Resident Evil is no stranger to live-action adaptations, but the Paul W.S. Anderson movies aren’t the only game in town. Netflix is launching its own series based on the storied video game franchise, and its place in the timeline means beloved characters could show up.
Netflix just announced the series with a teaser trailer, calling the show a “battle for survival” in the description. What little we’ve seen shows the expected zombies, infected dogs, and underground labs. The show is set in New Raccoon City, which was originally destroyed at the conclusion of Resident Evil 2 and 3. Those take place simultaneously, and this new series runs concurrently with Resident Evil Village as well.
Being set in the same timeline, there’s a natural question of existing Resident Evil characters appearing in the show. Albert Wesker has already been confirmed, which might raise fans’ eyebrows since the villain was blown up in a volcano during the events of Resident Evil 5. This was addressed by showrunner Andrew Dabb, as reported by GameSpot. “There is a very good reason that Wesker is back, and it does not come down to the fact that he was wearing lava-and-rocket proof clothes,” Dabb jokingly stated.
It’s Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu who’s on many fans’ minds though — she was voted as the most datable character in that game, after all. The show runs parallel to Village, but that doesn’t mean she’ll necessarily show up. “I don’t want to wedge characters in that don’t fit organically,” the showrunner continued. “I don’t want to chase a trend because the production cycles on these things are so long. I could be sitting here like, oh they just released a new Village expansion and the best character is someone else, and we hate the tall vampire lady now.” Dabb makes no promises, but a Lady Dimitrescu appearance isn’t off the table.
Hopefully, Dabb’s prediction doesn’t come true, because we are indeed getting free DLC for Village at some point. That was announced last October, but we haven’t heard anything since.
