Netflix is bringing a whole new fantasy web series to its streaming service. This time it is the Resident Evil franchise.
Resident Evil franchise
The popular franchise based on the best selling game of the same name has sold more than a 100 million video games and made $1.2 billion worldwide from its six movies. The property has been consistently popular since its emergence in 1996 by Capcorn and has gone on to become comics and theme parks. With Netflix, it can now level up and be another exciting addition to the streaming service’s catalog.
Live-action #ResidentEvil series is officially underway at Netflix 🧟
(via @NXOnNetflix) pic.twitter.com/h7LMze6qeN
— Fandom (@getFANDOM) August 27, 2020
Netflix has become fertile ground for video game properties to receive the treatment they deserve in live action ever since Witcher’s bombastic reception. The Henry Cavill led show was also based on video games and books and received much fanfare. Now, Netflix is hoping for a similar turn of events for Resident Evil.
Netflix's #ResidentEvil series tells a story across 2 timelines:
1️⃣ Wesker sisters move to New Raccoon City, discover world-destroying secrets
2️⃣ Over a decade later, one of the sisters has to survive a new world where less than 15M people are left on Earth, with 6B monsters pic.twitter.com/IeZyfjUpZV
— Fandom (@getFANDOM) August 27, 2020
The official logline
The Netflix series will tell its new story across two timelines. In the first, 14-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. The second, more than a decade into the future sees less than 15 million people left on Earth.
And more than 6 billion monsters — people and animals infected with the T-virus. Jade, now 30, 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’s New Netflix World
Resident Evil started out in Japan as ‘BioHazard’ popularizing survival games by mixing it with classic horror zombie fun. The main storyline of the games and films primarily concerns a group of individuals who battle against the Umbrella Cooperation as well as characters in relation to them who have developed the T-virus which, among other things, can transform humans into zombies well as mutate other creatures into terrifying monsters.
The show will be produced by Constantin Films which has financed all of the Resident Evil films and has tapped Supernatural showrunner Andrew Dabb to spearhead the series.
“Resident Evil is my favorite game of all time,” said Dabb, who will serve as showrunner. “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”.
A few video game live-action shows in development
🧟♂️ Resident Evil
🎒 The Last of Us
☢️ Fallout
☄️ Halo
⚔️ Final Fantasy
🤡 Twisted Metal
🪖 Brothers in Arms pic.twitter.com/T1eADTTvQx— Fandom (@getFANDOM) August 27, 2020
While this indicates that characters from the games will likely appear on screen, there is no word on if Milla Jovovich who starred in six films of the franchise will reprise her role in the series at any point. Given the prestige of Netflix, the studio may try to depart from the films as they were often called out for being edgy B movies.
There have also been talks for a rebooted Resident Evil film and with the Netflix show a go, it might just end up as an interconnected film from the series universe on the streaming service.