Things Are Looking Up For Netflix's Resident Evil Series
Happy days are ahead for the mega-hit franchise centered around a virus that ravages the world and transforms humanity into hellish ghouls. Netflix has ordered a chunk of eight hour-long episodes of a Resident Evil TV show, and the showrunners that the streaming platform has picked to tackle the project has fans of the series excited for what's in store.
Stepping up to the plate as the show's primary showrunner will be Andrew Dabb, who was a writer for eight seasons of Supernatural before stepping up as one of the showrunners in season 12. Also on the Resident Evil project is Bronwen Hughes of The Walking Dead, who is is slated to executive produce the series as well as direct the first two episodes. These two core members of the official creative team bring in experience that fits into the franchise's vibe perfectly. Dabb boasts that the series will feature a brand new storyline with two different timelines that stretch across a decade — before and after the spread of the deadly T-virus.
Resident Evil is based on the original game series from Capcom that has sold over 100 million copies worldwide. The original game spawned an entire genre in the form of survival horror. The franchise was then developed into a live-action movie that saw five sequels, all of which have grossed over$1 billion worldwide. A new route in the live-action realm of Resident Evil might be exactly what the series needs to reinvigorate its fanbase as well as bring new fans into the fold.
Netflix's Resident Evil will honor the old while bringing in the new
The Resident Evil movies have mostly been carried on the back of one Milla Jovovich since the first film hit theaters in 2002. It did well enough to garner a sequel. Two decades later, the franchise still has a massive fanbase that continues to consume new additions to both the video game and movie series. The new TV series will get back to brass tacks by abandoning the 'Alice' storyline we saw in the films and creating a whole new story. The core element of Resident Evil will remain in the form of the T-virus.
Dabb laid out his plans for the series in Netflix's announcement: There will be two timelines featuring sisters named Jade and Billie Wesker — a name fans certainly recognize as bearing ties to the series' long-time antagonist Albert Wesker. In one timeline, the sisters move to New Racoon City as teenagers and slowly realize that their father may be harboring some dark secrets. The other timeline will flash forward over a decade to a 30 year-old Jade Wesker navigating her way through a world filled with over six billion infected humans and animals. There has been no official casting for the series as of yet, but people have already begun creating their own cast wishlist featuring actors such as Chris Evans, David Harbough, and Michael Fassbender. No actors are officially on board with the series yet, but we can dream. The new direction has all of us hungry for more details.
Resident Evil returns to form
All of this is exciting news for fans of the series given that previous live-action versions have deviated from the original essence of the franchise. Many critics claim that the films now rely too much on action sequences and focus less on the storyline and horror element that made the series so popular. The new medium gives us all hope that the extra screen time will allow for more story development. Plus, for those of us that remember being a kid sitting in a dark room while peeking around corners, there is the promise of that familiar chill running down your spine.
Eight hours of Resident Evil is an enticing TV show premise, and the creators that Netflix has attached to the project seem like incredibly smart choices. At this point everything is still in the writing room and cast and crew are being assembled. We have a ways to go before any official date is set for the show's release, but the promise of new developments surrounding the horrific spread of the T-virus has us yearning for every detail we can find.