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''Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City'' is a 2021 action horror film written and directed by
Johannes Roberts Johannes Roberts (born 24 May 1976) is a British film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed the film '' 47 Meters Down'' and its sequel, as well as ''The Other Side of the Door'', '' The Strangers: Prey at Night'' and '' Resident Evi ...
. Adapted from the stories of the
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and second games by Capcom, it serves as a
reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
of the ''Resident Evil'' film series and is the seventh live-action film based on the
video game series This is a list of video game franchises, organized alphabetically. All entries include multiple video games, not counting ports or altered re-releases. 0–9 *''1080° Snowboarding'' *''1942'' *''3D Ultra Minigolf'' *'' 3-D Ultra Pinball'' *''7 ...
. The film stars
Kaya Scodelario Kaya Rose Scodelario-Davis ( née Humphrey; born 13 March 1992) is an English actress best known for her roles as Effy Stonem on the E4 teen drama '' Skins'' (2007–2010, 2013), and Teresa in the ''Maze Runner'' film series (2014–2018). Ot ...
,
Hannah John-Kamen Hannah Dominique E. John-Kamen (born 7 September 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yalena "Dutch" Yardeen in the Syfy television series ''Killjoys'' (2015–2019), Ornela in the sixth season of the HBO series '' Game ...
,
Robbie Amell Robert Patrick Amell IV (born April 21, 1988) is a Canadian-American actor and producer. He is best-known for his roles as Stephen Jameson on The CW series ''The Tomorrow People'', Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm on The CW series ''The Flash'', Natha ...
,
Tom Hopper Thomas Edward Hopper (born 28 January 1985) is a British actor. He has appeared as Percival in ''Merlin'', Billy Bones in '' Black Sails'', Dickon Tarly in ''Game of Thrones'', and Luther Hargreeves in ''The Umbrella Academy''. Early life T ...
,
Avan Jogia Avan Tudor Jogia (; born February 9, 1992) is a Canadian actor. He first received recognition for portraying Danny Araujo in the television film '' A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story'' (2006). After moving to the United States in his late te ...
,
Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the film '' The Tao of Steve'' and has had roles in the TV series ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Vikings'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Copper'', '' Terriers'', and, as Detecti ...
, and
Neal McDonough Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on ''Boomtown'' (2002–20 ...
. Set in 1998, it follows a group of survivors trying to survive during a zombie outbreak in the small town of Raccoon City. Development took place in early 2017, after '' Resident Evil: The Final Chapter'' was released, with producer
James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the '' Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjur ...
expressing interest in the project. Later,
Constantin Film The Constantin Film AG is a German mini-major film production and distribution company based in Munich. The company, which belongs to Swiss media conglomerate Highlight Communications AG, is a large independent German maker and distributor of pr ...
chairman Martin Moszkowicz said that a reboot of the film series was in development. In the same month, Wan was called to produce the reboot with a script by Greg Russo; subsequently, Roberts was hired as both writer and director and both Wan and Russo left the project. Filming began on October 17, 2020, in Greater Sudbury,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The film underwent reshoots in May 2021. ''Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City'' had its world premiere at the
Grand Rex Le Grand Rex is a Parisian cinema and concert venue. Location and access It is located at , boulevard Poissonnière in the 2nd arrondissement, on the grands boulevards. Its facades and roofs, as well as its hall and its decor have been lis ...
in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
on November 19, 2021, and was theatrically released on November 24, 2021, in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, with its faithfulness to the first two games being praised, but was criticized for its script, casting and special effects. It grossed over $42 million worldwide against a $25 million budget.


