The first images from the upcoming theatrical reboot of the Resident Evil franchise have been released, and they reveal that the new movie will be a very direct adaptation of the first two games in Capcom's influential survival horror series.
The images showcase several members of the S.T.A.R.S. team from the original game, including the master of unlocking Jill Valentine, the bane of boulders everywhere Chris Redfield and the duplicitous Albert Wesker. The team is shown entering the hallway of the infamous Spencer Mansion from the original game. Interestingly, the fourth S.T.A.R.S. member in the image is the unlucky Richard Aiken, rather than Barry Burton, the character who appeared in this same scene in the video games. The released images also give fans their first look at rookie cop Leon Kennedy and Chris' tough little sister, Claire, who both appear in costumes that look very accurate to the redesigned outfits worn by these characters in the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2. The images also reveal Lisa Trevor, who was introduced to the series in the 2002 Gamecube remake of the original Resident Evil.
The movie will star Arrow's Robbie Amell as Chris Redfield, Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine, Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker, Chad Rook as Richard Aiken, Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy and Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield. Not pictured but confirmed cast members include Gotham's Donal Logue, who will play Chief Irons, the unhinged head of Raccoon City's police department, and Band of Brothers' Neal McDonough, who will portray William Birkin, the scientist who helps create the viruses that are the center of the zombie outbreak. The movie will be written and directed by 47 Meters Down's Johannes Roberts.
In an interview with IGN, Roberts was quick to distance his movie from the previous live-action Resident Evil movies, which were all directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and only loosely based on the games. "This was all about returning to the games and creating a movie that was much more a horror movie than the sort of sci-fi action of the previous films," Roberts said. The director revealed that the accuracy of Leon and Claire's costumes was no accident, as he was particularly inspired by the critically acclaimed remake of the second game. Roberts said, "I was hugely influenced in particular by the remake of the second game and I really wanted to capture the atmosphere-drenched tone that it had. It was so cinematic. The previous movies were very bright and shiny whereas this movie was dark and grimy, entirely shot at night."
Roberts reiterates that his movie will be much more faithful to the video games. “We worked very closely with Capcom. Every character and creature is from the game and as such, I wanted to be as faithful as possible. I wanted to create a truly immersive feeling for the fans,” Roberts said.
The Resident Evil team at Capcom, meanwhile, is busy working on the recently announced DLC episodes for Resident Evil 8, which was released for the PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S earlier this year. Rumors also suggest that the team behind the Resident Evil 2 remake that inspired Roberts are now working on a remake of the critically acclaimed and highly influential Resident Evil 4, which was originally released for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2005.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City will be released in theaters in the United States on Nov. 24.