I liked the previous Resident Evil movies for what they were – a reimagining of the Resident Evil franchise. However, it always really bothered me that they didn't follow the games in terms of story and settings despite using many of the characters and monsters. I like the first movie the most, because despite not featuring any game characters it still managed to capture the feeling of dread and isolation from the games.
There are rumors of a reboot but nothing has been confirmed at this point as far as I know.
This is my idea for a film series based more closely on the source material with more focus on story and horror. To begin with, I have concentrated on a trilogy spanning from Resident Evil 1 to Resident Evil: Code Veronica.
Each film have a title that fits the story not unlike the S. D. Perry books.
If the article is well received, I will post another one with the second and last part.
Enjoy.
Resident Evil: Origins
Around the Midwestern town of Raccoon City, there are reports of grisly murders where the victims are half eaten. The Raccoon City Police Department’s Chief Irons sends one of the STARS (special forces) teams to investigate but when Bravo team goes missing the Alpha team is send in.
They discover the wrecked and abandoned helicopter of Bravo team and finds one of the member’s body completely torn apart. They are attacked by zombie dogs and a member of their team is gruesomely killed. The last four STARS members Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton and Captain Albert Wesker run and are split up, but all still manage to take shelter in an old mansion.
Here the story splits in two. Jill and Barry search the house encountering both zombies, big frog monsters (hunters) and a gigantic snake in the attic.
Chris and Wesker reach the mansion together but Wesker soon disappears. Later Chris meets Rebecca Chambers of Bravo team and the two explore the garden and the pool house. They encounter both giant spiders and a huge mutant plant. Underneath the pool house they discover the secret home of Lisa Trevor – a child tragically mutated into a hideous monster by Umbrella.
Throughout the movie documents scattered around the mansion, reveal that it belongs to Oswald Spencer – the founder and owner of the Umbrella Corporation, a major pharmaceutical enterprise that also secretly deals in biological weaponry. Some years ago, they developed the T-virus – an infection capable of resurrecting dead cells resulting in the zombies.
Jill and Chris find most of the Bravo team members but they are either dead, dying or zombies.
Jill makes her way to a laboratory but is ambushed by Barry who takes her to Wesker who is blackmailing Barry into helping him. Wesker reveals that he works for Umbrella and are using the STARS to collect combat data for their creations. The newest creation – the Tyrant is in stasis in the lab and Wesker awakes it to fight Jill.
However, the Tyrant turns, impales and seemingly kills Wesker before it attacks Jill. A remorseful Barry helps her and they defeat the monster.
Meanwhile Chris and Rebecca make it to an underground tomb. The tomb contains a passage to the lab but is guarded by Lisa. During a fight, a coffin containing Lisa’s mother is knocked open and Lisa crawls into it. She grabs the point of Chris’ gun and holds it to her head begging him to kill her. He reluctantly does and they head to the lab.
Rebecca manages to contact the STARS pilot Brad and arrange a pick-up before they meet up with the others. Rebecca and Barry go off to start the self-destruct system to destroy the infection and the monsters while Jill and Chris go to meet the helicopter. On the helipad, the still alive Tyrant bursts through the ground. The chopper arrives and dumps a rocket launcher, which Chris uses to kill the monster. All four STARS members escape in the helicopter as the mansion explodes.
Back at the RCPD chief Irons orders the STARS to keep quiet and go with a cover story. It leads to a heavy argument and the four survivors resign vowing to expose Umbrella.
Mid-credit scene: A car with an Umbrella logo parks in the forest close to what’s left of the mansion estate. William Birkin gets out and kneels next to someone on the ground. The driver asks if he’s dead and Birkin answers: “Not for long.”
NOTES:
-
In the first movie, I wanted to capture the essence of the original game and its remake. Some things like the aquaring (and the sharks) and the underground tunnels are cut.
-
The events of RE: Zero are omitted. The creation of the T-virus and James Marcus are still mentioned through various files but other than that, the events aren’t featured.
-
Chief Irons is present in the beginning and end of the movie.
-
Lisa Trevor’s story is changed a bit. Her presence makes the whole thing more tragic. In the end, all she wants is to be with her mother.