Plot

In the 1980s,
Claire Redfield is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), alongside Leon S. Kennedy ...
and her older brother
Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...
are children living at the Raccoon City Orphanage. Claire befriends Lisa Trevor, a disfigured girl who has been experimented on by Dr. William Birkin, an employee for the
Umbrella Corporation This is a list of ''Resident Evil'' characters, which includes playable and recurring characters that were introduced in ''Resident Evil'', a series of survival horror video games. Appearances P - Playable character (campaign/unlocka ...
, who oversees the orphanage and takes children for his own experimental research. Claire escapes from Birkin when she is selected to participate in an experiment. In 1998, Claire returns to Raccoon City, hitchhiking in a semi-truck. The truck driver accidentally hits a woman in the middle of the road. While Claire and the driver are arguing, the woman disappears. The truck driver's
Dobermann The Dobermann (; ), or Doberman Pinscher in the United States and Canada, is a medium-large breed of domestic dog that was originally developed around 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector from Germany.Leon S. Kennedy notices that the diner's owner has blood coming out of her eyes. Claire heads to Chris's home to warn him about Umbrella's experiments, revealing journalist Ben Bertolucci as her source. After Chris leaves for the police station, a child breaks into the house, running from his mother, who attacks Claire; both are erratic and bloody. Claire escapes from them on Chris's motorcycle. At the police station, the STARS Alpha team meet with Chief Brian Irons and he explains that Bravo team went missing while investigating a death at the remote Spencer Mansion. The Alpha team, composed of Chris,
Jill Valentine Jill Valentine is a character in '' Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in the original '' Resident Evil'' (199 ...
, Richard Aiken,
Brad Vickers This is a list of ''Resident Evil'' characters, which includes playable and recurring characters that were introduced in ''Resident Evil'', a series of survival horror video games. Appearances P - Playable character (campaign/unlockab ...
, and
Albert Wesker is a fictional character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. He is first introduced in the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996), in which he is the captain of the R ...
, is sent to the mansion by helicopter to investigate. Unknown to his teammates, Wesker is an operative for an unidentified party, tasked with stealing Birkin's virus, using inside knowledge to navigate the mansion. Inside, Chris and Richard encounter zombies eating the bodies of the Bravo team while Brad gets bitten by a zombie and crashes their helicopter into the mansion trying to fly away. Wesker saves Jill from a zombie before leaving her; Richard is eaten while Chris battles the horde, reuniting with Jill. The pair flee into the secret passage Wesker unlocked. Meanwhile, the truck driver, bitten by his dog, transforms into a zombie and crashes his truck into the police station. Chief Irons tries to drive out of the city but is fired on by Umbrella guards attempting to contain the outbreak. Returning to the station, Irons is attacked by the truck driver's zombie dog but Claire rescues him. Claire and Leon retrieve weapons and encounter Bertolucci locked in a cell, who is then bitten by a zombie inmate. The station becomes overrun by zombies, and Leon, Claire, and Irons escape to the Orphanage, looking for a secret Umbrella tunnel leading to the mansion. A Licker kills Irons and attacks Leon, but he is saved by Lisa who recognizes Claire and gives them the keys to the secret passage. The pair discover the secret lab where Umbrella was experimenting on children like the Ashford Twins. Wesker encounters Dr. Birkin and his family deep inside the building. In the ensuing scuffle, Wesker is shot by Birkin, shoots him back, and then kills Birkin's wife in self-defense. When Wesker hesitates to pull the trigger on their child Sherry, Jill shoots Wesker. Before dying, Wesker tells Jill to escape via the underground train before the Umbrella Corporation destroys the city, while Birkin injects himself with the "G-Virus". Birkin begins to mutate and attacks Chris, before being shot down by Claire who has arrived at the lab with Leon. Chris, Sherry, Jill, Claire and Leon escape and board the train, but are derailed when Raccoon City and the Spencer Mansion are destroyed, allowing a mutated monster version of Birkin to reach them. It attacks the train and grabs Claire, but she stabs its face with her knife and gets released. Chris shoots the monster but runs out of bullets; Leon then destroys it with a rocket launcher. As the Corporation states that there were zero civilian survivors in the aftermath of the destruction, the five survivors walk out of the train tunnel, leaving Raccoon City behind. In a mid-credits scene, Wesker awakens in a body bag, unable to see anything. A mysterious figure hands him sunglasses and introduces herself as
Ada Wong is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was first introduced as a supporting character in ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), and became a playable charac ...
.


