One of the earliest concepts for Netflix’s Resident Evil was to tie it in with the Milla Jovovich movies of the same name – which is a plan it should have stuck with. To gamers and moviegoers, Resident Evil represents two distinct franchises at this point. Capcom’s video games helped popularize survival horror, and while the fortunes of the series have gone up and down, it has remained consistently popular for nearly 30 years. The films only loosely adapted the source material, and instead followed an original protagonist named Alice (Milla Jovovich) in her zombie/monster-hunting adventures.
Gamers may have largely hated the Resident Evil movies, but they were hugely popular overseas and collectively grossed over $1.2 billion. Jovovich signed off as Alice following 2017’s The Final Chapter, and rights holders Constantin Film have since mounted two reboots. There was 2021 movie Welcome To Raccoon City, and 2022’s Resident Evil by Netflix. Both were greeted with bad reviews, yet Netflix’s outing was met with particular vitriol for its ill-fatting teenage drama storyline and general lack of connection to the games. The series didn’t connect to the Alice saga at all, but it very nearly did.
Netflix’s Resident Evil Should Have Connected To The Movies
When it was first announced in 2019 on Deadline, the loose plan for the series was to continue from the Resident Evil films. Reportedly, the Netflix show was going to be a post-apocalyptic adventure set in the same world as the Jovovich action movie outings, which would both expand on the story and possibly leave the door open for Alice to appear. At this point, no showrunners were attached to Netflix’s adaptation, while Netflix asked Constantin Film (via DWDL) to produce a Resident Evil show that could appeal to a younger female audience and broaden the property’s appeal.
Over time, Netflix’s Resident Evil moved away from being a movie spinoff to one that drew from the games. To satisfy Netflix’s request, it was decided the show would have two timelines; one set in the past with the teenage Wesker daughters, and one in the ruined future following the T-Virus outbreak. Supernatural’s Andrew Dabb signed on as showrunner, but despite good intentions, the series’ confused aims proved its undoing. Resident Evil’s constant timeline hopping became irritating, and it failed to land on a consistent tone. Despite good work from a talented cast and strong initial streaming numbers, Netflix canceled it after one season.
Would Milla Jovovich Have Returned As Alice?
Post-apocalypse zombie shows have already been largely tapped dry by Walking Dead, Z Nation and many other programs, but the original version for Resident Evil could have been fun. The movies were always more cartoony and over the top than (most) of the games, so a spinoff about mankind recovering from the outbreak had potential. It could have resolved the fates of key characters like Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield, introduced monsters that missed out on the films (like Hunters or Regenerators) and embraced more of a horror tone.
Such a spinoff could have seen Jovovich return as Alice also. Since Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’s happy ending, the star has stated several times she’s open to returning. So, while Alice may not have played a major (or any) role during season 1, future series could have made her a featured player. Perhaps in the future, a Resident Evil adaptation will arrive that satisfies both gamers and fans of the films, but Netflix’s show wasn’t really what either was looking for.
