Resident Evil is picking up a real head of steam at the moment. The awesome-looking remake of Resident Evil 3 hits shelves on April 3rd and we’re already hearing word on the next full installment, Resident Evil 8. We’re also getting a spinoff Netflix series soon, which will apparently show us the long-term impact of the T-Virus on an American town. And then there are the movies…
So far, Resident Evil has clawed back $1.2 billion from the box office over six films. Whatever your opinion of ridiculous CGI-laden action scenes featuring Milla Jovovich, it’s safe to say that the series started in a very different place to the games and ended somewhere that’s barely recognizable as Resident Evil. But now there’s a reboot coming from 47 Meters Down director Johannes Roberts, who promises a “super, super scary” pic that’ll “get back to the roots of the games.”
One inkling of what that might consist of came with the rumor that Titans star Brenton Thwaites is being eyed to play Chris Redfield. A movie featuring Chris about the “roots” of the games is a strong indication that it’ll closely adapt 1996’s Resident Evil. That classic saw an elite S.T.A.R.S unit trapped inside the mysterious Spencer Mansion, only to be gradually torn apart by the monsters inside and betrayed by their own leader.
But now, sources close to WGTC – the same ones who said a new Scream movie is in the works and Disney is doing a sequel to Aladdin, both of which have since been confirmed – tell us that Ready or Not star Samara Weaving is being eyed to play Claire Redfield, Chris’ sister. Claire first appeared in Resident Evil 2, searching for her brother in the wake of the Spencer Mansion incident, and including her seems to hint that the plots of the movies will diverge from the games a bit. Or possibly that she’ll have only a very minor role in order to set up her appearance in a sequel. In any case, she’s certainly no stranger to running around a mansion wielding high-powered weapons.
Whatever route they decide to head down though, a new Resident Evil movie that followed the games’ story could definitely be neat. The core trilogy of the first three PlayStation titles would make for an enjoyable film series, perhaps throwing in a bit of CODE Veronica as well to round out Chris and Claire’s tale.
