Netflix's Resident Evil series can finally get Albert Wesker right with Lance Reddick. The Milla Jovovich Resident Evil films largely went their own path from the games, though they borrowed creatures, setting, and some characters. In the game series, Albert Wesker was one of the main antagonists of the saga, where he was revealed to be a traitor in the original title before becoming a shadowy threat in a few later entries. 2009's Resident Evil 5 again featured him as the main villain and he was finally defeated and killed by long-time foe Chris Redfield after a failed attempt to infect the world with a new bioweapon.
Wesker was also a villain in the Resident Evil movie series, first appearing in the third movie Extinction. Sadly, not only did the character have not to do but order subordinates to keep him posted on corporate developments, he doesn't even stand up. Wesker was much more active in Resident Evil: Afterlife - which borrowed some plot elements from the fifth game - and briefly became an ally to Jovovich's Alice in the next outing Retribution. He was downgraded to a mere henchman for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, where Iain Glen's Dr. Isaac was revealed as the true engineer behind Umbrella's apocalypse.
Despite being cast as a different villain, it feels like a missed opportunity that the movies didn't just cast Glen as Wesker in the first place. Wesker was played by two different performers across the Jovovich franchise; Jason O'Mara in Extinction and Shawn Roberts for the next three movies, including returning for The Final Chapter's oddly emotional ending. O'Mara was given so little to do its hard to judge his performance, while Roberts gave an enjoyably hammy turn. That said, neither captured the charisma or menace of the Wesker from the games. Netflix's Resident Evil cast The Wire's Lance Reddick as Albert Wesker, and while it appears the series will rework the villain somewhat, it could finally do the character justice in live-action.
Early reports suggest the Netflix Resident Evil series will see Reddick's Wesker as an executive on Umbrella's board and father to two teen daughters. The show will follow two timelines, with one being set in the present-day as the Weskers move to New Raccoon City while the other timeline takes place 14 years later in a post-apocalyptic world overrun with monsters. Reddick - who was mostly cut from Godzilla Vs Kong - also confirmed his Albert Wesker will differ from the games, but the show has the chance to actually make the character a threat.
Unlike the pantomime figure he was in the Jovovich-era Resident Evil movies - or the sympathetic reinvention of the character played by Tom Hopper in 2021 film reboot Welcome To Raccoon City - Lance Reddick's Albert Wesker can fully convey the threat he should pose. Traditionally, Wesker is a schemer who manipulates from behind the scenes, but as seen in games like Code: Veronica or Resident Evil 5, he's a more than capable physical threat too. Reddick is perfect casting for both sides, though it sounds like efforts will be made to humanize and bring new elements to him too. Netflix's Resident Evil is taking some chances with the classic formula of the series, but easily one of the most exciting parts of it will be Lance Reddick's take on Wesker.