It didn’t take long after the release of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter [read our Blu-Ray review here] for Sony Gems and Constantin Films to announce a reboot of the video game movie franchise with James Wan at the helm. Since then, fans have been wondering what kind of direction the reboot will take. Well, if Resident Evil producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi has anything to say about it, the franchise might be even more action-focused than before:
“I personally like Paul W.S. Anderson’s [direction] on the live-action [films],” he told Collider. “Stuff like that, I would like to see more action.”
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Depending on how one feels about Paul W. S. Anderson’s work, this is either welcome, or very discouraging news. Many fans have felt the franchise moved too far away from the series’ horror roots, while others feel the films provided fun escapism and aren’t meant to be taken too seriously.
With James Wan stepping aboard, the reboot could really move in two directions. James Wan is known as a horror visionary with excellent movies like The Conjuring, but he has also worked on high-octane franchises like The Fast and the Furious and the upcoming video game movie reboot Mortal Kombat. One could argue that the Resident Evil video games have moved far from their original formula; though Resident Evil VII is the closest the series has gotten to its roots in a while. Perhaps James Wan can strike the perfect balance between horror, and action?
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Originally published June 15, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
