Resident Evil might be more popular now than ever before. The long-running survival horror franchise has seen innumerable games released, with the highly anticipated remake of Resident Evil 3 just around the corner and details emerging about the hotly anticipated Resident Evil 8. In addition, we’re due a Netflix show based on the property, exploring the impact of the T-Virus on a new city.
The franchise has, of course, also been a hit on the big screen, with the Resident Evil film series grossing a total of $1.2 billion over six movies. And now, there’s a new reboot in active development which will be helmed by 47 Meters Down director Johannes Roberts, who’s promised to “get back to the roots of the game” and that it’ll be “super, super scary”. That’ll be music to the ears of fans of the source material, as the movies were often criticized for wildly diverging from the games’ setting and plot.
As far as casting goes, nothing concrete has emerged just yet, but we’re hearing today from our sources – the same ones who said a new Scream movie is in development and that Han would return in Fast & Furious 9, both of which are now confirmed – that Titans star Brenton Thwaites is being eyed for Chris Redfield. The actor, who plays Dick Grayson/Robin in Titans, would be stepping into the shoes of one of the most-loved characters in the franchise. After all, Chris, along with S.T.A.R.S. partner Jill Valentine, was one of the heroes of 1996’s Resident Evil, and has since gone on to appear in many games in the series.
By the time of Resident Evil 5, he’d practically become a superhero, notoriously able to punch giant boulders into submission. They toned him down a bit for his appearance in the Resident Evil 7 DLC, but he remains a highly skilled menace to B.O.Ws everywhere nonetheless.
If this new film is a reboot though, it makes sense to focus on Chris. After all, despite being one of the main characters of the games, he only ever appeared in one of the movies (Resident Evil: Afterlife, where he was played by Wentworth Miller). Let’s hope that Resident Evil takes us back to the Spencer Mansion then and gives us a proper live-action take on the first entry in the series.
