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Proposed Resident Evil TV Prequel Series Could Be the Movie We All Wanted in the First Place


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I appreciate Paul W. S. Anderson’s logic; really, I do. We’ve seen the story of the game play out already, so why not do something else that’s in the same universe? Except that the result didn’t really pan out for fans who wanted a movie that felt like the game…save Anderson, who wound up marrying Milla Jovovich out of the deal (a double-edged sword since he now has to cast her in everything, but my heart doesn’t exactly bleed).

But if, like me, you wanted to see that mansion back when it was a functioning lab and before everything escaped, you could be getting your wish soon. Bloody-Disgusting reports that a prequel series entitled Arklay is in development, centering on the mansion and a series of mysterious (yeah, right!) deaths in nearby Raccoon City. It features a new character named James Reinhardt, but there’s a reason you probably haven’t seen him in the games themselves – he’s infected with the T-virus, and has to learn where it came from to save his own life, in addition to solving the case. Or turning into the Tyrant somehow.

Now, just because this is being pitched doesn’t mean it’ll make it. Remember when George Romero was going to make the Resident Evil movie? Capcom can be quite peculiar about who and what they endorse. But the pitch reel, made up of clips from Hannibal and Seven among other things, gives you an idea of the tone they’re going for, and The Walking Dead has thrown open the doors to zombie shows. I think it’d be particularly great if they didn’t rely on “Romero’s Rules,” and have the zombies be defeated, as in the game, simply with multiple gunshots rather than just headshots. The headshot thing doesn’t necessarily make more sense – we’ve just come to accept it as convention.

Would you watch something like this?