Video games are a great source of material for movie adaptations. Recently, there have been many examples of famous TV series and movies that came from different video games, such as Arcane and Uncharted. The immersive nature of the games allows the player to feel deeply connected with the story. That is one of the most important elements when adapting to these types of narratives: being able to connect with the audience.

Resident Evil is probably the most adapted game franchise in history. Alongside the six movies that follow iconic action heroine Alice (Milla Jovovich) fighting zombies, there have been a few newer adaptations. In 2021, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was released, with mixed to bad reviews from critics and fans.

In 2021, Netflix released an animation series based on the famous franchise called Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. The series already featured well-known characters from the video games, like Claire and Leon. Now, there is another Resident Evil series coming in July, however, this time it will be a live-action. The series will tell the story of Jade Wesker fighting to survive 14 years after the virus destroyed the population. She will have to fight not only zombies but also her past: her father had connections with Umbrella Corporation, but most importantly, she'll be dealing with what happened to her sister, Billie. The story will follow two different timelines, concerning when the apocalypse began and the present time.

Can this new Resident Evil, coming from a streaming service that has a reputation for good adaptations (and a few not so great) from different source materials, be better than the movies?

Series VS Movies

Resident Evil star Milla Jovovich pointing two guns
Sony Pictures Releasing

A series has a few elements in its favor when compared with a movie, and longer duration is the main one. A series has the potential of delivering a more intricate story that utilizes the rich world-building and character development present in the games. The lack of character development or explanation of the world in parts of the movies takes a lot of power from these stories. In a TV series, there is the possibility of slowly developing a character and explaining to the audience what happened in the past throughout bits of every episode.

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Television also helps to not get information overload that is often a concern within the two hours of a movie, which prevents the audience from truly understanding the story; it's one of the most recurrent problems adaptations face. The past haunting the characters in the present is an important motivator for them, and that seems to be one of the core elements of the new adaptation.

Puzzles, Action, and Horror

Resident Evil Village puzzle
CapCom

There are a few elements of video games that enhance the quality of the story. These elements are usually not incorporated into the adaptations, leaving people frustrated by the absence of key factors that makes this franchise so great. That's partly why video game movies disappoint fans.

A very intricate part of the game is the puzzle aspect. The character will have to solve puzzles, find objects scattered throughout the place to move the plot forward, go into secret passages, etc. Obviously, it is very different when you are actively trying to solve a puzzle rather than watching an actor do it, but the core element of these puzzles is quite simple: things can't be easy for the protagonist. The characters are, most of the time, normal people who have to fight to be able to solve their problems; this is why playable characters often die in video games and the player has to start again, something impossible in cinematic adaptations.

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The video games have action sequences in them (most of them are enhanced by some type of jump scare), but they are not action games. That is something that adaptations usually mess up by trying to have a broader target audience, but that leaves everyone feeling a bit disappointed. This can be solved with more ease in a series due to its longer duration. The television series should have action sequences (after all, it is a zombie apocalypse story) but not be so predominantly action-orientated; the series could incorporate these obstacles in tandem with the development of the characters and the lore, much better than the constraints of a film.

Instead of the action spectacle which made up a lot of the Resident Evil movies, the TV series could instead deliver a much more horror-orientated story. The clever use of jump scares (rather than an overuse of this element) can enhance the traumatic experience the characters are living, and would also be representative of the video games. Without relying excessively on the jump scares and gore, the Resident Evil TV series could create a wonderfully dark and brooding horror atmosphere.

The World of Resident Evil

Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City
Sony Pictures Releasing

The world of Resident Evil keeps evolving, as seen in the latest installment of the video game, Village. In the eighth game, vampires, werewolves, and evil entities were introduced. This is one of the elements that keeps bringing fans back to the games: the new elements blended with the older ones. This growth can happen in a more naturalistic way in a series due to its duration and episode progression.

The series will probably focus more on the zombies, which were the main thing in the first video games. Nevertheless, the television series can play with other types of previously unseen transformations, as seen in Resident Evil: Biohazard and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. Especially because the series will be in two different timelines: when the virus started to infect people, and 14 years later.

Will It Be Better Than The Movies?

Resident Evil Milla Jovovich holds a shotgun in the rain
Sony Pictures

Overall, the Netflix series has the potential of delivering a good adaptation that remains loyal to its origin but can transcend the movies by virtue of its length, if it develops its characters well and creates the right horror atmosphere. It all really depends on how the best elements of the video games will be present in the TV show and the producers not falling into old traps. The promotional pictures look good, and the trailer was recently released. Nevertheless, Resident Evil fans will have to wait until July 14th to be sure.