New images for the Resident Evil movie reboot tease a more faithful adaptation
We finally have our first look at Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield and Jill Valentine in the film reboot of Capcom's Resident Evil series.
The first look at Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield in Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City.
2021 has been a hot year for the Resident Evil franchise, and that trend is continuing with the upcoming film reboot -- Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City. We finally have our first look at the film, which is already setting itself apart from the recent live-action films by focusing on a more direct adaptation of Capcom's video game series. Set for release in theaters in the US on Nov. 24, the reboot directly adapts the plot of Resident Evil 1 and 2, blending the stories from both games into a single narrative.
As reported by IGN, Welcome to Raccoon City's director, Johannes Roberts, stated that this reboot is about returning to the source material and capturing the same dark atmosphere and sense of dread that the videogames leaned heavily into. In the first images released for the movie, we see the first look at the core cast, which includes Resident Evil 1's Jill Valentine (Hannah John-Kamen), Chris Redfield (Robbie Amell) and Albert Wesker (Tom Hopper). Resident Evil 2's Leon Kennedy (Avan Jogia) and Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario) also play a key part in Welcome To Raccoon City's story.
The released images gave us a peek at the characters and settings for the movie. In the above image, we see the trio of S.T.A.R.S. officers who find themselves trapped in the Spencer Mansion filled with zombies. Another image gave us a look at the outfits for Leon and Claire, which pull from the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2. This film will also mark the live-action debut of Lisa Trevor, the mutated monster from the 2002 remake of the original Resident Evil. Lisa Trevor quickly became a fan favorite character, stalking players throughout the halls of the Spencer estate, and appears to have a significant presence in the movie.
As a refresher, this is the second upcoming live-action project in the works for the Resident Evil franchise. In addition to this film, another project is Netflix's television prequel to the Resident Evil series, which will have close ties to the video game series. These two projects mark a significant shift away from the previous live-action films starring Milla Jovovich, all of which told an original, action-heavy story that featured franchise characters as the supporting cast.
In an interview with IGN, Roberts explained that the horror aspect was what he wanted to focus on with the latest film, and he says the developers at Capcom were pleased with the results.
"I wanted to go back to the horror of it all. I wanted scares and atmosphere rather than full-on action," the director told IGN. "I think fans of the game felt the same. They wanted to see the iconic characters and locations and feel that the movie was more in line with the Resident Evil game world."
He noted as well Capcom's cooperation with the movie production: "We actually got blueprints from them on the designs of the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon police station in order to recreate them as perfectly as we could. We even have the exact artwork up on the mansion walls."
So far, the film looks to be a more faithful adaptation of the original games, but we're still a bit in the dark about what to expect from the action and what liberties the film will take with the series lore. With only a few months away to go until the release, we've yet to see any trailers or footage of the film, so we'll have to wait a bit longer to get a better look at the atmosphere and tone.