Resident Evil fans all over the world are rejoicing right now. Netflix has just announced that it will officially be moving forward with a live action series based on Resident Evil, Capcom’s legendary video game franchise. Constantin Films, which produced the six-film franchise based on the games, will serve as the studio behind the series.
The streamer has officially greenlit the project, which is based on the popular survival horror video game franchise, for eight hour long episodes.
News that a “Resident Evil” series was in development at Netflix was first reported early last year. Fans have been hoping for a Resident Evil Netflix series for a while now, and it’s not hard to understand why. The video game series, as well as the film franchise to some extent, has been a beloved cult staple since the first game was released in 1996.
“Resident Evil is my favorite game of all time”
Andrew Dabb will serve as writer, executive producer and show-runner. Dabb most recently served as show-runner on multiple seasons of the hit CW series “Supernatural.” Which is set to conclude this fall after 15 seasons.
“Resident Evil is my favorite game of all time,” Dabb said. “I’m incredibly excited to tell a new chapter in this amazing story. And bring the first ever ‘Resident Evil’ series to Netflix members around the world. For every type of ‘Resident Evil’ fan, including those joining us for the first time, the series will be complete with a lot of old friends. And some things (bloodthirsty, insane things) people have never seen before.”
Two Different Timelines
True to later additions of the video game series, this live-action show will be telling a brand new story set across two different timelines. Here’s how Netflix described the upcoming project in a press release.
“In the first timeline, fourteen-year-old sisters Jade and Billie Wesker are moved to New Raccoon City. A manufactured, corporate town, forced on them right as adolescence is in full swing. But the more time they spend there, the more they come to realize that the town is more than it seems and their father may be concealing dark secrets. Secrets that could destroy the world …”
“Cut to the second timeline, well over a decade into the future: there are less than fifteen million people left on Earth. And more than six billion monsters — people and animals infected with the T-virus. Jade, now thirty, struggles to survive in this New World, while the secrets from her past — about her sister, her father and herself — continue to haunt her.”
Resident Evil series might attempt to combine both aesthetics
At the moment no one has been announced in the show’s cast. According to reports, Netflix is most likely to connect the series to the movies and game. Especially considering that Dabb is a mega-fan. Most installments of the Resident Evil franchise follow different stories in the same horrific universe. In a world that’s been infected or is being infected by the T-virus, a group of people has to outlast their zombie-like foes.
The film franchise typically focuses on the bigger implications of this new reality. Always following Milla Jovovich’s Alice, the movies revolve around getting to the core of the nefarious Umbrella Corporation. While Alice kicks all sorts of zombie and monster butt.
The Capcom games, by their very nature as a survival horror game, function a bit differently. Each game usually follows a different group of survivors as they battle their way around Raccoon City. But for the most part the Resident Evil video game franchise relies on dark corners, sneaking around, and limited supplies as your character merely tries to survive the unrelenting horrors around them. Based on the brief description offered from Netflix, it seems as though the new Resident Evil series will attempt to combine both of those aesthetics.
The Dream Team
In addition to Dabb, Bronwen Hughes will direct and executive produce the first two episodes of the series. Robert Kulzer and Oliver Berben of Constantin Film will also executive produce, as will Mary Leah Sutton. Constantin Film CEO Martin Moszkowicz will produce.
The first “Resident Evil” game was released in 1996. Since then, the game and the multiple new entries in the franchise have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. In addition, the film franchise has grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide. There are also “Resident Evil” animated films, comic books, novels, and theme park attractions. Netflix has yet to announce a release date for this new series.
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