Thrill-seekers and horror fans rejoice! One of the world’s biggest zombie survival franchises, Resident Evil, is getting a brand new animated series set to premiere on Netflix early next year.
This isn’t the first time Netflix has leaned on a video game to inspire a series, and the company will be hoping it follows in the footsteps of The Witcher. For the uninitiated, Resident Evil is a Japanese horror media franchise that began with the release of a console game of the same name for PlayStation in 1996. There have been six other games released in the series with the latest being 2017’s Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
The games have been so popular around the world that publisher Capcom began producing remakes of the games, with the Resident Evil 2 Remake (released in 2019) going on to outsell the original version of the game.
Gaming is ultimately the core of the franchise, and that can be seen even in the iGaming industry which boasts the official Resident Evil 6 slot game by Skywind that is available for players looking at the best UK online casinos such as Unibet Casino and Videoslots. Resident Evil secured its future as a gaming title with the announcement of Resident Evil Village, the direct sequel to Biohazard. The game is for the next generation of consoles that is also expected to be released in 2021.
Of course, something as culturally impactful as the Resident Evil franchise isn’t limited to just gaming. Hollywood has produced six live-action films, which tell a story all on their own about the popularity of this franchise. Despite being universally disliked by film critics, together the six movies have made over $1-billion at the box office, and they are the only series of films adapted from video games to make more money with each new movie.
There have also been three animated feature films, Degeneration (2008), Damnation (2012) and Vendetta (2017). However, this will not be the only new Resident Evil content next year after Netflix announced they will be airing a live-action series that consists of eight one-hour long episodes.
The amount of merchandise Resident Evil has spawned is almost beyond counting. From the action figures of the protagonists and antagonists from the games and films to airsoft replicas of the guns used in the stories and everything in-between, you can get just about anything with a Resident Evil sticker on it. There was even a themed haunted house at Universal Orlando called Resident Evil: Escape from Raccoon City.
For a franchise that produces such a seemingly non-stop stream of content across all platforms, it is quite incredible that it remains so popular and fans haven’t been fatigued yet. It says a lot about the quality of the products too.
Despite the amount of content and backstory, there is surprisingly little information available about the plans for the anime series itself just yet. However, a preview trailer leaked by Netflix Portugal clearly shows both Claire Redfield and Leon Scott Kennedy, so it is safe to assume the timeline will follow something similar to the second video game, in which they featured heavily.
Thankfully more is known about the live-action series, which will follow the lives of two sisters over two very distinct timelines. The first will follow the pair as a couple of young teenagers growing up in a manufactured corporate town that holds dark secrets. The other will be almost 15 years into the future. It will follow just one of the girls, now in her 30s, and the world on the brink of destruction.
Whichever direction they decide to go with the animated series, it is clear 2021 is going to be a big one for the Resident Evil franchise with the release of two Netflix series and a PlayStation 5 game. The 2012 Guinness Book of World Records described Resident Evil as the most successful movie series based on a video game. Now they’re looking to take the title for best anime and best television series as well.
