As Resident Evil movie franchise wraps up, a new one is already in the works

By Rick Marshall May 22, 2017

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter movie review — Image used with permission by copyright holder

This year’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter wrapped up a six-film franchise that finished its run as the highest-grossing movie series based on a video game, but apparently we haven’t seen the last of Resident Evil on the big screen.

A new report indicates that German production company Constantin Film is developing a reboot of the Resident Evil franchise.

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According to Variety, Constantin Film’s chairman of the board Martin Moszkowicz confirmed the reboot to the outlet during the Cannes Film Festival over the weekend. Details regarding potential directors, stars, or how the reboot will be positioned in the franchise remain unknown.

Constantin Film owns the rights to the Resident Evil franchise and has produced all six of the films based on the hit survival-horror game franchise. Collectively, the franchise has earned more than $1.2 billion worldwide, despite earning less than $275 million in U.S. theaters.

The latest installment of the series, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, was the lowest-grossing chapter domestically with just $26.8 million in ticket sales over its nine-week run, but was the highest-grossing installment in the worldwide market, finishing its run with $312.2 million in ticket sales around the world. The Final Chapter was also the most critically successful film in the series, but that’s not saying much, given that it topped out with a 35-percent approval rating from professional critics.

All six films in the Resident Evil franchise were written by Paul W.S. Anderson and starred his wife, Milla Jovovich, as super-powered heroine Alice, who battles the evil Umbrella Corporation and the hordes of monstrous creatures and zombies it unleashed on the world. Anderson also directed the first installment of the series, released in 2002, as well as the final three films in the series.

There’s no indication whether Anderson or Jovovich will have any involvement in the reboot. Anderson is currently working on another film based on a hit game franchise, Monster Hunter, which is expected to hit theaters in the next year or so.

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