Cast

*
Kaya Scodelario Kaya Rose Scodelario-Davis ( née Humphrey; born 13 March 1992) is an English actress best known for her roles as Effy Stonem on the E4 teen drama '' Skins'' (2007–2010, 2013), and Teresa in the ''Maze Runner'' film series (2014–2018). Ot ...
as
Claire Redfield is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), alongside Leon S. Kennedy ...
, Chris's estranged younger sister who is investigating the Umbrella Corporation ** Lily Gail Reid as young Claire Redfield *
Hannah John-Kamen Hannah Dominique E. John-Kamen (born 7 September 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yalena "Dutch" Yardeen in the Syfy television series ''Killjoys'' (2015–2019), Ornela in the sixth season of the HBO series '' Game ...
as
Jill Valentine Jill Valentine is a character in '' Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in the original '' Resident Evil'' (199 ...
, a member of the
STARS A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
(Special Tactics And Rescue Service) Alpha Team and Chris's partner *
Robbie Amell Robert Patrick Amell IV (born April 21, 1988) is a Canadian-American actor and producer. He is best-known for his roles as Stephen Jameson on The CW series ''The Tomorrow People'', Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm on The CW series ''The Flash'', Natha ...
as
Chris Redfield is a character in '' Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. Chris debuted as one of the two playable characters of the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996), alongside his ...
, Claire's estranged older brother and a member of the STARS Alpha Team who is dispatched to investigate the Spencer Mansion ** Daxton Grey Gujral as young Chris Redfield *
Tom Hopper Thomas Edward Hopper (born 28 January 1985) is a British actor. He has appeared as Percival in ''Merlin'', Billy Bones in '' Black Sails'', Dickon Tarly in ''Game of Thrones'', and Luther Hargreeves in ''The Umbrella Academy''. Early life T ...
as
Albert Wesker is a fictional character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. He is first introduced in the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996), in which he is the captain of the R ...
, a member of the STARS Alpha Team who is working as a double agent for a rival company *
Avan Jogia Avan Tudor Jogia (; born February 9, 1992) is a Canadian actor. He first received recognition for portraying Danny Araujo in the television film '' A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story'' (2006). After moving to the United States in his late te ...
as Leon S. Kennedy, a Raccoon City Police Department (RPD) rookie who teams up with Claire and Irons to escape the city *
Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the film '' The Tao of Steve'' and has had roles in the TV series ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Vikings'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Copper'', '' Terriers'', and, as Detecti ...
as Brian Irons, the RPD's chief of police *
Neal McDonough Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on ''Boomtown'' (2002–20 ...
as William Birkin, one of the leaders of Umbrella's experiments. Additionally,
Lily Gao Lily Gao is a Chinese-born Canadian actress who had major roles in the TV shows ''The Expanse'' and ''Second Jen ''Second Jen'' is a Canadian television sitcom that premiered on City on October 27, 2016. The series is produced by Don Ferguso ...
cameos as
Ada Wong is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was first introduced as a supporting character in ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), and became a playable charac ...
, a mysterious spy, during a mid-credits scene. Marina Mazepa portrays Lisa Trevor, one of Umbrella's experiments. Janet Porter plays Annette Birkin, William's wife, and Holly De Barros portrays
Sherry Birkin This is a list of ''Resident Evil'' characters, which includes playable and recurring characters that were introduced in ''Resident Evil'', a series of survival horror video games. Appearances P - Playable character (campaign/unlockab ...
, their daughter. Chad Rook portrays Richard Aiken, and
Nathan Dales Nathan Dales is a Canadian actor from Calgary, Alberta. He is most noted for his starring role as Daryl in ''Letterkenny'', for which he was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 5th Canadian Screen ...
plays
Brad Vickers This is a list of ''Resident Evil'' characters, which includes playable and recurring characters that were introduced in ''Resident Evil'', a series of survival horror video games. Appearances P - Playable character (campaign/unlockab ...
, two members of the STARS Alpha Team, while Sammy Azero appears as Enrico Marini, and Dylan Taylor as Kevin Dooley, two members of the STARS Bravo Team. Josh Cruddas portrays Ben Bertolucci, a conspiracy theorist investigating the Umbrella Corporation, and
Pat Thornton Pat Thornton (born September 5, 1976) is a Canadians, Canadian television actor, comedian, and writer."Pat ...
plays the trucker who helps Claire. Héloïse Catherine and Sophia Ann Pead Gavin appear as Alexia and
Alfred Ashford This is a list of ''Resident Evil'' characters, which includes playable and recurring characters that were introduced in ''Resident Evil'', a series of survival horror video games. Appearances P - Playable character (campaign/unlockab ...
, respectively.


