Live-Action Resident Evil Netflix Series - What We Know So Far
The "Resident Evil" video game franchise debuted its first game way back in 1996, and since then, it's spawned more than 20 sequels and remakes, as well as six films. But even though the series is almost 25 years old, it hasn't even begun to run out of steam. There are currently many active "Resident Evil" projects offering enough zombie-related mayhem to keep fans happy indefinitely.
Among the current and upcoming "Resident Evil" projects, there's "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City," a live-action remake of the classic 2002 film "Resident Evil," which was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starred Milla Jovovich. Then there's "Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness," a CGI animated series from Netflix that will follow fan-favorite characters Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. And of course, there's the recently released video game remake, "Resident Evil Village," which is responsible for all those memes about an ultra-tall Romanian countess.
If that wasn't enough content, Netflix is also currently working on a live-action "Resident Evil" TV series. News of the series first surfaced back in February 2020 — via Polygon and Resident Evil Wiki on Twitter. Since then, several plot and casting details have been made available. Here's everything we know about Netflix's new "Resident Evil" series — the live-action one, that is.
What is the release date for Netflix's Resident Evil series?
Netflix hasn't yet announced a release date for its live-action "Resident Evil" series. But since the show is already in production, and since there are so many other upcoming "Resident Evil" project release dates, it's possible to make an educated guess. The first project that will debut is the CGI anime series, "Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness," which premieres on July 8, 2021, via Netflix on YouTube. That will be followed by the movie remake, "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City," which is currently scheduled for release on November 24, 2021, according to Variety.
Unless Netflix makes a highly unusual move and tries to fit the live-action series in between those two releases, it's most likely that the "Resident Evil" TV show will debut after the film, probably sometime in the first half of 2022. When it does, it will include eight-hour-long episodes.
Who's in the cast of Netflix's Resident Evil series?
On July 11, 2021, Netflix revealed during Netflix Geeked (via Twitter) that six actors had been added to the cast of the "Resident Evil" live-action TV series. Lance Reddick will be playing Albert Wesker. Reddick is a longtime TV actor who's most well-known for shows like "The Wire" and "Fringe," as well as the "John Wick" films and "Castlevania," another Netflix series based on a popular video game franchise. Wesker is a character from the video games, although the upcoming TV series version will be at least somewhat different, as discussed below.
The rest of the cast include Ella Balinska ("Charlie's Angels," Run Sweetheart Run"), Tamara Smart ("Are You Afraid of the Dark?," "A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting"), Siena Agudong ("F9: The Fast Saga," "Upside Down Magic"), Adeline Rudolph ("Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," "Riverdale"), and Paola Nunez ("Bad Boyz for Life," "The Purge" TV series). Their characters weren't specified.
What is the plot of Netflix's Resident Evil series?
The Deadline report also included a plot summary of the live-action "Resident Evil" TV series. According to Netflix, the series will take place across two different timelines, before and after the outbreak of the deadly T-Virus that turns people into zombies. The first timeline will follow Albert Wesker's two 14-year-old daughters Billie and Jade, who move to New Raccoon City, a town full of dark secrets that they begin to suspect their father is involved with. The second timeline follows a 30-year-old Jade as she fights to survive in a world overrun by zombies, with fewer than 15 million humans surviving worldwide.
The series will apparently be a retelling of events from the "Resident Evil" canon since Billie and Jade are both brand new characters to the franchise. They were born in 2008, but canonically, the T-Virus outbreak happened in 2002. As for Albert Wesker, in the video games, he's the captain of the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team, the elite law enforcement unit that responds to the T-Virus crisis. He then goes on to become an executive at the Umbrella corporation. In the TV series, he appears to be a researcher at Umbrella who doesn't survive in the second timeline.