Though the games are still considered great among the survival horror genre, the Resident Evil films have rarely, if ever, been considered anything approaching good. Their balls-to-the-wall action is usually at the expense of the faintest whiff of a story, not to mention that many of them outright ignore the games. However, this wasn't always going to be the case. The Capcom series was originally going to be brought to life by the King of Zombie Film himself -- George A. Romero.
George Romero was initially tapped to write the first Resident Evil movie, and the resulting script was much closer to the games than what audiences got. This could have changed the path for both the series and video game adaptations in general, not to mention put some extra prestige onto the franchise's name. Here's how the Man of The Living Dead would've handled Resident Evil.
What George Romero's Unmade Resident Evil Movie Looked Like
George Romero is most known for his Living Dead movies, which jumpstarted what most see as the modern zombie movie. This saw him eventually come to direct the live-action commercial for Resident Evil 2, the follow-up to Capcom's popular PlayStation zombie game. Given this undead pedigree, it made sense that producer Robert Kulzer would tap Romero to write and direct the live-action feature film adaptation of the series.
Though he felt that Executive Producer Bernd Eichinger wanted something less like a video game adaptation, this draft of the movie's script was actually very close to the first Resident Evil story. It involves a task force called S.T.A.R.S., which includes Jill Valentine, taking on the zombified hordes created from a deadly virus at Spencer Mansion. Other characters, many of whom match their characterizations from the game, include Chris Redfield, Albert Wesker and Ada Wong.
Romero's script was much more of a typical survival horror/zombie kind of story, which made sense given his involvement and the first several games in the series being that way. This likely would have also resulted in a much different and better path for the movies, but it wasn't to be, unfortunately.
Why George Romero's Resident Evil Script Didn't Make the Cut
The development period of the first Resident Evil movie came at a time when Romero hadn't been involved with too many projects that actually came to fruition. Romero didn't actually play either of the Capcom games, but he had watched an assistant play through them to get a general idea. This made him definitely want to be involved with the movie since he saw how much the games took from his Living Dead movies.
Sadly, Capcom producer Yoshiki Okamoto wasn't happy with what the legendary director delivered. Finding his script to be unsatisfactory, Capcom let Romero go, eventually producing the Paul W. S. Anderson version of the movie.
How George Romero Could Have Taken Resident Evil in a Different Direction
As mentioned, George Romero's script for Resident Evil, in being closer to the slower events of the first game, was vastly different from what would eventually be put on screen. This more horror-based tone would have truly brought the survival horror series to life on the big screen, along with some of its most gruesome monsters. Zombified mutant animals and other foes from the games showed up, ramping up the terror.
The actual 2002 film was much more action-oriented, completely doing away with any concept of true fright and taking down zombies in a bombastic shoot 'em up fashion. It would also play incredibly fast and loose with the games' canon, with a few character names being the only thing in common between them. Clearly inspired by the style and tone of The Matrix, these movies were incredibly questionable as adaptations. None of these films have truly captured what legions of gamers have come to love about the Resident Evil games, and with George Romero, of all people, having been fired from the project decades ago, it'll likely never happen.