Milla Jovovich might have moved on to fight massive bad guys in the upcoming “Monster Hunter” film, but just because she’s gone, that doesn’t mean “Resident Evil” is going to stop. As a matter of fact, it appears that Sony’s upcoming reboot of the film franchise is moving ahead just fine, as there is a brand-new cast set to take on the evil, deadly villains that have haunted video game players for more than two decades.
READ MORE: Milla Jovovich Explains Why She Almost Quit ‘Resident Evil’ Before It Even Started
According to Deadline, the upcoming “Resident Evil” film has signed on its primary cast, which includes Kaya Scodelario (“Crawl”) as Claire Redfield alongside Hannah John-Kamen (“Ant-Man and the Wasp”) as Jill Valentine, Robbie Amell (“Upload”) as Chris Redfield, Tom Hopper (“The Umbrella Academy”) as Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia (“Zombieland: Double Tap”) as Leon S. Kennedy, and Neal McDonough (“Yellowstone”) as William Birkin.
If you’re a fan of the video game series that inspired the “Resident Evil” film franchise, the names listed for the characters included in the new reboot should be exciting and point to a more faithful adaptation. And you’d be right. The report claims that the new film will go back to 1998 and tell the story of one fateful night in Raccoon City.
Obviously, the two big names are Scodelario and John-Kamen. Both actresses are clearly the leads of the film, filling the roles of Claire Redfield and Jill Valentine. Scodelario is probably best known for her role in the “Maze Runner” franchise, but recently, she was the lead in the incredibly underrated (and Quentin Tarantino-approved) horror film, “Crawl.” John-Kamen is a bit less known. However, she did have the antagonist role in Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” where she definitely held her own.
“Resident Evil” is set to be written and directed by Johannes Roberts. The filmmaker is probably best known for his horror films, “47 Meters Down” and its sequel, as well as the underrated “The Strangers: Prey at Night.”
“With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and re-create the terrifying visceral experience I had when I first played them whilst at the same time telling a grounded human story about a small dying American town that feels both relatable and relevant to today’s audiences, said Roberts.
Obviously, the “Resident Evil” film franchise has been a consistent presence in the film world for the past couple of decades, spawning six total features. In addition to the upcoming reboot, Netflix is apparently on board to develop a TV series based on the video game franchise.