Production on the fifth entry in the video game-turned-movie franchise - Resident Evil: Retribution - is underway in Canada, with Paul W.S. Anderson once again handling both writing and directorial duties.

Anderson's wife and the leading lady of the Resident Evil series, Milla Jovovich, has been keen to keep fans updated on the status of the latest entry in the zombpocalyptic franchise. She previously revealed the title and setting of Alice's next battle against the diabolical Umbrella Corporation - and spent a chunk of this past weekend dropping additional bits of information about the film.

Jill Valentine (who will be played by Sienna Guillory) looks to become one of the primary antagonists in Retribution. The film will also mark the screen debut of several fan-favorite characters from both the Resident Evil video game and CGI movie universes - in keeping with (according to Jovovich) Anderson's self-proclaimed plans to incorporate fan-feedback into the storyline of the fifth Resident Evil flick.

New additions to the live-action Resident Evil film franchise include former Raccoon City cop Leon Scott Kennedy - who will reportedly not be played by Jensen Ackles, despite fans' wishes - as well as S.T.A.R.S. weapons specialist Barry Burton and "Organization" agent Ada Wong. Expect to learn about which actors and actresses will be portraying said characters, in the near future.

Jovovich has also either revealed or confirmed the following tidbits of plot information (via her Twitter account):

  • The plot of Retribution sees K-Mart (Spencer Locke) - along with Claire (Ali Larter) and Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller) - kidnapped by the Umbrella Corporation.
  • Shawn Roberts will reprise his role as Albert Wesker from Resident Evil: Afterlife, while Colin Salmon is set to portray James "One" Shade for the first time since the 2002 Resident Evil movie.
  • Retribution will feature Las Plagas parasites and promises to be the most action-packed of the series yet - seeing how it will also include a highly-complex chase sequence and a showdown between Alice and Jill, among other (hopefully) thrilling set pieces.
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The Resident Evil movies have done all right by themselves as far as box office returns go, but fans have generally had mixed feelings about the franchise. Case in point: the first installment was fairly well-received by RE converts, but its conclusion deviated significantly from the video game source material - and set the stage for two sequels (Extinction and Apocalypse) that lacked the cohesive narrative design of the original film.

Afterlife was largely considered an improvement - if still not quite an outright successful zombie action flick - in comparison to its immediate predecessors. That uptick in quality, coupled with higher 3D ticket prices, helped the film bring in nearly $300 million around the globe last year and become the most financially successful installment yet.

Retribution isn't going to win over anyone who wasn't already a fan of the Resident Evil series - or convince those who dislike Anderson's hyper-stylized brand of action filmmaking to change their minds (especially since the film will be shot in 3D, like Afterlife). However, it does look to offer much more of what longtime converts to the series have been wanting: additional beloved characters and a storyline that (to a degree) more closely resembles that in the original games.

It may have taken five movies to get there - but better late than never, right?

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Resident Evil: Retribution is slated for theatrical release in the U.S. on September 14th, 2012.

 Source: Milla Jovovich