IGN has revealed the first look at Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, which is being billed as the origin story of the original Capcom games by Screen Gems.
The upcoming film was written and directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) and is based on the first two Resident Evil games. The movie chronicles “how Raccoon City went from being a city of industry to a dying Midwestern town that’s become ground zero for the t-Virus outbreak.”
In an interview with IGN, Roberts explained his approach to the upcoming film:
“This movie really had nothing to do with the previous franchise. This was all about returning to the games and creating a movie that was much more a horror movie than the sort of sci-fi action of the previous films. I was hugely influenced in particular by the remake of the second game and I really wanted to capture the atmosphere-drenched tone that it had. It was so cinematic. The previous movies were very bright and shiny whereas this movie was dark and grimy, entirely shot at night. It’s constantly raining and the town is shrouded in mist. … I was hugely influenced by movies like The Exorcist (and Exorcist 3!), Don’t Look Now, and The Shining. I wanted Raccoon City to feel a bit like the town in Deer Hunter; a ghost town forgotten by the rest of the world. And the whole structure of the film was definitely very influenced by Assault on Precinct 13.”
Check out the three exclusive images below to see the new big-screen versions of Claire and Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy, Albert Wesker and more.
As you can see above, that’s our first look at Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield and Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy. We also get our first glimpse at Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker, Chad Rook as Richard Aiken, Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine, and Robbie Amell as Chris Renfield. Lastly, you can see Marina Mazepa as Lisa Trevor,
On Lisa Trevor, Roberts said:
“Lisa Trevor is actually quite a pivotal role in the movie. I was always fascinated by her when playing the remake of the first game. I found her character both disturbing and at the same time strangely haunting. When we were discussing how to bring this story to life it was one of the elements that I really wanted to feature strongly as she has never been in any of the filmed versions of Resident Evil. I wanted her to be a three-dimensional character, not just some creepy specter.”
Roberts also revealed that they worked closely with Capcom to make sure the film remained “as faithful as possible” to the games.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City hits theaters November 24, 2021.
What do you think of the first look images? Do you think this will be a faithful adaptation of the Resident Evil games and a stark improvement over the original film franchise? Tell us your thoughts down in the comments below.
