Resident Evil Reboot Movie Director Breaks Down Approach to Origin Story

The Resident Evil franchise is being rebooted, and Sony Screen Gems and Capcom have assembled quite a cast to bring it to life. The new cast includes Tom Hopper, Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, and Robbie Amell, who it will be Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) responsible for delivering on all the promise that cast brings. This will be a complete reboot of the series, and in the casting announcement, Roberts revealed his approach to this origin story and why it was important to get the franchise back to what made it so iconic in the first place (via THR).

"With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and creates the terrifying visceral experience I had when I first played them whilst at the same time, telling a grounded human story about a small dying American town that feel both relatable and relevant to today's audiences, said Roberts in a statement.

The previous Resident Evil franchise involved some of the same characters but was much different in tone from the majority of the series, though you could say it had a lot in common with Resident Evil 6. That happened to be the least liked entry in the series though, so this new reboot will be taking things back to the survival horror that fans know and love from the games.

Scodelario will be playing Claire Redfield while Amell will be playing her brother Chris Redfield. John-Kamen will be portraying the master of lockpicking Jill Valentine, while Avan Jogia will play Leon S. Kennedy. Hopper will be playing the villainous Albert Wesker, and Neal McDonough will portray William Birkin, who along with Wesker is responsible for the T and G virus.

As for the story, fans can expect it to take place in the familiar surroundings of Racoon City, though we aren't sure if the mansion will be involved. Roberts says the first two games when talking about the basis of the film, so this could be a streamlined mix of the mansion from Resident Evil 1 and the city of Resident Evil 2. Who knows, maybe we'll even get a tease of Nemesis from Resident Evil 3.

Are you excited for the new Resident Evil movie? Let us know in the comments or as always feel free to talk all things Resident Evil and gaming with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!