Resident Evil reboot lands director!

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

In case you were unaware, the RESIDENT EVIL franchise is getting a reboot soon via Constantin Film, and today we have word that the new film has snagged its director in the form of 47 METERS DOWN and 47 METERS DOWN: THE NEXT CHAPTER filmmaker Johannes Roberts. On an interesting note, it's also hinted at in the Variety article that broke the news that Roberts will also be penning the reboot's screenplay.

But… Constantin Films already announced that they were already working on the reboot, with James Wan producing and Greg Russo working on the screenplay. But… in a recent interview with Discussing Film, Russo said that his involvement with the reboot ended when he turned in a draft of the script that the producers were "very happy with." His approach to the material was meant to take RESIDENT EVIL back to its horror roots.

…when you come back to that and reboot it, you wanna do something different and not just rehash. For me, it was very clear cut that I wanted to go back and make it scary again,  like a horror film in terms of the classic James Wan style. So that was the pitch, going back and looking what made the games scary in the first place. So yeah, RESIDENT EVIL 7 was a bit of a touchstone for my draft.

We'll let you know once we hear more on the matter one way or the other.

Either way, on top of directing 47 METERS DOWN and its upcoming sequel, Roberts was also the man responsible for such recent semi-hits as THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT and THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR. Personally, after watching his sequel to THE STRANGERS I'm all for Roberts bringing RESIDENT EVIL back to the big screen. How about you? Let us know below! 

For those who may have forgotten, the original RESIDENT EVIL film was written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starred Milla Jovovich. Here's the synopsis:

Based on the popular video game, Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez star as the leaders of a commando team who must break into "the hive," a vast underground genetics laboratory operated by the powerful Umbrella Corporation. There, a deadly virus has been unleashed, killing the lab's personnel and resurrecting them as the evil Un-dead. The team has just three hours to shut down the lab's supercomputer and close the facility before the virus threatens to overrun the Earth.

The reboot is expected to start production with a new cast in 2019.