Before the movies starring Milla Jovovich, zombie godfather George A. Romero almost made a Resident Evil movie, which would've been very different. To horror fans, and pop culture devotees in general, the late Romero should need no introduction. With 1968's Night of the Living Dead, Romero established the core tropes of the zombie sub-genre, most of which continue to be employed in movies and TV shows made today, more than 50 years later. To Romero's credit, his seminal film is still great, completely standing the test of time.
With sequels Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, Romero crafted additional zombie classics, and many fans still consider his original trilogy to be the best zombie movies ever made. Without Romero, there would be no The Walking Dead, or Shaun of the Dead, or World War Z, or anything else fans of the sub-genre have come to love. It's a bit sad that Romero tended to get so little respect from Hollywood studios, but his legacy was grand, as attested to by the mass tributes he received after death.
While Resident Evil wasn't the first horror video game, it definitely served to establish the genre. It also heavily leaned on Romero's zombie tropes to fuel its scares and enemy encounters. When Romero was brought on to write and direct a Resident Evil movie, it seemed like a guaranteed win, at least until he was fired. Here's what he might have created.
How George Romero's Resident Evil Movie Would've Been Different
The main difference to be found in George Romero's Resident Evil movie script when compared to the movie we got is that it hews much closer to the original video game source material. Considering the biggest complaint about the Milla Jovovich movie franchise is how little time it devotes to actually adapting the games, that change would've certainly been appreciated by diehard fans.
The Romero script is mostly set in a secluded mansion/secret Umbrella lab facility, like the game, and centers on classic characters Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. Their comrade Barry Burton and traitorous boss Albert Wesker is also included, among other more minor players. Interestingly, Ada Wong from Resident Evil 2 also factors in. Countless creatures from the games also appear, including a giant hungry shark, Hunters, Tyrants, Yawn the giant snake, and even Plant 42.
As cool as that all sounds though, Romero did make some odd changes too. In this, Chris isn't a member of STARS, instead he's a rancher near Racoon City who gets drawn into things when his animals are attacked by zombie dogs. He's also dating Jill, while Barry is described as being a muscular black man, and a childhood friend of Wesker's. Amusingly, there are even references to Romero's zombie films, making them fictional within his Resident Evil movie world. As much as the changes above might make fans scratch their heads, at the same time, Romero's movie would've still been much, much more accurate a translation of Resident Evil to the screen than director Paul W.S. Anderson ever bothered with. Thankfully, the upcoming movie reboot looks to be based directly on the games, vindicating Romero's more faithful approach in hindsight.