2021 film by Johannes Roberts
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is a 2021 action horror film based on the Resident Evil video game series by Capcom. It is the seventh live-action film of the Resident Evil film series, and serves as a reboot. Written and directed by Johannes Roberts, the film stars Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Robbie Amell, Tom Hopper, Avan Jogia, Donal Logue, and Neal McDonough. Set in 1998, and primarily adapting the first and second games, it follows a group of survivors during a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. It is the first live-action film in the series not to feature Milla Jovovich in the lead role of her character Alice.
Development took place in early 2017, after Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was released, with producer James Wan expressing interest in the project. Later, Constantin Film 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, Canada. The film underwent reshoots in May 2021.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City had its world premiere at the Grand Rex in Paris on November 19, 2021, and was theatrically released on November 24, 2021, in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film grossed $42 million worldwide on a $25 million budget and received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, who praised its faithfulness to the first two games, but criticized its writing, special effects and casting. A sequel was planned but cancelled due to the film's commercial failure. Another reboot is slated to be released on September 18, 2026.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.