By Rashmi Goel
Netflix will debut its live-action series of Resident Evil on July 14th, 2022.
In July 2022, Netflix will have a live-action series of Resident Evil. The Netflix version of Resident Evil is here, along with its release date, production schedule, and what we can look forward to. The Netflix Original series Resident Evil is based on the Capcom game of the same name. Numerous video game sequels, novels, and a popular film franchise followed the 1996 launch of the franchise. The streaming giant seems to be going all-in on Resident Evil with this live-action series and at least two animated projects too, the first being Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, which will premiere on Netflix in July 2021. There wasn't any official announcement from Netflix regarding the live-action series until August 27, 2020. During that time, they published their first details via the former NXonNetflix account.
The series is directed by Andrew Dabb. It caused some initial concerns about the tone of season one due to his previous work on Supernatural for The CW, but at this point, it's too soon to tell. First, the teaser gives us a glimpse of how the story is going to be divided into two parts. Two events will take place, one in 2022 and one in 2036 London (more on this later). In anticipation of Resident Evil, we got a first look at a zombie Doberman teaser plus two photos of a stylized version of the dog seen in the teaser and the logo for the new series.
The drama series will examine the dark inner workings of the Umbrella Corporation and the new world order caused by the outbreak of the T-virus. Though the project is still in its early stages, the series is expected to include Resident Evil’s signature elements, such as action sequences and easter eggs." In early 2020, Netflix's Media website provided an official story description for the series (although it has since been removed). The description of the book said: "The town of Clearfield, MD has long stood in the shadow of three seemingly unrelated behemoths - the Umbrella Corporation, Greenwood Asylum, and Washington, D.C. Twenty-six years after those three were discovered, the secrets they harbor will start to surface at the earliest signs of an outbreak."
According to our understanding, the story is divided into two timelines. One of them involves Jade Wesker and her sister Billie Wesker, two 14-year-old sisters who move to New Raccoon City. The kids come to realize that their father may be hiding dark secrets that could destroy the world. Over a decade in the future, only 15 million humans remain, along with over 6 billion animals and people infected with the T-virus. It is the story of Jade, now thirty, attempting to survive in this world. Does the Netflix series-parallel the games in any way? According to showrunner Andrew Dabb, "Everything that happens in these games exists in this world." Additionally, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he revealed that the show follows the timelines of the games, so Wesker has somehow been resurrected. The reason Wesker is the way he is and the fact that he is still alive have something in common, he teased.
A pre-production period was scheduled to start in April 2020, followed by the main production between June and October 2020. This plan was scrapped after COVID-19 ravaged all production schedules in 2020. In February 2021 a new date was given, but it has also since changed. According to a previous report from ProductionWeekly, filming for Resident Evil took place between September 8th and December 14th, 2021.
An upcoming second season has already been announced. There is no official word on whether the series will be renewed (something we don't expect to learn until close to the season's release), but we do know the second season is in development. According to the aforementioned article in EW, Dabb talks about the future of the series and that we may get to see it someday come to our screens, saying "We may not get there until season 5, but it's in our world.". In terms of the scripts for season 2, the village is a valuable resource.
