Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is the new official title for the upcoming Resident Evil live-action movie. Director Johannes Roberts confirmed it with IGN during a SXSW interview this weekend. Based on the first two games in the series, it will be set in 1998, the year the original Resident Evil 2 game saw release. Although Roberts says he loved Milla Jovovich in the previous films, this will be a ground-up reboot. Starting from the beginning, it will finally tell the stories of Chris and Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Leon Kennedy. In keeping with the notion that different players choose different characters, it will be an ensemble piece rather than having one clear protagonist.
In the video interview, which you can watch here, Roberts states that the recent Resident Evil 2 game remake offered the most inspiration. However, he’s also looking to John Carpenter films like The Fog and Assault on Precinct 13. The new movie will divide its focus between the scary mansion of game 1, and the police precinct under siege of game 2. Horror will be more of a focus than it was in the previous movies, and they’re trying to respect all the lore of the games.
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Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is set for release Sept. 3rd. That should be enough time to put the real-world deadly virus behind us so we can enjoy being scared by a fictional one.
Are you excited to see a more game-based Resident Evil movie? Let us know in the comments.
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