The six-film franchise spearheaded by Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich may have only drawn to a close five years ago, but the Resident Evil business is once again booming in both film and television. Today brings the debut of animated series Infinite Darkness, the first of two Netflix efforts based on the long-running video game series.
The platform has been making a concerted effort to adapt a number of high profile video game brands, with fresh takes on the likes of Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed, Sonic the Hedgehog, Splinter Cell, Far Cry and many more in various stages of either production or development, so Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness could be a barometer of well the slew of projects fare with subscribers who aren’t too familiar with the source material.
Obviously, it’s going to appeal directly to the fanbase as well, with the premise following Raccoon City survivor Leon S. Kennedy, former police officer and now bodyguard hired to protect the president of the United States at any and all costs. Naturally, things soon take a turn into undead territory, forcing Leon into action.
It’s a neat setup, and the early reactions have been strong, so it looks as though Netflix’s planned Resident Evil expansion could turn out to be massively popular. The always-reliable Lance Reddick will play Albert Wesker in the live-action version, while unrelated reboot Welcome to Raccoon City is coming to theaters later this year from director Johannes Roberts and Sony, so 2021 could go down in the history books as the biggest year ever for the franchise, with console favorite Village and Infinite Darkness set to lead the charge for the resurgent property.