The Resident Evil franchise may be 25 years old, but it’s no less a powerhouse than when it debuted back in 1996. In addition to Resident Evil Village, the eighth major entry in the game series due out in May, Netflix has on its slate two Resident Evil-themed projects. The first is a live-action series, which is currently in pre-production. Based on the casting for the project, it will be an all-new story with only a few returning characters but promises the same survival horror as the rest of the series.
But fans of the series won’t have to wait too long to get their Resident Evil fix as a new CGI anime series is slated to hit Netflix in July. Titled Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, the series follows popular RE characters Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy (voiced by Stephanie Panisello and Nick Apostolides respectively) as they battle zombies in the White House. Netflix just released a new trailer for the show. It’s short and sweet but sets up just enough of a story to pique my interest. Check it out above!
This is the first animated project for Japanese director Eiichirô Hasumi, and, as he explains, he used his skills in live-action to make Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness as life-like as possible. As Hasumi explains:
Being involved in a work with such a long history and so many fans gave me more joy than it did pressure. While this is a full CG anime, I strove to adjust the camerawork and lighting atmosphere to resemble the live action filming I usually do to instill this work with a sense of realism. I hope that both fans of the Resident Evil series and non-fans alike can enjoy watching the series in one go.
It seems like Netflix is launching itself full force into anime production. In addition to this new Resident Evil series, Netflix made waves with its massively popular Castlevania series, which unfortunately will end its run with the upcoming fourth season. But Netflix has also ordered anime-styled series based on both Kong: Skull Island and Tomb Raider. Both of these series are early in their pre-production, but we are likely to see them sometime in 2022.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness drops on Netflix in July 2021.
