Zombie fans will need to wait a bit longer to return to Raccoon City. Sony Pictures has opted to delay the release of Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, the upcoming movie reboot of the popular horror video game franchise. The good news is the adaptation will still be hitting theaters later this year. It will just be later than previously expected.
Sony previously had the Resident Evil reboot slated to arrive on September 3. It will now arrive in theaters on November 24. That gives the studio nearly three more months of cushion. The situation with movie theaters is improving and the box office is slowly coming back to life. By November, we should be back to something closer to normalcy. By waiting, that could give the filmmakers a bit more time to tighten things up behind the scenes, while also ensuring the largest possible return on investment.
As things have begun to improve, studios have started to firm up release strategies. Disney recently shuffled around its release calendar, which included shifting Black Widow to July, while also making it available on Disney+ at that time. Spiral: From the Book of Saw moved up a week, Mortal Kombat was delayed a week, as was Venom: Let There Be Carnage. But shifting a mere week is far better than the indefinite delays most every blockbuster faced in 2020.
The Resident Evil reboot features familiar names from the games. It stars Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield, Robbie Amell as Chris Redfield, Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine, Tom Hopper as Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy, Neal McDonough as William Birkin and Donal Logue playing Chief Irons. Director Johannes Roberts recently revealed the movie’s official title during the digital edition of SXSW. Sony, soon after, released a first-look image, teasing a return to Raccoon City.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City takes place in the once booming home of the pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation. Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s departure doomed the city to become a wasteland, with evil brewing just beneath the surface. When that evil is unleashed, the townspeople are forever changed. A small group of survivors must band together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and make it through the night.
The movie will be adapting the first two games in Capcom’s best-selling series. Johannes Roberts has confirmed that it will not in any way be connected to the previous version of the franchise, which starred Milla Jovovich and ran from 2002 to 2017. Roberts also explained that he was influenced by John Carpenter, specifically Assault on Precinct 13 and The Fog.
Resident Evil has sold more than 105 million copies of its various titles over the years. The latest entry, Resident Evil Village, is set to arrive in May. The movies have grossed more than $1.2 billion globally, making it the most successful video game movie franchise in history. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details are made available. This news was previously reported by Variety.