Fans of the Resident Evil video game franchise are calling for HBO to make a new live-action series in the same vein as their The Last Of Us adaptation. Known as Biohazard in Japan, the Resident Evil games are a long-running survival horror series created by Capcom. In 2002, the property received its first live-action adaptation in the form of a feature film starring Milla Jovovich as Alice, an entirely original character that was invented for the first movie. Despite deviating wildly from the source material and being savaged by critics, Jovovich would return to lead an additional five sequels in a series that ran until 2016. More recently, the franchise underwent a fresh reboot in form of the 2021 movie Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, as well as seeing a live-action Netflix show set separately from either of the two film universes.While Netflix’s attempt at a Resident Evil series would ultimately fall well short of expectations, fans of the franchise are now taking to social media and calling for HBO to try their hand at creating a more faithful television adaptation. These calls come off the back of the network's hugely successful debut of their own The Last of Us series. Garnering rave reviews from both critics and fans of the original game, HBO is being widely praised for the reverence with which the new show is treating its source material. By contrast, Netflix’s Resident Evil series was slammed by audiences and was cancelled soon after its lackluster season 1 release in 2022.
Why Response To The Last Of Us Has Been So Positive
Over the years, video game adaptations have been a notoriously tricky nut for Hollywood studios and TV networks to crack. While audiences have seen several beloved video games make their way onto screens, sadly, many of these live-action adaptations ultimately fail to live up to the promise of their much more successful source material. Even mega-franchises such as Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed have stumbled when it came time to bring their richly detailed worlds to the screen. However, HBO’s most recent adaptation of The Last Of Us seems set to prove itself as the exception to the rule, with episode 1 wowing both new and established fans alike.
Of course, HBO’s The Last Of Us series has a few extra advantages that most previous video game adaptations did not possess. Foremost among these is the role played by series writer and episode director Neil Druckmann, who also created the original game. While many video game adaptations, including Resident Evil, have often played fast and loose with the storylines established in the source material, Druckmann’s involvement helps to ensure a far more faithful approach than what has been typically seen in the past. This, combined with the original game’s own cinematic storytelling approach, has resulted in providing fans with a deeply satisfying viewing experience rarely seen in other live-action adaptations.
Could HBO Make Its Own Resident Evil?
So, with fans loudly praising HBO for its approach to adapting The Last Of Us, is it possible for them to even attempt to turn Resident Evil into another successful series? At the moment, the rights for adapting the Resident Evil games still sit with Constantin Film, which first bought them as far back as 1997, ahead of the franchise’s first film adaptation. While Netflix had originally planned for more than one season of their own show, it is not clear whether Constantin is now able to potentially shop the property to HBO following their decision to cancel the series. However, with the franchise due to celebrate its 30th anniversary in another three years, now would be an ideal time to begin plans for a fresh revival of the property. If, or when, fans get another live-action Resident Evil, hopefully it will follow in the footsteps of HBO’s The Last Of Us.
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