RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER, the sixth film in the video game adaptation franchise that director Paul W.S. Anderson began in 2002, was only released a few months ago – in fact, it just hit home video in the U.S. last Tuesday. While the film wasn't enthusiastically received overall (our own Eric Walkuski gave it a 2/10 review), it was a global box office success despite making less than $30 million in the states, and Germany-based production company Constantin Film, which holds the RESIDENT EVIL film rights and was behind all six of the live action movies, are already hard at work developing a new beginning for the franchise. Apparently this new film is being described as a "reboot".
Details on the reboot are scarce at this point – there is no word on who will be writing or directing it, what the approach will be, or if it will have any ties to the films Anderson oversaw. All we know is that it's happening.
Anderson really did his own thing with his RESIDENT EVIL series, never directly adapting any of the many video games. Instead, he worked elements from the games into original stories centered on a character who wasn't from the games, superheroine Alice, played by Milla Jovovich. One thing a reboot could do is stick closer to the stories of the games and the events depicted in them.
The RESIDENT EVIL film franchise has earned more than $1 billion over the last fifteen years, so you can see why Constantin Film is keen to keep new entries coming out. We'll keep you updated on this reboot project as its development continues.
In the meantime, if you want to catch up on THE FINAL CHAPTER it can now be ordered through Amazon.