The Resident Evil film franchise, just like everything else, is getting a reboot.
Variety reports that the proposed first film has now found its director in Johannes Roberts, who last went behind the camera for shark thriller 47 Meters Down. Roberts is also set to write the script. The movie is to begin production in 2019, and will feature an all-new cast. No release date has been set.
What can we expect from this rebooted franchise? Your guess is as good as ours in this instance, as nobody seems too keen on sharing any details regarding its direction.
Deadline reported back in 2017 that James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring 2) had signed on to produce the reboot from a script by Greg Russo (Mortal Kombat). At the time, it was noted that Russo and Wan were only expected to be around for the first of six (!) planned new Resident Evil films.
Russo then gave an update in November, saying that he’d handed in his draft and was done working on the movie:
“I worked on the reboot for about a year and then Producer James Wan came in, my involvement on that project has kind of concluded, so I’m not sure what they’ll really do with it, I submitted my draft to the producers and they were happy with it and ultimately they’ll do what they will with the property but I’m currently not involved with that film.”
It’s unclear if Roberts is scrapping Russo’s script completely or working on a new draft based on the current screenplay.
What we can say for sure is that this movie was almost inevitable. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter may have been billed as the final Resident Evil film, but anyone with a passing knowledge of the Friday The 13th franchise can tell you that ‘The Final Chapter’ is the surest sign that a franchise entry is not actually going to be the final one.
Of course, who can blame studios for wanting to keep Resident Evil alive? The Resident Evil film franchise has grossed around $1.2 billion dollars to date. The series is particularly popular in China, where Milla Jovovich roundhouse kicking zombies tends to do quite well.
The over-the-top nature of the final few Resident Evil films does create a bit of a problem for the rebooted franchise, however. It’s hard to imagine that this reboot will simply continue the escalation process of the original franchise by giving fans more explosions, more characters, and more roundhouse kicks.
We’ll be sure to provide more information on what may be the most punchy, kicky, explodey Resident Evil film yet as we learn more about this reboot.