Once upon a time (2015, to be accurate), Mance Media and filmmaker Shawn Lebert partnered to create the pitch for a Resident Evil TV series that would have been called "Arklay." As you can perhaps tell by my use of the phrase "would have been," that plan didn't work out. But you can still get a sense for what could have been, as Lebert has released his proof of concept video for all to enjoy:
You may notice there's no mention of the T-Virus or Umbrella Corp, or really anything distinctly Resident Evil. But such is the nature of a proof-of-concept video; it exists to sell the feeling and style of the show to networks, not the specifics. In this case, Arklay would have been about murders which precede the events of the first game and the slow uncovering of Umbrella's Bio-Organic Weapons program.
I'll be honest, it's a little... over-acted, and my neck hurts from the emotional whiplash. Let me sum up our main character, Tortured Cop #734... I mean, James Reinhardt: 'Let me in, I'm mad! Let me see the body of my dead brother, I'm sad! A clue, now I'm anxious! Hey lady, I'd really like to make out with you in front of my brother's corpse! Aw, I just remembered my dead brother, now I'm sad again!'
That being said, it's filmed quite well, and the script is... well it's not great, but it's got lots of little hooks to keep you interested. There's even an AR game you can play by visiting grimrasputinisdead.com. (If you want the answers to the site's riddles, scroll down) With a decent budget and talented actors, this could've been a fun ride. Oh well. Perhaps Arklay will rise from the grave in another form down the line.
Oh, and those AR game answers?
Username is dave, password is grimrasputinisdead, second password is paradigmindustries. Enjoy.