Resident Evil: City in Flames
Three months after the mansion incident police rookie Leon S. Kennedy arrives in Raccoon City. He runs into Claire Redfield who's also new in town and searching for her brother Chris. Together they discover that a zombie virus has infected the whole city. They make their way to the police station where they are split up by lickers.
Leon meets the mysterious Ada Wong who helps him make his way through the station to the sewers. On their way, they also meet a reporter named Ben Bertolucci.
Claire finds a young girl with a gold pedant named Sherry Birkin and they are attacked by the corrupt police chief Irons. He has been taken bribes from Umbrella but has since been abandoned in the infected city. Before he can do anything he is killed by a monster with an eye in it’s shoulder that also abducts Sherry.
Leon and Ada meet several monsters and saves each other numerous times. They are separated but Leon soon meets up with Claire again. Together they run into Annette Birkin who's looking for her daughter Sherry. She explains that both she and her husband William used to work for Umbrella. William had recently created a new virus called the G-virus but didn't want Umbrella to have it. When they send in soldiers to take it by force William was fatally wounded and injected himself with the virus. He mutated into the creature with the eye in it’s shoulder and killed the soldiers. In the chaos, the T-virus was released into the sewers and spread by rats causing the outbreak. William, now the monster G, is following Sherry to implant her with embryos so that it can procreate. After learning that G already took Sherry they all race to an underground lab where Annette makes a vaccine that can save her.
Once they track down G and Sherry Annette tries to reason with G but is brutally killed. Leon and Claire escape with Sherry who gets the vaccine. Leon gets a call on radio from the reporter Ben who tells him that the government has decided to destroy Raccoon City within the hour to stop the infection. They listen as Ben’s screams as he is cornered and killed by zombies.
Leon, Claire and Sherry run toward the only means of escape; an underground train. On the way, they are held at gunpoint by Ada. She reveals that she is a spy send to retrieve a sample of the G-virus and that such a sample is hidden within Sherry’s pendant. Ada gets the pendant but they are all attacked again by G who mutates into a giant monster with tentacles. They run toward the train but Ada is stuck down. While Claire and Sherry start the train, Leon stays with Ada. She orders him to go and after sharing a quick kiss, he reluctantly leaves while Ada holds off the monster.
The train rolls off but suddenly starts to shake. G is hanging on to it but together Leon and Claire manage to blast it off.
Well outside the city the train is stopped by military officers and all three are given medical care while they watch Raccoon City be destroyed in the distance.
Mid-credit scene: A heavily injured and bandaged Ada contacts someone by phone and says that she has the sample.
NOTES:
-
The events of RE2 remain basically the same with minor adjustments to better tie the movies together. Because the A and B scenarios are fused together, the tyrant Mr. X is cut. G more than fills the story.
-
All STARS members from the first movie make a cameo in a photograph at the RCPD.
-
The events of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis are initially skipped because it already was the base story in 2004's ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’. I wanted to focus on the stuff excluded in the previous movies. However, the events still happened and will be featured later in the next movie featuring Jill through flashbacks. It'll make sense in part 2.
-
Because Raccoon City is destroyed at the end of the second movie, the role of Ben Bertolucci is changed. Instead of being killed by G, he warns the heroes of the city's destruction before being killed by zombies.
Resident Evil: Code Veronica
In December while searching for her brother Chris, Claire is captured by Umbrella and sent to a prison on a military island base. The next day the island is attacked and the T-virus is released. Claire escapes with Steve - a fellow prisoner. They face off against numerous zombies well as the island’s military leader Alfred Ashford and his twin sister Alexia.
Claire manages to contact Leon through a computer. He tells her that he has found Chris and will inform him of the situation.
After facing off with a giant gulp worm the two escapees make it to the Ashford’s private residence where they learn that Alexia died years ago and that Alfred has been dressing as his sister as a coping mechanism. They (and Alfred) make it to a plane that has been preprogrammed and takes them to an abandoned Umbrella base in Antarctica. The base is swarming with mutant ants, moths and other insects.
