When adapting something popular, there’s always the hope that it will start a franchise and that’s certainly the case for movies based on video games. With many popular video games franchises themselves with multiple sequels and in some cases even spin offs, taking them to the big screen usually comes with the hope that there will be lots of movies to come. However, in the case of one action horror film series based on a beloved video game franchise, it was a reboot that derailed everything and now it’s coming to Hulu — before the franchise can try rebooting itself once again.
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Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is set to arrive on Hulu on February 23rd. The (to date) most recent film adaptation of the beloved sci-fi horror Resident Evil video game series, Welcome to Raccoon City was released in theaters in 2021 and was meant to be a reboot of the franchise which up to that point consisted of six life-action films. However, the reboot, which stars Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, and Robbie Amell, tanked at the box office and wasn’t received well by critics, either. The film’s poor performance killed its planned sequel leading to another series reboot expected in theaters later this year.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City May End Up Just a Temporary Setback For the Resident Evil Franchise
There’s no really getting around the notion that Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is a pretty rough movie. The film is considered to be pretty disappointing and low budget to both fans and critics alike, with many of the complains being specifically centered around low-quality CGI and bad design that some fans and critics said made the production look cheap. There were also issues with the film’s writing and pacing, as both were considered to be rushed and confusing as the film tried to utilize storylines from the first two Resident Evil films. There were also complaints about the acting and an overall lack of genuine horror element. The film marked a movie franchise low and, at the time, was the end of the line as sequels never materialized. However, despite the film’s poor performance and reception, that might not be the end.
A fresh Resident Evil reboot was announced in 2025 with Zach Cregger writing and directing. This film will star Austin Abrams, Paul Walter Hauser, Zach Cherry, and Kali Reis and is currently set to hit theaters September 18th. If successful, this new reboot could be the fresh start for the overall Resident Evil franchise that Welcome to Raccoon City was meant to be — and it may be a fresh start that feels much more like its own thing rather than something connected to the previous films. Cregger has previously said that he had never seen the previous Resident Evil films and that he was going to be basing this new one more closely on the video games, specifically Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and Resident Evil 4. Given Cregger’s work with films like Weapons and Barbarian and his closer to the source material approach, this reboot of Resident Evil could end up being exactly what the franchise needs. Until then, horror fans can check out Welcome to Raccoon City when it arrives on Hulu on February 23rd.
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