The Resident Evil series has brought us a bunch of movies in the past, but not all of them have tied into the video games like this. Resident Evil: Death Island is a CGI animated movie that covers the time gap between the video Resident Evil 6 (2012) and Resident Evil 7 (2017) and features the protagonists from the game series working together. The movie is a sequel to the previous animated Resident Evil movie and series, Vendetta and Infinite Darkness.
The film will likely take place in 2015, as it comes after Vendetta (set in 2014) but before RE7 (set in 2017). If we get one or two more movies, we might get some hints about what’s happening in Louisiana or Eastern Europe. Some fans are calling this the Resident Evil version of the Avengers (or “REvengers”) because the film feels like a major crossover event in the vein of the Avengers movies/comics. Despite many of the RE characters having friends/allies in common, most of them never met during the original games. This movie fixes that.
When will Resident Evil: Death Island release?
The film, despite only having been announced two months ago, will be released on July 7th, 2023. We don’t know if the film will have a limited theatrical run like the previous film, Vendetta, or if it will be direct to streaming/digital release.
Watch the Resident Evil: Death Island trailers
We have two trailers for the film thus far, and I want to take a second to highlight the second trailer in particular, as it confirms that Jill is still recovering mentally from the events of RE5. In short, this will be the first time we’ve physically seen Jill Valentine since that game.
While some fans are a little upset that they just used her RE3 remake model for the movie instead of trying to make her look more like her RE5 version, I’m personally interested in seeing how she’s physically and mentally recovering from being used as a weapon by one of her greatest enemies.
Who’s in the Resident Evil: Death Island cast?
We don’t know yet if the cast from Vendetta and Infinite Darkness will be reprising their roles or if the roles will be taken over by the game voice actors, but as for the characters we can expect to see, so far, we’ve got Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, Leon Kennedy, and Rebecca Chambers. We just don’t have confirmation of whose voices we’re hearing just yet.
What to expect from the plot of Resident Evil: Death Island
The film’s plot synopsis is as follows:
“D.S.O. agent Leon S. Kennedy is on a mission to rescue Dr. Antonio Taylor from kidnappers, when a mysterious woman thwarts his pursuit. Meanwhile, B.S.A.A. agent Chris Redfield is investigating a zombie outbreak in San Francisco, where the cause of the infection cannot be identified. The only thing the victims have in common is that they all visited Alcatraz Island recently. Following that clue, Chris and his team head to the island, where a new horror awaits them.”
Jill Valentine and Leon Kennedy are two characters fans have wanted to see meet for years. The same goes for Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield. The characters will not only be meeting, but five of the main protagonists will be sharing at least one climactic fight scene together, as seen briefly at the end of the second trailer.
Some are accusing the film of just being fanservice for the sake of fanservice, but if that’s what it takes to get all of them in the same room, I’ll take it. Now we just need to get them all back for a movie with Ada Wong, Sherry Birkin, Jake Muller and/or Ethan and Mia Winters and everyone will finally know each other.
(featured image: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
