'Supernatural' showrunner Andrew Dabb will oversee scripted live-action series that is inspired by Capcom's video game franchise.
Add Resident Evil to the list of video games that are being turned into a TV series.
Following months of development and an extensive search for a showrunner, Netflix has officially ordered eight episodes of a Resident Evil TV series. Supernatural co-showrunner Andrew Dabb oversee the series for Netflix and producers Constantin Film. Dabb is expected to turn his attention to Resident Evil after wrapping the delayed final season of The CW's iconic drama Supernatural, which recently resumed production following a months-long shutdown.
"Resident Evil is my favorite game of all time," Dabb said. "I'm incredibly excited to tell a new chapter in this amazing story and bring the first-ever Resident Evil series to Netflix members around the world. For every type of Resident Evil fan, including those joining us for the first time, the series will be complete with a lot of old friends, and some things (bloodthirsty, insane things) people have never seen before."
Dabb will serve as writer and showrunner and will exec produce alongside Constantin Film 's Robert Kulzer and Oliver Berben and Mary Leah Sutton. Bronwen Hughes (The Walking Dead) will also exec produce and direct the first two episodes.
The Netflix series will tell its new story across two timelines. In the first, 14-year-old sisters Jade and Billie Wesker are moved to New Raccoon City. A manufactured, corporate town, forced on them right as adolescence is in full swing. But the more time they spend there, the more they come to realize that the town is more than it seems and their father may be concealing dark secrets. Secrets that could destroy the world. The second, more than a decade into the future sees less than 15 million people left on Earth. And more than 6 billion monsters — people and animals infected with the T-virus. Jade, now 30, struggles to survive in this new world, while the secrets from her past — about her sister, her father and herself — continue to haunt her.
Capcom launched Resident Evil in 1996. The franchise has gone on to become one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time with more than 100 million games sold worldwide. In the 25 years since, it has expanded into theme parks and features. The six-film franchise has grossed more than $1.2 billion worldwide, making Resident Evil the most successful movie franchise based on a video game.
Resident Evil becomes the latest video game to get the TV treatment. Others in the works include Halo at Showtime and Netflix's own The Witcher (which also has a prequel spinoff in the works), among others.