Production


Writing


Greg Russo's version

Pre-production took place in early 2017 while '' Resident Evil: The Final Chapter'' was still in theatres, with
Constantin Film The Constantin Film AG is a German mini-major film production and distribution company based in Munich. The company, which belongs to Swiss media conglomerate Highlight Communications AG, is a large independent German maker and distributor of pr ...
chairman Martin Moszkowicz saying that a reboot of the series was in development, and producer
James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the '' Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjur ...
expressing interest in the project. Greg Russo was attached as writer in 2017. Russo, who was also attached to write the script for '' Mortal Kombat'' (2021) at the time, worked with Wan in creating a ''Resident Evil'' story he considered to be "brutal and horrifying", and drew inspiration from the 2017 video game '' Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'', though he would later clarify he only drew on the tones of the game – "scary, isolated, alone" – rather than the story itself. Russo wanted
Moonlight Sonata The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked ''Quasi una fantasia'', Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The popular name ''M ...
, a composition featured in several ''Resident Evil'' games, to feature in the opening credits. At one point, it would have been an actual sequel to the game continuing on from Ethan and Mia Winters' experiences in Louisiana. Constantin, however, was not happy with this script, feeling the game was too recent and its potential failure could harm film sales. Seeking alternate story ideas, Constantin proposed the incorporation at one point of time-travel. Ultimately, Wan and Russo decided to leave the project citing creative differences and their departures were confirmed at the end of the year.


Johannes Roberts' version

In December 2018, it was announced that
Johannes Roberts Johannes Roberts (born 24 May 1976) is a British film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed the film '' 47 Meters Down'' and its sequel, as well as ''The Other Side of the Door'', '' The Strangers: Prey at Night'' and '' Resident Evi ...
was attached to write and direct the film. In August 2019, Roberts told '' Screen Rant'' that the reboot would be "super, super scary" and more faithful to the games than the previous films. In a statement to ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wit ...
'', Roberts said the film would be based on ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' (1996) and ''
Resident Evil 2 ''Resident Evil 2'' is a 1998 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. The player controls Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who must escape Raccoon City after its citizens a ...
'' (1998): In the same article, ''Resident Evil'' producer
Robert Kulzer Robert Kulzer is a German film producer, who primarily works with Constantin Film. He is known as the German company's liaison to the Hollywood-based US film industry, beginning with the firm as a script reader and assistant for Bernd Eichinger. ...
stated: In early drafts, the screenplay was ambitious, incorporating a variety of mutants from the first two games into the narrative even if only passively. The story was from the start intended as an ensemble piece comparable to '' Resident Evil: Apocalypse'', following several major characters in the film as their paths converge. Over the course of 2019 and 2020 the film script was repeatedly altered, keeping the main story but removing a number of CG-heavy elements, condensing the supporting cast and tweaking the protagonists' arcs. Earlier drafts also included more original characters, monsters and locations from the games, before Roberts had to make changes to his script after the budget was cut from $40 million to $25 million. Some of the cuts and changes were made so late that most of the concept artwork done by Daniel Carrasco for the monsters to be featured was finished, including Hunters, Chimeras, Crimson Heads, Pale Heads, giant spiders, Neptune (giant shark), Tyrant (aka Mr. X), and others. Previous drafts also had more character and plot scenes, including more backstory for Raccoon City and build up to the outbreak, more scenes which took place in the mansion, and additional scenes with Leon, chief Irons, and Birkin and his family. Ada Wong had more scenes between her and Wesker, and there was more of a focus on his betrayal and friendship with Jill and Chris. He was killed by a mutated Birkin during the ending battle, not by Jill like in the final film, and his resurrection was meant to be part of the ending and not a post-credit scene. Originally, Claire and Chris had no connection with Birkin or Ben Bertolucci, this was added later to help streamline the story after other script changes. The characters were also closer to their original video game versions; Jill wasn't written as a reckless wildcard and Claire wasn't a conspiracy theorist who already knew of Umbrella's intentions. Barry Burton, Rebecca Chambers and other characters from the games were originally in the scripts, and some had death scenes written for them. Some of the action scenes were cut down or changed, mostly due to budget cuts, such as a scene where Lisa Trevor sacrifices herself attacking Birkin while everyone else escapes on the train. On October 8, 2020, a few days before filming started, Robbie Amell posted a picture of himself on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
with a script for the film, when it was simply titled ''Resident Evil''. The script's cover page was dated 30th September, 2020, and was listed as shooting draft "Version 7.2", meaning there were at least six earlier versions, which still had several revisions done to it that same month. During an interview with ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' in March 2021, Roberts said he wanted to give the film a darker tone: Inspired by
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
's films, including '' Halloween'', '' Assault on Precinct 13'', and ''
The Fog ''The Fog'' is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook. It ...
'', the filmmaker explained that the story was divided between two main locations: Spencer Mansion from the first game and the Raccoon Police Department, which first appeared in ''Resident Evil 2''. Roberts chose the tone for the remake of the second game as a model for the film. Although director
Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
and Milla Jovovich released six commercially successful films based on the games between 2002 and 2017, Roberts emphasized that his version was different from the series that preceded it:


