It’s been just over a year since we last heard word about the upcoming reboot of the Resident Evil film franchise and now Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) has begun building an ensemble cast including Kaya Scodelairo (The Maze Runner), Robbie Amell (Upload) and Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp), according to Deadline.
RELATED: Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness Teaser Released for Netflix’s Original Horror Series
The film is set to be an official origin story to Capcom’s long-running survival horror video game franchise and will be set on the infamous night in Raccoon City in 1998 when the Umbrella Corporation unleashed hell upon the world and it was up to a select group of people to stop them.
“With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and re-create the terrifying visceral experience I had when I first played them whilst at the same time telling a grounded human story about a small dying American town that feels both relatable and relevant to today’s audiences,” Roberts said in a statement.
Scodelairo has been cast as Claire Redfield while John-Kamen is set to play Jill Valentine and Amell as Chris Redfield, all of whom will star alongside The Umbrella Academy‘s Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker, Zombieland: Double Tap‘s Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy and Yellowstone‘s Neal McDonough as William Birkin.
Click here to purchase the Complete Collection Blu-ray set of the original film franchise!
The film will be produced by Robert Kulzer for Constantin Films, who were attached to the Milla Jovovich-starring franchise, alongside James Harris from Tea Shop Productions and Hartley Gorenstein, while Constantin’s CEO Martin Moskowicz and Davis Film’s Victor Hadida are set to executive produce. Sony Pictures’ Screen Gems, who distributed the original films, is set to release the film domestically while Constantin will debut it in German-speaking territories, Elevation in Canada, Metropolitan in France and Sony Pictures Releasing in all remaining territories.
“After a dozen games, six live-action movies and hundreds of pages of fan fiction, we felt compelled to return to the year 1998, to explore the secrets hidden in the walls of the Spenser Mansion and Raccoon City,” Kulzer said in a statement.
In 2018, it was reported that Roberts had been tapped to helm and write the Resident Evil reboot. Though previously attached, James Wan’s Atomic Monster has dropped out of the project.
RELATED: Resident Evil Franchise Heading to Netflix as Scripted Series
The last installment of the first series of Resident Evil movies, helmed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring his wife Milla Jovovich, earned $26.8 million domestically. Internationally, however, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter grossed an impressive $285.4 million, with $160 million of that coming from China. The $40 million-budgeted sixth film, distributed by Sony‘s Screen Gems, has earned $312.2 million worldwide.
Based on Capcom’s hugely popular video games, the Resident Evil movies have earned $1.2 billion worldwide to date, making it the highest-grossing film series to be based on a video game.
(Photo Credits: Getty Images)
