Netflix’s Resident Evil series is set to make a major change within the franchise when it premieres this summer. The series will be the first live-action project to hit the silver screen and it has a pretty well-rounded cast. Netflix cast Charlie’s Angels star Ella Balinska in the lead role of Resident Evil and Lance Reddick as a race-swapped Albert Wesker. In the video games, Wesker is a white blonde male who dies in a volcano, so the casting definitely turned some heads, but Reddick was deemed the best man for the job. We recently got the chance to sit down with the showrunner of Netflix’s Resident Evil, Andrew Dabb, and he revealed how Reddick landed the role and teased how the character is still alive in the series.
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“So essentially, what happened. So number one is, you know, in the games, Wesker is dead. He got blown up by a rocket launcher in a volcano,” Dabb revealed. “The games are our backstory. So everything in the games exists in this world. So how is Wesker alive? Now, I will say stay tuned. And the answer is not like he’s immune to lava. You know what I mean?”
Reddick has a pretty prolific career starring in projects like The Wire, Fringe and the John Wick franchise, so he definitely is qualified to play the role. Dabb revealed that when the actor showed interest in the role, they immediately chose him because there was no one better for the role. The Resident Evil showrunner also reveals why Reddick was the right choice to play Albert Wesker.
“In terms of casting, the rule for casting was to find the best person, you know what I mean? I think when you are casting in the modern day and age, if you are limiting yourself based off, well, this character is blonde, so we got to only look at blonde actors, you’re gonna find yourself in a bad position,” the Resident Evil showrunner continued. “And so, when Lance [Reddick] was interested in doing the part, well, you’re not gonna find anybody better. Like, you’re not gonna find anybody better than him to play his character. Both the kind of dad part of the character, and also, as you saw in this, the more kind of corporate, you know, killer part of the character.
“So once that clicked into place, like, you’re not going to do better. So at that point, you’re making the show weaker by going with someone that may be more aesthetically a match to the game, you know what I mean? So why would you weaken a show like that? You know what I mean, it makes no sense to me. And luckily, Netflix and Constantin as well, we’re very much on board with that. Because the goal here is to do the strongest show, and that, by the way, that applies to all the others. You know, looking at Ella [Balinska] and Tara [Smart] and Sienna [Agudong]. And Paola [Nuñez], like, we, believe me, we saw a lot of people, you know what I mean? Pretty much everybody. And these people were the standout people, these every, and I say this, like, honestly, everybody on this show was our first choice. And we were very lucky that Netflix helped us put them in the show.” Dabb added.
Netflix describes the series as follows: “Year 2036 – 14 years after a deadly virus caused a global apocalypse, Jade Wesker fights for survival in a world overrun by the blood-thirsty infected and insane creatures. In this absolute carnage, Jade is haunted by her past in New Raccoon City, by her father’s chilling connections to the Umbrella Corporation but mostly by what happened to her sister, Billie.”
Netflix’s Resident Evil series will feature eight one-hour episodes which will all release on July 14th.
What do you think about Lance Reddick playing Albert Wesker? Let us know in the comments section below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!
