Film and TV installments in theResident Evilfranchise have been a bit shaky as of late, though when have they ever not been? However, for the die-hard fans, there’s something to finally raise you out of your grave: a new documentary is in the works about George Romero’s famous unsuccessful attempt to make aResident Evilfilm.
For fans ofResident Evil, the George Romero film that never was almost occupied the status of an urban legend. In the late 1990s, after the massive success of the originalResident Evilvideo game, Romero, the creator of the modern zombie film, tried his hand at adapting the game into a live-action movie, though producer Capcom canned the project. Now,Dawn of the Discshas a new look at an upcoming documentary about Romero’s never-madeResident Evilfilm.
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At the recent Creature Feature Weekend in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, it was announced that a documentary about Romero’sResident Evilis in the works. Dawn of the Discs posted on Twitter two teaser images that were shared at the horror convention, which show the film’s title screen and an image from the original 1996Resident Evilgame on Playstation. The project will be headed up by Jason Bareford, who was a production assistant for Romero, and Brandon Salisbury, who will direct.
With all this said, questions remain as to what material the documentary will use. Romero only completed a script for the film before it was rejected and never began filming, so actual footage of the project almost certainly doesn’t exist. Bareford and Salisbury are filming original material for the documentary, which will reportedly take place in aResident Evil-inspired mansion and will be filmed in a style reminiscent of Romero’s own. Whether this means the film will be a docudrama or will act out scenes from Romero’s never-produced script is not entirely clear at this point.
The movie comes at an interesting time, in which Capcom is not entirely surewhat to do with theResident Evilproperty. After a number of flops, the video game series managed to reinvent itself in 2017 withResident Evil 7: Biohazardto critical acclaim. The movie franchise, however, has not been as successful. After the conclusion of the lucrative but bemoaned Milla Jovovich film series inResident Evil: The Final Chapterin 2016, the franchise has attempted to go in various different directions, none of them as successful as hoped.
The 2021 reboot film,Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, was released with truly frightening critical reviews but a more positive fan response and Netflix’sResident Eviltelevision series received a deeply mixed response and was canceled after only one season. With the future of the media franchise up in the air, a look back at Romero’s ill-fated adaptation could be especially promising and a great learning opportunity.
George Romero’s Resident Evilis expected to release in 2024.
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Source:Dawn of the Discs
