TheResident Evilfranchise has been an integral part of the video game and horror movie community for years, with the first game dropping in 1996. It has since provided noteworthy scares as the movie industry took inspiration from the games to create a successful film series that churned out six movies from 2002 to 2016.
Due to its credited reputation, fans felt alarmed when it was revealed that theResident Evilstorylinewill be making a return to the big screenswith director-writer Johannes Roberts helming the project. However, what many don’t know is that Roberts has a tight-knit relationship with the source material and feels assured that he has done it justice in his upcoming movie. Game Rant was able to speak with Roberts about how he’s rebooting theResident Evilseries “in a whole new direction” withResident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City.
Related:Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City Clip Spotlights Claire Redfield
Johannes Roberts Talks About The Origins Of Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City
Roberts is a total nerd when it comes to theResident Evilfranchise. He expressed that he first began studying film, specifically horror movies, around the same time thatthe first video gamedropped, and it is something that has followed him in his 18 years of filmmaking. Best known for his work directing horror flicksHellbender,47 Meters Down, andThe Strangers: Prey At Night, Roberts reflected on his first outing in his film career and how it connected to his love for the popular franchise.
Going back to university, the English filmmaker shared, “I was at university and I was already a huge horror nut but this game spoke to me in a way that cinema was not, at the time. This was a game that was in love with the same references that I was in love with. I was in love with[George] Romero, I was in love with really serious dark horror that wasn’t winking at the camera like the screen movies were at the time.” He added, “As soon as the game came up, I was like, this is me, this is speaking to me directly.”
But the inspiration didn’t stop there, Roberts continued to tell a story about how he went to Cannes, France while filming his first movie and found himself standing beside Alice Marcus actorMilla Jovovich. He said, “I went to Cannes in my first movie. It was very funny. I was walking down where the boats are and there was this party, and standing there was Mila [Jovovich] going into the party. I remember seeing all the light bulbs and seeing this beautiful actress, and then the first movie came out and I was like, ‘oh wow.'”
Allowing himself to tap into his fan excitement for the franchise — something that adds a strong bout of legitimacy to this upcoming adaptation, he continued, “And I fell in love with her. I fell in love with the movie. My career has, sort of, gone parallel along with the whole building of the franchise. It’s been such a dream come true to now be handed the reins of the franchise and to reboot it in a whole new direction.”
Johannes Roberts Addresses Fan Expectations
Roberts’ adoration for the franchise doesn’t get him off the hook when it comes to fan excitement and expectations, something that comes at a dangerously high cost with the niche,cult following thatResident Evilhas built. Speaking about his reboot, he is adamant that it will put forth a unique perspective and adaptation, while still paying the highest respect to the source material. He commented, “The great thing about the way we approach the reboot is that we’re a completely different world to the franchise before. Although we are rebooting the name, it has nothing to do with Paul’s [Anderson] movies.”
Adding his observations on the original movie franchise, he said, “[The original movie] had nothing to do with the game in itself. Mila’s role, the Alice character, was not in the games ever. Paul’s movies were very sci-fi action and sort of quick-cuts— quick fun, sci-fi action, and my pitch for this was to go back to the games and to go dark scary horror. I wanted to bring in the iconic characters from the games, who had been in the movies, but they’d always been subservient to Mila’s character in the films.”
“It doesn’t really cross over their previous franchise, it is its own thing. It’s very much a pure adaptation of the first two games,” Roberts added.
Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon Citywill bereleased in theaters on August 10, 2025. It will star actors Kaya Scodelario, Avan Jogia, andTom Hopper.
More:Every Monster Revealed In Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City’s Trailers
