Oct. 6 (UPI) — A Resident Evil reboot starring Kaya Scodelario and Robbie Amell is in the works at Constantin Film.
The studio announced Tuesday that Scodelario, Amell, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hopper, Avan Jogia and Neal McDonough will star in an origin story based on the Capcom video games.
Scodelario will play Claire Redfield, with Amell as Chris Redfield, John-Kamen as Jill Valentine, Hopper as Albert Wesker, Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy and McDonough as William Birkin. Johannes Roberts is directing the film.
The new movie takes place in Raccoon City on a fateful night in 1998.
“With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and recreate 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,” Roberts said in a statement.
The first Resident Evil game was released in 1996. Paul W. S. Anderson wrote and/or directed six movies in a film series adaptation starring Milla Jovovich as Alicia “Alice” Marcus.
Robert Kulzer will produce the reboot with James Harris and Hartley Gorenstein.
“After a dozen games, six live-action movies and hundreds of pages of fan fiction, we felt compelled to return to the year 1998, to explore the secrets hidden in the walls of the Spenser Mansion and Raccoon City,” Kulzer said.
Sony’s Screen Gems will release the film in theaters in 2021. Constantin will distribute the movie in German-speaking territories.
Roberts is known for directing 47 Meters Down and its sequel. Scodelario played Teresa in the Maze Runner film series, while Amell portrayed Ronnie Raymond, aka Firestorm, on The Flash.
Netflix is developing a Resident Evil anime series, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, slated for release in 2021, and a live-action series.