The new Resident Evil live-action reboot has serious potential
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is set to hit theaters starting on November 24 and audiences just got their first full trailer ahead of the film’s premiere. Unlike Paul W.S. Anderson’s billion-dollar six-film series, Welcome to Raccoon City takes a more “grounded” approach in its adaptation. The entry is directed and written by Johannes Roberts, who is perhaps best known for his work on 2017’s 47 Meters Down. As evidenced from the trailer, it appears that Roberts’ vision really doesn’t stray too far from the original game. The 2-minute long trailer is everyone’s first glimpse at Welcome to Raccoon City outside of the earlier teaser and set photos. Welcome to Raccoon City is a complete retelling of the Resident Evil franchise in live-action form. It recasts everyone from Anderson’s time with the franchise and takes queues from the first two Resident Evil games. However, unlike the source material, where the events start in the Spencer Mansion before moving on to Raccoon City years later, it appears that Roberts has taken a few liberties himself. Another thing that’s interesting is Roberts intends to cast Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario) as the main character alongside her older brother (Robbie Amell). Unlike in the games where Claire heads off to Raccoon City in search of Chris, the two appear to work together in the movie to try and uncover a conspiracy surrounding a big corporation known as Umbrella. So, basically, what happens is that instead of Chris along with the rest of S.T.A.R.S heading off to the Spencer Mansion, the story starts off in Raccoon City as Chris and Claire’s investigation takes them deep into the Arklay Mountains and into the aforementioned dimly lit estate. With that said, we’re not exactly complaining as the trailer is giving off the right kind of vibes that could potentially make Welcome to Raccoon City one of the best video game films of all time. Of course, we’ll know for sure soon enough just how good Welcome to Raccoon City is. The film is set to release in theaters on November 24. Sony did not confirm if the upcoming cinematic reboot is going to be available on a streaming platform.
