The Resident Evil franchise is on a roll this 2017.
Following on the heels of the successful Resident Evil 7 game and the Resident Evil: Final Chapter film, Capcom released the second trailer for CG movie Resident Evil Vendetta. The film is due for release on May 27 in Japan, with the U.S. release coming soon after.
This is the third CG-animated movie for the franchise; Resident Evil: Degeneration was released in 2008, and Resident Evil: Damnation followed in 2012. Sony Pictures Entertainment will distribute the film.
The S.T.A.R.S. Are Back
The trailer reveals the appearance of former S.T.A.R.S member Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers, as well as series mainstay Leon Kennedy.
According to the plot synopsis, BSAA Chris Redfield teams up with Leon Kennedy and Rebecca Chambers to stop Glenn Arias, "a death merchant" who plans to unleash chaos in New York City by spreading a new bioweapon called "The Trigger Virus."
Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers are former S.T.A.R.S. operatives, both of whom appeared in Resident Evil 1, while Leon Kennedy is a former Raccoon City police officer (Resident Evil 2). Kennedy is now a U.S. government agent, while Chambers works in the Alexander Institute of Biotechnology as a professor.
New Villain, New Monsters
The story is set after the events in Resident Evil 6 and before Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, likely to bridge the gap between the two games. In the trailer, we see Arias, a white-haired middle-aged man who is the film's main antagonist, with Redfield calling him a "merchant of death."
The trailer also shows Arias' "product," a hulking monstrosity wielding a Gatling gun and firing at our protagonists. Another villain, a long-haired femme fatale, kidnaps an unconscious Rebecca Chambers.
Then we see panoramic shots of New York City, then we hear Redfield's terrified voice saying Arias is planning to unleash the "Trigger Virus" in the city. Then Redfield and Kennedy are shown teaming up against zombies in what looks like the subway stations of New York City. Then explosions and fights ensue. At the trailer's end, a giant deformed monster is shown, which might be the film's final "boss."
Year Of Resident Evil
Resident Evil Vendetta is the second title released this year, after the Resident Evil 7: Biohazard game. Vendetta was first announced in 2015 during the Tokyo Game Show. It will have limited theater run before being distributed as a home media release.
Makoto Fukami of Psycho-Pass fame wrote the movie while The Grudge creator Takashi Shimizu is the executive producer. The movie was developed by Marza Animation Planet, which Sega owns.
