The director of the 2021 Resident Evil movie has opened up about the upcoming video game adaptation. Johannes Roberts has revealed everything from the official title to how the Resident Evil 2 remake inspired his work on the movie.
Speaking to IGN at SXSW, Roberts said the Resident Evil movie – now officially called Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City – will be an "origin story" for the franchise and separate from the Paul WS Anderson series.
"It’s an ensemble piece, and Raccoon City plays a big part and is a character in the movie," he said. "It’s about this group of people all coming from different angles – some coming into town, some already having grown up in this town – meeting over this one fateful night."
Several iconic Resident Evil characters have already confirmed to be part of that ensemble. Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario), Chris Redfield (Robbie Amell), Jill Valentine (Hannah John-Kamen), and Leon Kennedy (Avan Jogia) are all set to appear – but Roberts is also looking towards Resident Evil’s recent game history for inspiration.
"That game came out and it just blew me away, and from that moment on I think we all knew where we were going with this movie because it was such a wonderful cinematic experience with the tone, the constant dark rain, that sort of aspect of the game. And I just took that and went, ‘That’s the world I want to work in,’" Robers explained.
That’ll be music to the ears of Resident Evil fans everywhere. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is set to hit theatres on September 3, 2021. In the meantime, check out the best video game movies ever made.
