Netflix Developing Resident Evil Live-Action Series

Dragon’s Dogma was just the tip of the spear, it seems, as streaming titan Netflix has dropped the first big reveals about the Resident Evil Netflix live-action series. The service has been mum on the show since rumors of its existence popped up over the last couple of years, but on August 27, 2020, the @NXOnNetflix account broadcast this tweet:

When the Wesker kids move to New Raccoon City, the secrets they uncover might just be the end of everything. Resident Evil, a new live action series based on Capcom’s legendary survival horror franchise, is coming to Netflix. pic.twitter.com/XWh5XYxklD

— NX (@NXOnNetflix) August 27, 2020

It’s little more than a picture of the pilot script for Resident Evil Netflix, but it does tell a lot. For one, the title of the thing is “Welcome to New Raccoon City,” and the episode was written by showrunner Andrew Dabb. (Dabb was also a writer for Supernatural.) Canadian director Bronwen Hughes (whose credits include The Walking Dead, Harriet the Spy, and Better Call Saul) is directing the first two episodes. The series comes from Constantin Film, which also helped produce the Resident Evil live-action films (starring Milla Jovovich and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson). Followup tweets also noted the first season will consist of eight one-hour episodes.

The Resident Evil Netflix reveal tweet also raised more questions than it answered, given its allusions to “the Wesker kids” and “New Raccoon City”. Are the Wesker kids the children of series villain Albert Wesker (like Jake Muller from Resident Evil 6)? Or is this a reference to the “Wesker Children” from the backstory of the games? And that’s assuming that Resident Evil Netflix will stay close to the games at all, which isn’t a given considering the franchise’s broad and diverse selection of adaptations, spin-offs, and alternative takes. If anything, the tone of the teaser suggests the show may lean more on a premise of young folks solving the mystery of their city rather than evoking the blend of action and horror the games are best known for.

The Resident Evil Netflix live-action series is in development, currently without a firm release date. In the meantime, fans can play the games, which are available on all major platforms, or consume news about the next mainline sequel, Resident Evil Village, which will appear on the PS5.