Casting

In early 2020, casting was underway but was delayed by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. In April, ''Full Circle Cinema'' reported that the studio was eyeing
Brenton Thwaites Brenton Thwaites (born 10 August 1989) is an Australian actor. Beginning his career in his home country in 2011, he had a starring role on the series ''Slide'' and later appeared on the soap opera ''Home and Away''. Since moving to the United S ...
,
Kaya Scodelario Kaya Rose Scodelario-Davis ( née Humphrey; born 13 March 1992) is an English actress best known for her roles as Effy Stonem on the E4 teen drama '' Skins'' (2007–2010, 2013), and Teresa in the ''Maze Runner'' film series (2014–2018). Ot ...
, and Harris Dickinson for the roles of the Redfield siblings
Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...
and
Claire Clair or Claire may refer to: *Claire (given name), a list of people with the name Claire * Clair (surname) Places Canada * Clair, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Haut-Madawaska * Clair Parish, New Brunswick * Pointe-Claire, Q ...
and Leon S. Kennedy. On October 6, ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wit ...
'' reported that Scodelario and
Hannah John-Kamen Hannah Dominique E. John-Kamen (born 7 September 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yalena "Dutch" Yardeen in the Syfy television series ''Killjoys'' (2015–2019), Ornela in the sixth season of the HBO series '' Game ...
had been cast as Claire and
Jill Valentine Jill Valentine is a character in '' Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was introduced as one of two player characters in the original '' Resident Evil'' (199 ...
, alongside
Robbie Amell Robert Patrick Amell IV (born April 21, 1988) is a Canadian-American actor and producer. He is best-known for his roles as Stephen Jameson on The CW series ''The Tomorrow People'', Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm on The CW series ''The Flash'', Natha ...
,
Tom Hopper Thomas Edward Hopper (born 28 January 1985) is a British actor. He has appeared as Percival in ''Merlin'', Billy Bones in '' Black Sails'', Dickon Tarly in ''Game of Thrones'', and Luther Hargreeves in ''The Umbrella Academy''. Early life T ...
,
Avan Jogia Avan Tudor Jogia (; born February 9, 1992) is a Canadian actor. He first received recognition for portraying Danny Araujo in the television film '' A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story'' (2006). After moving to the United States in his late te ...
, and
Neal McDonough Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on ''Boomtown'' (2002–20 ...
as Chris Redfield,
Albert Wesker is a fictional character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. He is first introduced in the original ''Resident Evil'' (1996), in which he is the captain of the R ...
, Leon S. Kennedy, and William Birkin, respectively. That November,
Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the film '' The Tao of Steve'' and has had roles in the TV series ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Vikings'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Copper'', '' Terriers'', and, as Detecti ...
was cast as Chief Brian Irons, alongside Chad Rook as Richard Aiken, and
Lily Gao Lily Gao is a Chinese-born Canadian actress who had major roles in the TV shows ''The Expanse'' and ''Second Jen ''Second Jen'' is a Canadian television sitcom that premiered on City on October 27, 2016. The series is produced by Don Ferguso ...
as
Ada Wong is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. She was first introduced as a supporting character in ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), and became a playable charac ...
. In Japan, Capcom later confirmed the characters will be dubbed by voice actors different from the Anderson films. For example, Chris and Claire are voiced by
Subaru Kimura , known professionally as , is a German-Japanese actor and rapper. His best-known role is voicing Takeshi Goda in the ''Doraemon'' series, which has spawned numerous specials. Biography Kimura was born in Blankenburg (Harz) and raised in Japan ...
and
Fairouz Ai , ファイルーズ あい, Fairūzu Ai, born 6 July 1993 is a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with Raccoon Dog. She played her first major role as Hibiki Sakura, the protagonist of the 2019 anime series ''How Heavy Are the Dumbbells Yo ...
instead of
Hiroki Tōchi is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator affiliated with Office Osawa. He has frequently appeared in many anime and video games mainly created by tri-Ace. He won a Male Character Voice Prize in the 2011 Famitsu Awards. Some of his major cha ...
and
Hiroe Oka is a Japanese actress and voice actress from Tokyo. She is affiliated with the Bungaku Company. She is the official Japanese voice-dubbing artist for Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kirsten Dunst and others. She is also the official Japanese du ...
.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
began in Greater Sudbury,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
on October 17, 2020, with
Maxime Alexandre Maxime Alexandre (February 4, 1971 in Ronse, East Flanders, Belgium) is a Belgian Italian cinematographer, who was most recently cinematographer on the Netflix and Amblin Entertainment series ''The Haunting of Bly Manor'', the films '' Come Play ...
serving as cinematographer. Filming was completed on December 24, 2020. In March 2021, Roberts revealed the full title as ''Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City''. In May 2021, Amell revealed that the film was undergoing reshoots in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
. While it wasn't revealed what was cut, added or changed during reshoots, trailers for the film show several unreleased scenes, including an additional scene with Lisa Trevor in Raccoon City Orphanage where she is moving her arms unnaturally, more daytime shots of Raccoon City, an extended road block scene showing citizens being fired upon by Umbrella soldiers, and an additional scene with William Birkin in the lab. Trailers also include cut dialogue from Claire, like her saying they have to expose Umbrella and that "it's going down". Behind-the-scenes photos also show Gun Shop Kendo, another location from the original video games not in the final film, and no details are known about any deleted scenes involving the gun shop. Other promotional stills and behind-the-scenes pictures show more deleted scenes, like Ada talking with Wesker inside RPD station before he and others go to the helicopter, and the head of Tyrant (Mr. X) in a jar inside Birkin's lab.


