There have been numerous rumors and reports doing the rounds since late last year, and Netflix has now officially confirmed that a live-action Resident Evil series is in the works for the streaming service.
Supernatural showrunner Andrew Dabb has been enlisted to oversee the the first season, which will run for 8 episodes.
"Resident Evil is my favorite game of all time," Dabb said. "I'm incredibly excited to tell a new chapter in this amazing story and bring the first-ever Resident Evil series to Netflix members around the world. For every type of Resident Evil fan, including those joining us for the first time, the series will be complete with a lot of old friends, and some things (bloodthirsty, insane things) people have never seen before."
Dabb is expected to begin working on Resident Evil once he wraps the final season of The CW's Supernatural. He will also exec produce alongside Constantin Film 's Robert Kulzer, Oliver Berben and Marry Leah Sutton. Bronwen Hughes (The Walking Dead) is set to direct the first two episodes.
We also have a fairly detailed story synopsis, and it sounds like this show will be a big departure from the original series of games - although fans should recognize the protagonists' surname!
The Netflix series will tell its new story across two timelines. In the first, 14-year-old sisters Jade and Billie Wesker are moved to New Raccoon City. A manufactured, corporate town, forced on them right as adolescence is in full swing. But the more time they spend there, the more they come to realize that the town is more than it seems and their father may be concealing dark secrets. Secrets that could destroy the world.
The second, more than a decade into the future sees less than 15 million people left on Earth. And more than 6 billion monsters — people and animals infected with the T-virus. Jade, now 30, struggles to survive in this new world, while the secrets from her past — about her sister, her father and herself — continue to haunt her.
As far as we know, a big-screen Resident Evil reboot from Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) is still in development, but there's no mention of it here.
What do you guys make of this news? Let us know in the comments.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.