Resident Evil Live-Action Reboot Franchise is Probably Still Going to Be All About Action
This Monday will see the release of Resident Evil: Vendetta, the third CG film from Sony/Capcom. The movie follows Chris Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, and Rebecca Chambers as they face Glenn Arias, a death merchant who has in his possession a virus unlike anything that our protagonists have ever faced before. It’s a film that will continue to expand upon the universe of the game franchise that began back in 1996.
In 2002, the live-action Resident Evil franchise kicked off from writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson. That series brought six films to theater, each following the story of Alice, a non-video game character played by Milla Jovovich. With the final installment, appropriately subtitled The Final Chapter, released earlier this year, Constantin Films wasted no time in announcing that they would be working on a new six-film franchise that would reboot the live-action film series.
In a recent interview with Collider, Resident Evil‘s Hiroyuki Kobayashi, who has worked on the games since the beginning and has also acted as producer on the CG films, stated what he enjoyed about the live-action films, saying, “I personally like Paul W.S. Anderson’s [direction] on the live-action [films]. Stuff like that, I would like to see more action.”
Considering that the live-action franchise drew in $1.2 billion over the years, it’s pretty safe to say that the studio will see a safe bet and go down that road. After all, why fix something that isn’t necessarily broken?
On a personal note, I derive FAR more enjoyment from the CG films than the live-action ones, at least after Apocalypse. I’d love nothing more than the Resident Evil franchise to be handed over to a team that want to give a true survival horror experience. Anderson’s passion for horror can’t be denied (Event Horizon still kicks ass to this day). However, I’d love to see it go into the hands of someone like Alex Garland, who directed the brilliantly claustrophobic Ex Machina. Or maybe The Wailing‘s Na Hong-jin, who built a world that was frightening and unpredictable. Just go different! Go interesting! Take the risk and give it a chance! If it doesn’t work out, go action in the inevitable sequel. But please give us one truly terrifying Resident Evil film!
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