There have been five Resident Evil movies. Five! This despite the fact that you probably don’t see them, and you don’t know anybody who goes to see them. I actually went to a theater opening night for the last one, Resident Evil: Retribution and was the only person there. And yet somehow it still made $21 million in one weekend. And a sixth is on the way and will, supposedly, be the last.
If we sound a bit skeptical, it’s because in theory this franchise was supposed to be dead years ago. But it kept making money overseas; in fact, the fifth one made $240 million, with only $40 million of that from the US. Still, if anybody would know what’s happening, it’s Paul W.S. Anderson, who’s had a hand in all of them and is married to the star of the franchise. And, well, this interview with Collider sounds pretty definitive:
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is the working title. It may end up being the final title, but that’s what’s written on the front page of my script.
In a way, it’ll be an odd send-off. Resident Evil will retire as the single most successful adaptation of a video game on film: It’ll likely end its run with a billion dollars or more grossed at the box office, and was actually more successful the more sequels it put out; the fourth movie, Resident Evil: Afterlife was the biggest hit of the franchise. No other video game has ever come close, although to be fair, the movies and the games share little more than a title and some names at this point.
Also, this is Hollywood. We’re not going to be surprised if a reboot is in the works. Maybe Sony can put Spider-Man in it.