Beloved as Sony’s original Resident Evil cinematic franchise was, it always made a concerted effort to steer clear of certain narrative elements and character details from Capcom’s video games of the same name. From the sounds of things, that’s all about to change in the studio’s upcoming Resident Evil reboot.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Screen Gems and Constantin Film have cast essentially every major role in Resident Evil, an origin film set in 1998 that tells the story of how a group of people’s lives are forever changed one day while they’re all in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation conducts its business.
Kaya Scodelario (Skins, The Maze Runner) is set to portray Claire Redfield, who ends up becoming caught in the movie’s nightmarish plot while visiting her brother Chris, played by The Flash’s Robbie Amell. Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and The Wasp) will play Special Tactics and Rescue Services agent Jill Valentine, who’s bound to cross paths with Tom Hopper’s (Umbrella Academy) character Albert Wesker, a shady Umbrella researcher whose work on the T-virus subsequently leads to the zombie apocalypse Resident Evil’s known for.
[referenced id=”1324574″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/08/netflixs-live-action-resident-evil-show-heads-to-a-new-raccoon-city/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/28/vhayxv47dgosxnoqf2ox-300×169.png” title=”Netflix’s Live-Action Resident Evil Show Heads to a New Raccoon City” excerpt=”It’s time to return to (New) Raccoon City for a whole new generation of zombies, pandemics, and gross corporate malfeasance. Netflix has confirmed that it’s making a live-action Resident Evil show to tell a new original story, one with a surprising connection to the video games.”]
Now Apocalypse’s Avan Jogia rounds out Resident Evil’s cast as federal agent Leon S. Kennedy, along with Arrow’s Neal McDonough who will play William Birkin, an Umbrella employee who goes through…an evolution of sorts, as you’ll recall if you’ve played Resident Evil 2. In a public statement about the film, director Johannes Roberts was insistent that the reboot will stick much closer to the tone and style of the original two games, while also “telling a grounded human story about a small dying American town that feel both relatable and relevant to today’s audiences.”
Resident Evil might not exactly be the property that comes to mind when you think of stories that speak to the realities of small-town America, but then again, Umbrella is a megacorporation that’s absolutely hellbent on screwing the entire world over in its single minded pursuit of profit. With that in mind, Resident Evil might end up being the movie of the generation when it ends up in theatres at some point in the future.
[referenced id=”1043008″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2017/05/report-resident-evilis-getting-a-six-movie-reboot/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/22/z6a3vncfhpf8hcuqi76g-300×169.jpg” title=”Report: Resident Evil Is Getting A Six-Movie Reboot” excerpt=”Image: Screen Gems The Resident Evil movie franchise may have recently come out with The Final Chapter, but the curtain’s not drawn on this series just yet. Variety is reporting that there are plans to make a six-movie reboot of the video game film series.”]