The new Resident Evil series made in Netflix arrives next week on the SVOD platform. Release date, story, distribution… the JV editorial staff takes stock of this new adaptation of Capcom’s zombie saga.
When is the Resident Evil series release date?
The Netflix Resident Evil series is available from July 14, 2022 on the Netflix SVOD platform. According to this article, all the episodes will be accessible from the day of release, like other productions on the platform. This first part consists of 8 episodes lasting one hour. Get ready to find emblematic monsters from the video game saga such as Lickers, giant spiders and of course the traditional zombies, inseparable from the franchise.
How to see the Resident Evil series?
The Resident Evil series will be available on the SVOD Netflix platform. This is not the first time that the famous zombie franchise has been adapted into a film and series. There is of course the film saga of Paul WS Anderson with Milla Jovovich in the main role. She collected millions at the box office, despite a more than mediocre adaptation work, preferring to focus on references to games rather than a suitable scenario. We recently had the right to Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City, directed by Johannes Roberts, which is far from better. These films are all independent of the plot of the video games, unlike the handful of films and animated series whose storylines are canon in Capcom’s game mythology. We find Resident Evil: Damnation, Resident Evil: Vendetta, Resident Evil: Degeneration and finally Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness.
What is Resident Evil?
Originally, Resident Evil is one of the most cult sagas in the history of video games. Developed by Capcom, it debuted in 1996 on Playstation One. The first opus offers you the choice of controlling Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield, members of the S.T.A.R.S, elite police officers from the city of Racoon City, located in the Arklay mountains. After mysterious acts of cannibalism have appeared around the city, you must investigate the disappearance of your colleagues, who left to elucidate this case beforehand. Our heroes are attacked by zombie dogs, forcing them to take refuge in a mysterious mansion, full of creatures of all kinds. This episode marks the beginning of a long series of 28 games, including 9 main ones. The latest is Resident Evil Village, released in 2021.
What is the synopsis of the Resident Evil series?
The story of the Resident Evil Netflix series takes place in the year 2036, 14 years after the T-virus infected the population on a global scale. We follow the character of Jade Wesker, fighting to survive in a world that has become hostile and populated by monsters that have undergone the worst mutations due to the pathogen. The young woman is haunted by a heavy past linked to the city of New Racoon City, and the toxic relationship she has with her father, Albert Wesker, a scientist from the Umbrella Corporation. The plot takes place in two different eras: 2022, where we see the birth of Project Joy, a miracle antidepressant that will be used to spread the T-virus in the city of New Raccoon City, and 2036, showing us the consequences of these experiences. Albert Wesker appears to be the main antagonist once again, much like the games.
How does the Resident Evil series fit into the saga?
The Resident Evil series produced by Netflix is ​​completely independent of the plot of the previous games and films. This is the fourth independent Resident Evil universe, taking into account those of Capcom, WS Anderson and Johannes Roberts. Paul WS Anderson’s saga, made up of six films, offers us, like the Netflix series, a post-apocalyptic universe. The main character, Alice, is played by his wife, Milla Jovovich. The hexalogy, begun in 2002, consists of: Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Retribution and Resident Evil: Final Chapter, concluding the saga. Despite the relative quality of these productions, the success was there, with more than a billion dollars accumulated for a total budget of 290 million. The franchise was entitled to a reboot, Welcome to Raccoon City, which only deserves to exist, given its wobbly scenario and its inability to properly adapt the scenario of the first two games. Let’s not even talk about the characters who are just ridiculous caricatures of the originals from the games.
Who are the creatives behind the Resident Evil series?
The project is entrusted to Andrew Dabb, having already worked on the Supernatural series. The director has the heavy task of honoring the Capcom saga, while transforming it to stick to the episodic format. Adapting the Resident Evil saga on the small screen is far from easy, due to its basic scenario, very Z-series, even nanardesque. Many have ventured there without ever succeeding, WS Anderson, to name but one. The first images of the trailers notably reveal scenes with very cold colors, reminding us of the oppressive atmosphere of the Umbrella laboratories.
What is the cast of the Resident Evil series?
In the casting, we find Lance Reddick in the role of Albert Wesker. Ella Balinska portrays her daughter, Jade Wesker. For the rest, we know that Tamara Smart (Artemis Fowl), Siena Agudong (School of Magic), Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Paola Nuñez (Bad Boys For Life), Ahad Raza Mir, Connor Gossatti and Turlough Convery are also in the game, but their roles are still rather vague.