Claire and Steve learn that Alexia was a child prodigy who created the t-Veronica virus. They face off against what’s lefts of the twin’s father, who has been mutated by said virus. Steve also fatally wounds Alfred. Before dying, he awakens the real Alexia, who has been in stasis for years in order to bond with her virus. Before Claire and Steve can escape the base, they are attacked by Alexia from afar while she sings a lullaby to her dying brother.
A few hours later Chris tracks his sister to the Arctic base where Alexia continuously foils his progress by sending her mutants insects his way. When he finally finds Claire, Chris’ former STARS captain Wesker corners them. He gloats that thanks to his old friend William Birkin he has been reborn with super human abilities after being impaled by the tyrant. He tells Chris that he attacked Alfred’s island and followed him to Antarctica for the t-Veronica virus. Alexia appears and proclaims that she is the reincarnation of her great ancestor Veronica Ashford. Both she and her brother were created by their father with Veronica’s preserved DNA in order to restore the noble Ashford name. However, their father was thinking too small. With the t-Veronica virus, she will change the world.
Wesker laughs and attacks Alexia while Chris and Claire flee. Without much effort, Alexia defeats the former STARS captain and angry and hurt he retreats.
The Redfields find Steve but he has been injected with the new virus and turns into a huge monster controlled psychically by Alexia. When Steve tries to spare Claire, Alexia kills him.
Meanwhile Wesker starts the self-destruction. The siblings head for Chris’s plane but are forced to take a detour that leads them to a gigantic insect hive. While fleeing the bugs they find Alexia blocking the path. She mutates from human into an insects-like creature with a giant body that starts laying eggs gloating that her creations will take over the Earth. Together Chris and Claire destroy both Alexia’s body, the eggs and the hive.
While starting up the plane, the siblings are thwarted by Alexia again this time looking like a huge dragonfly and trying to penetrate the windshield. Suddenly a laser beam blasts her in two from bellow. Chris looks down and sees Wesker with Steve’s body (and therein a sample of the virus) smiling cruelly up at him mouthing the words: “Next time”. The plane takes off and the facility explodes. Chris wows to destroy both Wesker and Umbrella.
Mid-credit scene: At an unknown location, Ada (on a screen) asks Wesker why he didn’t send her to retrieve the t-Veronica virus. He answers that he wanted the chance to catch up with an old friend.
NOTES:
-
Leon makes a cameo when Claire contacs him.
-
Chris’ adventures on the military island is omitted and he tracks Claire directly to the arctic base.
-
Wesker doesn’t reveal himself until Chris finds Claire to make it more of a surprise.
-
There are no zombies at the arctic base. Instead its filled with mutated insects from Alexia’s hive.
-
Alexia’s role is bigger and she doesn’t mutate until her final confrontation with the Redfields. She also retains her logical mind while she’s a monster like in Darkside Chronicles.
-
Wesker delivering the killing blow to Alexia, essentially saving Chris and Claire adds to the dynamic between them. A thing to be explored later.
-
The siblings vs siblings dynamic in Code Veronica is the core of the story. Both the relationship between the Redfields and the Ashfords are explored heavily throughout the film – one a normal one and the other a twisted one.
Cast and characters
When it comes to casting, I’ve tried to make a realistic mix of experienced actors from both movies and TV while also acknowledging the need for physical resemblance to the characters.
Introduced in Resident Evil: Origins
Chris Redfield - Chris Wood (Vampire Diaries, Supergirl)
-
Member of the STARS Alpha team. A heroic and courageous young man and a natural leader.
-
When casting Chris I wanted someone with charisma and Chris Wood has that to spare. He has proven that he can play both the nicest and the worst guy around and even as a evil character you can't really help rooting for him. Also he has the perfect look for Chris.
Jill Valentine - Willa Holland (Kingdom Hearts, Arrow)
-
Also a member of the STARS Alpha team. She's a ‘master of unlocking’, very inventive and good with weapons.
-
Jill was actually one of the toughest characters to cast for me. In the end, I went with Arrow’s Willa Holland. She is a great young and charming actress who can kick ass and look good doing it while handling emotional stuff at the same time.
