Capcom is going all in with Resident Evil in 2021.
The franchise, which continues to be one of the most popular horror IPs on the planet, is being expanded upon in essentially every medium over the next 12 months or so, with games, films, TV shows and even celebratory manga volumes all currently in the works. It’s worth noting, however, that as of writing, none of these ambitious projects have confirmed launch windows, with Resident Evil Village – the core series’ eighth mainline installment – expected to drop in the first few months of the New Year for next-gen (and potentially more) consoles.
If we’re to assume that Village is intended to kick off the franchise’s upcoming 25th anniversary celebrations, streaming service Netflix will keep the ball rolling, so to speak, later in the year with its recently announced live-action TV series as well as an animated show, Infinite Darkness, featuring popular characters such as Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy. And that’s not even touching on the upcoming movie reboot that we’ve been hearing about for quite some time, though if you’re expecting a repeat of Paul W.S. Anderson’s adaptation, think again.
In a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Anderson revealed that, for the foreseeable future, at least, he has no interest in returning to Capcom’s iconic universe and considers his six-film adaptation to be a complete work.
I made Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, and everybody said, ‘Oh yeah, right. It’s the final chapter. He’s a bloody liar.’ And we made it, we called it the ‘Final Chapter,’ we made a story that brought everything to a resolution, which is what I’d always intended. And we made it the biggest and most successful of the franchise. And, for me, that was the time to walk away from it. I did what I said I was going to do and I’m immensely proud of it. And I think we did it, we achieved what we wanted to.
As for life beyond Resident Evil, Anderson says he’s now fully immersed in another of Capcom’s extremely popular creations. In case you hadn’t heard, Monster Hunter, starring Milla Jovovich and Tony Jaa, is scheduled to land in theaters this December.