Resident Evil Netflix series brings guts, gore and mayhem

Resident Evil has had plenty of adaptations over the years, including a movie that only released last year – but that hasn’t stopped Netflix from scooping the IP up to spin their own take on the well-loved horror series. Only this time, the series won’t be relying too heavily on the video game series previous storylines.

The newest trailer for the Netflix series shows us that Resident Evil will be following two different timelines: the first being set in 2022 in a futuristic, modern city called New Raccoon City, whereas the second is set in a post-apocalyptic London in 2036.

In 2022 we see Tamara Smart portray the younger version of Albert Wesker’s (Lance Reddick) daughter, Jade Wesker, as they move into the city to start a new life. They are accompanied by Billie, Jade’s other sister and Wesker’s daughter. However, in the year 2036, viewers follow Ella Balinska as an older Jade, as she fights the infected through a broken city.

From what we can tell of the official trailer – as well as the two teaser trailers that can be seen on the Umbrella is Joy website – the breakdown of the world as we know it seemingly occurs thanks to a product from the Umbrella Company. This product is known as Joy, a pill that ‘cures’ anxiety, OCD, etc, but has the side effect of having the T-Virus stored inside too.

In the Resident Evil video games, the T-Virus was first used to “eliminate the need for a large-scale conventional army and generate revenue to go to their eugenics program, the Wesker Project.” However, this ultimately proved too risky, and instead, the T-Virus was used to give whoever it was tested on almost superhuman strength and abilities, but victims were often left mutated and extremely aggressive in the process.

This aggression seems as though it will be a part of the Netflix series version of Resident Evil, as the official trailer does show a variety of zombie-like creatures, including zombie dogs. That said, it is unclear whether we’ll see mutations such as Nemesis.

All 8 episodes of Netflix’s Resident Evil will air on July 14.

This article was originally published on our sister site, Gayming Magazine. It was written by Aimee Hart.