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Holy hell folks, it’s finally coming and it’s been long overdue. If for some reason you thought I was talking about a new Hello Kitty cartoon, well then I’m sorry to disappoint. Mance Media, a relatively new production studio, is working on a TV series inspired by the Resident Evil games. That’s right, you heard correctly folks! You can start jumping for joy.
The Resident Evil franchise is now 18-years-old and has been fleshed out through dozens of video games, movies, novels, comic books, toys, and much more. Itt’s never been ported to the living room, but that’s about to change.
The best part is that Mance Media said the TV series will have absolutely nothing to do with the film series. I love Resident Evil, don’t get me wrong, but the films starring Milla Jovovich have gotten a little out of hand. It’s nice to see someone taking the series back to its roots. Mance wants the show to be more akin to The Walking Dead, which means survival-horror elements will take the forefront.
It’s currently titled Arklay, which – as you may already know – is a reference to the Arklay Mountains, the location of the fictional Racoon City in the games. If memory serves correctly, players explored the Arklay Laboratory located in the mountains at one point in the game series, which was where Umbrella first started experimenting with the dreaded T-virus.
Just thinking about some of those empty refinery type environments gives me the shivers. Seriously, a lot of those boiler rooms in need of repair could just use a little color. What am I saying? Hopefully in the upcoming TV series they keep the dark tone and explore some of those scary places. The first film was more of a teaser, offering a glimpse at environments from the games before tearing our hearts out – or maybe just mine. The lickers, while awesome, played more of a role than they should have. In fact, that seems to be a pattern with the film franchise.
The TV show will follow an entirely new character to the world of Resident Evil, Detective James Reinhardt. Similar to Leon from Resident Evil 2, Reinhardt is tasked with investigating several strange homicides right when he arrives in the city. Like any smart person, he quickly realizes there’s something a little more sinister happening behind the scenes. From there, he’ll discover the conspiracy behind the infamous zombie virus.
It turns out that Reinhardt has actually been infected by the virus himself. He must uncover the secrets behind the virus, Racoon City, and Umbrella before it’s too late.
No word on whether or not some of the series’ most popular characters will cameo. Who knows if we’ll see Leon, Claire, Chris, or Wesker? It also makes one wonder whether or not some of the big baddies will show up, like Tyrant or Nemesis.
Furthermore, if they decide to use undead dogs, let’s hope they do it right and keep them for the surprise moments. The scene in the first game where the dog comes flying through the mansion window is certainly one of the most memorable of the series.
Shawn Christopher Lebert will be writing Arklay, as confirmed by Polygon. He’s “currently in negotiations with Mance Media” about the series, but cannot divulge more information right now. Mance Media has also mentioned they are shooting for a rather vague 2015 launch date. Of course, we’ll have to wait a little longer before any official information is offered.
In the meantime, you can check out the proof of concept video that Mance Media put together as a pitch reel for the series. It’s actually comprised of scenes from other films and media, but the real focus for the proof is the editing process and tone. It’s nice to see someone going with a much darker tone for the Resident Evil series. The first game still scares the hell out of me to this day, so here’s hoping the TV series can offer something similar.
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