Albert Wesker - Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Legion, Beauty and the Beast)
-
The leader of Alpha team who secretly works for the evil Umbrella Corporation. After ‘Origins’ he is enhanced and gets super human attributes.
-
After Downton Abbey Stevens went on to prove that he is a force to be reckoned with, both as a mental patient with psychic powers and as an enchanted beast. The way he portrays the spoiled prince at the beginning of Beauty is perfect for Wesker – stock up, condescending and mean.
Barry Burton - Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone, Thor)
-
The oldest and most experienced member of Alpha team. A family man and weapon expert. Big lover of magnums.
-
Great at macho roles yet also great at playing funny and likeable characters.
Rebecca Chambers – Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel, Ouija, Ready Player One)
-
The youngest STARS member and only surviving member of the Bravo team. Works as the team’s medic.
-
Young actress with lots of experience in both horror, drama and action
Introduced in Resident Evil: City in Flames
Leon S. Kennedy – Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson, Fury)
-
A rookie cop who arrives for his first day in the zombie infected city. He is ambitious and moral minded.
-
Great young actor with plenty of charm and experience to portray the innocent but hardcore police rookie. Lerman would be great for both the drama and action.
Claire Redfield - AnnaSophia Robb (The Carrie Diaries, Soul Surfer)
-
The little sister of Chris who leaves college to search for him. She is caring and nurturing yet knows her way around weapons.
-
Former child actress who has a lot of experience portraying strong female characters and perfect for the emotional and capable Claire who can be maternal and handle weapons at the same time.
Ada Wong - Claudia Kim (Avengers 2, Marco Polo, The Dark Tower)
-
A morally ambiguous character with shady motivations. She secretly works for Wesker to obtain the G-virus. She forms a bond with Leon and comes to care for him.
-
Also a very hard character to cast but in the end I chose Claudia Kim, known for her roles in both films and TV.
Birkin – Kate Hudson (Almost Famous, The Skeleton Key)
-
Wife of William and mother of Sherry and an Umbrella researcher.
-
Hudson will be perfect to portray Annette as both smart and sexy badass.
Sherry Birkin – not casted
-
Daughter of William and Annette
Introduced in Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Steve Burnside – Thomas Mann (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Kong: Skull Island)
-
A hothead prisoner who meets Claire and develops feelings for her.
-
Actor with plenty of charm to portray Claire’s wannabe lover boy.
Alfred Ashford – Dane Dehaan (Chronicle, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Valerian)
-
One of the Ashford twins. Obsessed with his sister and has developed a second personality to cope with losing her.
-
Dehaan has great experience portraying psychotic characters and definitely has the acting chops to pull of the cross-dressing military man Alfred who is completely devoted to his sister.
Alexia Ashford – Blake Lively (Gossip Girl, The Age of Adaline, The Shallows)
-
The other Ashford twin. She created the t-Veronica virus at age 12 and has been in hibernation ever since to bond with the virus. Mutates into a queen of insects while still retaining her intellect.
-
Lively has proven herself a great actress who can do all sorts of genres. She has plenty of experience and would be perfect to portray the strong, beautiful and malevolent Alexia.
Secondary/minor characters:
RE: Origins
Joseph Frost, Kenneth Sullivan, Forest Speyer, Richard Aiken, Enrico Marini, Brad Vickers – Various members of STARS
RE: City in Flames
William Birkin – Head researcher for Umbrella and creator of the G-virus. Mutates into a the horrible G-monster
Police chief Irons – The corrupt chief of the Raccoon City Police Department
Ben Bertolucci – A reporter
RE: Code Veronica
Alexander Ashford – Father/creator of Alexia and Alfred. Used as an experiment by his daughter and turned into a mindless monster
Rodrigo Juan Raval – Prison guard, who frees Claire from her cell before being killed
Steve’s father – Prisoner who becomes a zombie
Conclusion
This was the first part of my idea for a Resident Evil film series spanning over six movies and adapting a lot of stories, elements, characters etc. from the games. I used a lot of time on it so I hope you liked it. Feel free to comment either here or on ResidentEvil.org.
I’m currently working on the second part and I hope some of you guys out there are interested to read it.
For now thank you very much for reading.