Music

The film score was composed by
Mark Korven Mark Korven is a Canadian musician and composer for film and television. His work includes the music on the sci-fi horror cult film ''Cube (1997 film), Cube'' (1997), collaborations with director Robert Eggers on the period horror films ''The Wi ...
. Milan Records and
Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...
has released the soundtrack.


Release


Marketing

Official images of the film were released on August 31, 2021, and were met with a mixed response. A trailer was released on October 7, 2021, and was met with mixed reaction from fans, who praised its faithfulness to the first two games, but criticized its casting and special effects. Prior to the film's release, the characters were criticized by ''
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
'' based on the film's trailer, who called them "bad cosplay" and further said that their acting was "too authentic to the games". Summarizing the film's marketing results, RelishMix said fans of the franchise noticed Milla Jovovich absence while "questioning the logic, the look of the effects, and comparing the film to the game's CGI."


Theatrical

''Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City'' had its world premiere at the
Grand Rex Le Grand Rex is a Parisian cinema and concert venue. Location and access It is located at , boulevard Poissonnière in the 2nd arrondissement, on the grands boulevards. Its facades and roofs, as well as its hall and its decor have been lis ...
in
Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
on November 19, 2021, but was theatrically released on November 24, 2021, by Sony Pictures Releasing in the United States. It was delayed from its original release dates of September 3 and 9, 2021. The film was a modest financial success.


Home media

''Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City'' was released on
video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
on December 21, 2021, and was the top-rented film on
Vudu Vudu is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand rentals and digital purchases of film ...
during its first weekend. The film was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
,
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
and
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
on February 8, 2022 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film grossed over $3.4 million from North America video sales.


