Source: Netflix / Resident Evil
Not much was known about the Netlfix’s upcoming Resident Evil series until now, thanks to the first teaser trailer that gives us a glimpse of the zombie apocalypse madness coming to Netflix. We also get some insight on Lance Reddick’s casting in the show.
In June 2021, Netflix blew the minds of Resident Evil fans when it revealed that Hollywood veteran Lance Reddick would be playing the iconic villain of the franchise Albert Wesker in a photo that didn’t reveal too much but his fellow cast members. Also in the image were Ella Balinska (Charlie’s Angels), Tamara Smart (Artemis Fowl), Siena Agudong (No Good Nick), Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), and Paola Núñez (The Purge TV series) in yet-to-be-revealed roles.
Source: Netflix / Resident Evil
We now know at least Smart will be playing Jade, and Agudong will be taking on the role of Billie, Wesker’s daughters, during their time at New Raccoon City in 2022. The show will also follow a much older Jade, played by Balinska 14 years later, navigating a world full of blood-thirsty zombies and other insane creatures.
Official Synopsis:
Year 2036 – 14 years after a deadly virus caused a global apocalypse, Jade Wesker fights for survival in a world overrun by the blood-thirsty infected and insane creatures. In this absolute carnage, Jade is haunted by her past in New Raccoon City, by her father’s chilling connections to the Umbrella Corporation but mostly by what happened to her sister, Billie.
Hip-Hop Wired had the opportunity to speak with Resident Evil’s showrunner, executive producer, and writer Andrew Dabb (Supernatural) about the upcoming series. We asked him about the decision to cast Reddick as Albert Wesker, which marks the first time the traditionally white video game character will be Black. He confirmed the show does tie into the video games, and all will be revealed later on in the season.
“So, number one, if you know the games, Wesker’s dead. He got blown up by a rocket launcher in a volcano. How I think we all want to go. I think we all want to go that way in the games,” Dabb jokingly begins. “The games are our backstory. So everything in the games exists in this world. So how’s Wesker alive now? I will say stay tuned. And the answer is not like; he’s immune to law. We have a pretty good answer for that one.”
In terms of casting, the rule for casting was, find the best person. You know what I mean? I think when you are casting in the modern-day and age, if you are limiting yourself based off, what was this… this character is blonde, so, we got to only look at blonde actors. You’re going to find yourself in a bad position.
And so, when Lance was interested in doing the part, well, you’re not going to find anybody better. You’re not going to find anybody better than him to play this character. Both the kind of dad part of the character, and also as you saw in this, the more kind of corporate, you know, killer part of the character. So, once that kicked into place, you’re not going to do better. So, at that point you are making the show weaker by going with someone that may be more aesthetically to match to the show, to the game. So why would you weaken the show like that? You know what I mean, it makes no sense to me, and luckily Netflix, and Constantine as well were very much on board. Because the goal here is to view the strongest show. And that, by the way, that applies to all the actors, looking at Ella and Tamara and Sienna and Paula, believe me, we saw a lot of people. Pretty much everybody.
And these people were the standout people, and I say this honestly, everybody in this show was our first choice. And we were very lucky that Netflix helped us put them in the show.
Netflix’s Resident Evil arrives July 14 and will feature 8-hour-long episodes. Step into the show’s first teaser trailer below. There is also an easter egg you should search for in the trailer.
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Photo: Netflix / Resident Evil
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