The upcoming Resident Evil movie reboot has announced its cast, revealing that classic game characters Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield will appear in a movie that goes back to the origins of the story, being set in Raccoon City in 1998. The immensely popular game series has been a fan favorite since the first RE game was released on the PlayStation back in 1996. Paul W.S. Anderson famously adapted the games into a franchise that ran to six movies, all starring Milla Jovovich as Alice. While the first pair of movies were loosely based on the games, they increasingly strayed from the source material, and suffered from a decline in production values and quality at the same time, with most getting terrible reviews.
A reboot, written and directed by British director Johannes Roberts was announced in 2018, and the 47 Meters Down helmer has since teased that the project will be much more close in tone and approach to the game series. This would be a refreshing take for audiences, given that Anderson's series was criticized for focusing on over-the-top action scenes (one of which almost killed a stuntwoman) instead of the claustrophobic horror that characterized the games. The movie reboot will have competition, though, with a rival animated series debuting in 2021 at Netflix.
Now, the Resident Evil reboot's cast has been announced, and fans will be delighted to know that Jill Valentine, who appeared in the first game, and Claire Redfield, who was one of the protagonists of the second, will appear. British actress Kaya Scodelario (Maze Runner) will play Redfield, while Ant-Man and The Wasp's Hannah-John Kamen will play Valentine. In addition to the cast announcement, Roberts made a statement teasing his "terrifying vision" for the reboot, while producer Robert Kulzer revealed that the movie will be set in Raccoon City in 1998. You can read their comments below:
With this movie I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and recreate the terrifying visceral experience I had when I first played them whilst at the same time telling a grounded human story about a small dying American town that feels both relatable and relevant to today’s audiences - Roberts
After a dozen games, six live action movies and hundreds of pages of fan fiction, we felt compelled to return to the year 1998, to explore the secrets hidden in the walls of the Spenser Mansion and Raccoon City - Kulzer
The rest of the cast includes a number of familiar game series characters being played by well-known TV actors, with Robbie Amell (Upload) as Claire's brother, Chris Redfield, Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy) as Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap) as Leon S. Kennedy and Neal McDonough (Yellowstone) as William Birkin. For fans, the news will give them hope that this version of Resident Evil will be able to faithfully recreate the daunting atmosphere of the best-selling franchise, which gave many gamers sleepless nights when they first came out.
The signs are good, with Roberts' experience in atmospheric horror films, rather than action, pointing to the fact that the movie should be plenty terrifying. The fact that the two leads are from the original games will also make fans happy, and Scodelario and John-Kamen are both used to franchise fare, so should be able to do a good job translating the characters to the big screen. The Resident Evil reboot is set to be released in theaters some time in 2021, hinting that production will start soon.
Source: Constantin Film