and entrails in their wake. While it doesn’t sound like this new cinematic reboot would be slapped with a PG-13 rating, one can never truly tell until it’s time to get that certification lined up. It still feels like Resident Evil will remain in the R-rated bracket, but we’ll keep that hope with a cautious optimism.
Just How Close To The Games Will The New Resident Evil Movie Be?
We know that Resident Evil is going to, at the very least, rope in Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2’s stories. Set in 1998, there’s a wonderful potential for nostalgic goodies from the original and remake versions of those games to crop up, as well as a general story that incorporates plot points from both sides of the remake spectrum. However, there’s quite a bit of gymnastics that’ll need to be incorporated, as those first two Capcom games take place weeks apart in the same late ‘90s setting. So just how close to the games will Resident Evil’s new movie be; and which interpretation will act as the ultimate bible to this new incarnation? If we were to put money on it, the remakes will probably be the bedrock canon for this movie, with some extra room for new surprises to throw the gaming population for a loop.
Will We See Any New Resident Evil Creatures Created For The Movie?
Creating a film adaptation of a series like Resident Evil means there’s going to be a laundry list of monsters you need to include/slightly reinvent for a new approach. Lickers, Mr. X, and of course, Nemesis are pretty much shoo-ins to be included in this cinematic retelling of the first two installments, with Mr. X potentially being a key addition from the series canon. But on top of the monsters we do know, will there be any chance of us seeing a new Resident Evil creature created just for the movie?
Beasts of all shapes, sizes, and abilities have appeared in the previous stretch of films, but as director Johannes Roberts is trying to hew closer to the Capcom productions that inspired the film franchise in the first place, we might only get slight revisions on old friends. Since a long standing beef between Resident Evil fans and the film adaptations was their lack of adapting the canon of the games, we might see more of a focus of bringing to life the creations we haven’t seen come to life in the films, rather than toy around with some new creations right out the gate.
How Will Resident Evil’s Movie Differ From The Animated Series?
On top of the Resident Evil reboot heading to theaters, there’s also a couple of other projects that are set to take the story of Capcom’s iconic gaming franchise to the masses. Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is also going to tell a new story pertaining to Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy, and their adventures involving horrific creations threatening the security of the world. The big difference is that it’s going to be a CGI animated series that runs on Netflix, but just how much different are these two projects going to be overall? Just like Sony had the Resident Evil franchise going through separate lines of live-action and CGI movies, it looks like that tradition will continue into this new age of storytelling in Raccoon City and beyond.
Might Resident Evil Tie Into The Live-Action Netflix Series?
Another question that Sony and Netflix could stand to answer is just how the Resident Evil live-action series on Netflix may connect to these new films in the same medium. As this new show is supposed to follow Dr. Albert Wesker’s two daughters in both the pre and post apocalyptic world that lingers in the fallout of the Umbrella Corporation’s malfeasance, there’s a lot of room for the Resident Evil movies to fit right into the story of both of those eras. It’s not confirmed just yet, but as Capcom is undoubtedly connected to the production of all things Resident Evil, there’s a chance that these live-action projects could connect into a larger story.
Could A Larger Resident Evil Cinematic Universe Ever Happen?
With the Resident Evil reboot looking to connect the stories of the first two games in the video game series, and with the potential for the third game to connect as well, a lot of the characters that make Resident Evil’s universe so awesome might be present in the same place, around the same time. But if you follow the rest of the games from Resident Evil 4 on, the characters go in separate directions, and they make even more new friends to take along for the ride. That leaves us with the largest question we have, at this current moment, for the Resident Evil reboot: could we be getting a cinematic universe out of this franchise?
Obviously, there’s plenty of sequel potential for Resident Evil, but as you can see, there’s not just one path to progress for the 25 year old game series. Depending on whether or not there’s potential for the live-action films and TV series can connect to each other in the long run, the answer to that question could yield anything from multiple TV series spanning through various stories to a film franchise that could see spin-off films following the main characters in the saga. But the success of this first bold step into Resident Evil history is going to be the determining factor that tells us whether this corpse is about to rise for another life, and September 3, 2021 is when that particular start button will be pressed, with the world staring at the screen in front of them to see the results.