Reception


Box office

''Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City'' grossed $17 million in the United States and Canada, and $25 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $42 million. In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside ''
House of Gucci ''House of Gucci'' is a 2021 American biographical crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott, based on the 2001 book ''The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed'' by Sara Gay Forden. The film follows Patri ...
'' and ''
Encanto ''Encanto'' is a 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 60th film produced by the studio, it was directed by Jared B ...
'', and was projected to gross $8–10 million from 2,803 theaters over its five-day opening weekend. The film opened nationwide on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, and made $2.5 million on its first day—including $935,000 from Tuesday night previews—from a total of 225,000 theater admissions. The film went on to make $8.85 million in its first five days, placing fifth. Audiences were 64% male as well as 68% between the ages of 18 and 34. In its second weekend, the film earned $2.69 million. In its third, the film made $1.66 million and finished sixth at the box office. The film was tenth in its fourth weekend, earning $316,480 from 719 theaters. Outside the U.S. and Canada, the film earned $5.1 million from 15 markets in its opening weekend. It made $4.2 million in its second weekend and $2.3 million in its third. In Thailand, the film earned $253,735 from the box office. Japan was the film's highest-grossing foreign market, contributing $5.1 million from the box office.


Critical response

On the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 30% based on 87 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City'' is an affectionately faithful adaptation that further proves its source material is ill-suited to the big screen." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at
PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film ...
gave it a 61% positive score, with 48% saying they would definitely recommend it. In a positive review, Johnny Oleksinski from the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' gave 3 out of 4 stars and said the film is "empty-headed good fun that’s blessedly under two hours and has just enough character development to make you kind of care when someone gets bitten." Ferdosa Abdi from ''
ScreenRant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scree ...
'' called it a "fun and faithful adaptation of the games", but felt it was "lacking in character substance." Sean Kane from '' CNET'' praised the film: "Despite the lack of scares, minor tweaks to the games' lore and overall silliness, director Johannes Roberts' love for ''Resident Evil'' is clear in every moment of ''Welcome to Raccoon City''. With a barrage of Easter eggs and fascinating takes on classic characters, the film's a gleeful trip back to the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon Police Department aimed squarely at fans." Taylor Lyles of ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' gave the film a 6/10 score, explaining, "Director Mr. Roberts does deserve some credit for sticking much more closely to the source material than the 
Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...
 films, but a short runtime, a rushed third act, and lack of elements to make it truly scary to watch in the dark hold it back immensely. Nevertheless, it should serve as decent fun for fans". In a mixed review, Mark Hanson from ''
SLANT Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant d ...
'' wrote "Roberts clearly establishes the hauntingly depressed industrial environment of Raccoon City while methodically spacing out his zombie attacks, which, while not especially innovative, at times put a pit in your stomach like the ''Resident Evil'' games do." Charles Bramesco from ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave a C+ and called it "totally bereft of the visual distinction or creative personality that often made its predecessors intriguing diamonds in the rough". Nick Schager from ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' criticized the "bevy of unexplained details, dropped subplots, paper-thin characterizations and fright-free mayhem." Kimberly Myers from the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' also gave a negative review, noting the film "may reward longtime fans of the video games by returning to the series' origins, but others will find themselves wanting to leave town, much like the movie's characters."


Future

Director Johannes Roberts stated that if a sequel were to be developed, he would like to adapt the story from '' Resident Evil – Code: Veronica'' and then ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government specia ...
'': Roberts also expressed interest in adapting '' Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' and ''
Resident Evil Village ''Resident Evil Village'' is a 2021 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sequel to '' Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' (2017). Players control Ethan Winters, who searches for his kidnapped daughter in a village filled wit ...
'' in the future: Robbie Amell stated he hoped to return as Chris in a sequel that included his boulder-punching scene from ''
Resident Evil 5 ''Resident Evil 5'' is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a major installment in the ''Resident Evil'' series, and was announced in 2005—the same year its predecessor ''Resident Evil 4'' was released. ' ...
''. By June 2022, Tom Hopper confirmed Sony and Constantin Films were pleased with the film's success on video-on-demand and said he hoped to play Albert Wesker again in the future.


See also

*
List of films based on video games This page is a list of film adaptations of video games. These include local, national, international, direct-to-video and TV releases, and (in certain cases) online releases. They include their scores on Rotten Tomatoes, the region in which they ...


References


External links

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