The Resident Evil reboot has found its writer and director in 47 Meters Down's Johannes Roberts. Despite ending the live-action film franchise less than two years ago, Constantin Films is quickly developing a reboot of the popular horror video game for the big screen. The original run of the franchise started in 2002 and lasted for six films.

Resident Evil is one of many video games to be adapted for film, but it's one of the rare examples of doing so successfully - to a point. Four of the six films were directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and starred Milla Jovovich as the main protagonist Alice. The action movies were never received well by critics, but they did develop an audience. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter capped off the series with a $312 million worldwide gross ($160M in the ever growing China market), and resulted in a the entire series earning $1.2 billion at the box office. News of a reboot came quickly, and Aquaman director James Wan is attached to produce the new take on the property.

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Variety is now reporting that the Resident Evil reboot has found its director. Johannes Roberts is set to helm the movie after the box office success of 47 Meters Down. He returned to direct the sequel, 47 Meters Down: The Next Chapter, which will hit theaters next summer. In addition to directing the film, Roberts will also take over as the writer. Roberts has a writing credit on all of his directorial projects except for his debut film Alice.

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Greg Russo was originally reported to be writing the script, but he's confirmed he's no longer involved. Now that Roberts is officially onboard the reboot, news isn't expected to slow down. This report notes that Constantin Films wants to start production on the next Resident Evil movie in 2019. Considering Roberts' involvement on 47 Meters Down's sequel, the best case scenario could be a late summer start so any press tour for his upcoming project doesn't interfere with production. The new cast should be assembled in the meantime.

Finding a director for Resident Evil at this stage finally gives the project some forward momentum. Roberts showed the ability to pull thrills and action out of a small budget and simple premise with 47 Meters Down, so this should be a new challenge for him. There aren't many details on the direction the reboot will take, but one of the film's other producers wants to see more action. Roberts should be able to deliver on both adrenaline-pumping action and horrifying scares, but it will depend on what direction the reboot ultimately goes in.

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Source: Variety