An official release date has been set for the Resident Evil Reboot reboot movie. In December, a page made for the movie on the website for the producing studio Constantin Film listed the release date as Sept. 9, 2021. Now, it's being reported that Sony's Screen Gems will release the movie one week earlier on Sept. 3, giving Resident Evil a Labor Day weekend release as it competes with the Paramount sequel Jackass 4.

Having just wrapped in December, Constantin Film's new movie will have no connections to the six-film Resident Evil series previously developed by Paul W. S. Anderson. The new Resident Evil, written and directed by Johannes Roberts, reboots the story entirely by going all the way back to the franchise's roots. Just like the original video game, the story will be set in 1998 in Raccoon City, delivering a more faithful adaptation by including characters from the games in more prominent roles.

"With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and re-create 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 of the sequel last year.

Starring in Resident Evil are Kaya Scodelario (Maze Runner) as Claire Redfield, Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Jill Valentine, Robbie Amell (Upload) as Chris Redfield, Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy) as Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap) as Leon S. Kennedy, and Neal McDonough (Yellowstone) as William Birkin. All of these characters appeared in the first two Resident Evil games.

The movie is not to be confused with a live-action Resident Evil series that's also in development at Netflix. Last year, the streamer announced that they were creating an eight-episode series based on the games, though Constantin Film will also produce the show. Andrew Dabb is writing the series and executive producer Bronwen Hughes will direct the first two episodes. Taking place over two separate timelines, the show follows the Wesker family before and after the T-virus ravages the world.

Created by Capcom, the first Resident Evil game was released in 1996, though its story is set in 1998. It follows a task force known as S.T.A.R.S. investigating a strange mansion in the outskirts of Raccoon City, only to discover that it's filled with zombies and other flesh-eating monsters. The horror game was a tremendous hit with gamers at the time, spawning what would become the most popular video game franchises of all time. New titles in the series continue to be made with Resident Evil Village set to be released in May.

We'll see if the new Resident Evil movie reaches the same levels of the financial success of the original movie series. Robert Kulzer, James Harris, and Hartley Gorenstein produce the Resident Evil movie with Martin Moszkowicz and Victor Hadida executive producing. Sony Pictures' Screen Gems will distribute the movie in the United States on Sept. 3, 2021. This news comes to us from Deadline.