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Resident Evil origin story movie, Capcom Sony Pictures Johannes Roberts Raccoon City

Resident Evil Getting ‘Faithful’ Origin Story Movie Set in 1998 Raccoon City

This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

Resident Evil is getting a movie reboot that will focus on an origin story with “faithful ties to Capcom’s classic survival horror games,” via Deadline. It is a Constantin Film production from writer-director Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) with a story that begins in 1998 during the night Raccoon City falls.

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The Resident Evil movie reboot will feature fan-favorite characters from throughout the early entries of the game series: Kaya Scodelario (Maze Runner) is Claire Redfield, Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp) is Jill Valentine, Robbie Amell (Upload) is Chris Redfield, Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy) is Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap) is Leon S. Kennedy, and Neal McDonough (Yellowstone) is William Birkin.

Resident Evil franchise producer Robert Kulzer will continue with this film alongside James Harris of Tea Shop Productions and Hartley Gorenstein. Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz and Davis Film’s Victor Hadida will serve as executive producers, with Constantin Film’s Alex Westmore and Colin Scully also overseeing the film.

Other than the knowledge that the Capcom movie adaptation will be a faithful origin story set during the Raccoon City incident, it is unclear exactly how similar the film’s story will be to its Resident Evil video game counterparts. However, Roberts spoke on what direction he hopes to take the film:

With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and re-create the terrifying visceral experience I had when I first played them whilst at the same time telling a grounded human story about a small dying American town that feels both relatable and relevant to today’s audiences.

The previous Resident Evil movie series that starred Milla Jovovich concluded with Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in 2017. The films were known for pulling in large audiences despite little connection to Capcom’s original video games.

Capcom’s survival horror series is also getting a live-action spinoff show on Netflix, as well as a CGI series on Netflix called Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. Additionally, the eighth mainline installment in the game series is on the way with Resident Evil Village, which is set to come sometime next year.


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Michael Cripe
Michael joined The Escapist team in 2019 but has been covering games, movies, TV, and music since 2015. When he’s not writing, Michael is probably playing Super Mario Sunshine, Dead Space, The Binding of Isaac, or Doom Eternal. You can follow his news coverage and reviews at The Escapist, but his work has appeared on other sites like OnlySP, Gameranx, and Kansas City’s The Pitch, too. If you’d like to connect and talk about the latest pop-culture news, you can follow Michael on Twitter (@MikeCripe), Instagram (mike_cripe), or LinkedIn if that’s your thing.