"Resident Evil" is returning to the big screen with a new live-action movie,
"Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City," set for release on November 24th, 2021.
Sony released the trailer for the movie on October 7, surprising gamers with a little mid-week
zombie mayhem. The trailer also featured more than a few details that only true fans would notice.
"Run!"
Blink during the trailer and you might miss a
reference to the iconic opening scene from "Resident Evil 2" and its remake,
almost seamlessly recreated for "Welcome to Raccoon City."
Things start innocently enough, with a truck driver calmly driving down the highway,
listening to a radio program. Then, after hearing an ominous comment about monsters
on the radio, the driver encounters a zombie in the middle of the road.
Things don't go so well for the driver, when he gets out to investigate, as the body begins to
rise behind him, presumably to attack. Later, the driver returns, fully overtaken by whatever
affliction is affecting the city, driving his semi straight toward Leon and Claire.
The original "Resident Evil 2" featured a similar scene,
so it only makes sense that they would recreate the sequence for a "Resident Evil" movie."
The trailer for "Welcome to Raccoon City" shows a driver that looks extremely similar
to the one in the games, sporting the same well-groomed beard and hat. In the trailer,
the driver's eyes are completely black, with dark veins creeping along the edges of his
face. While the short sequence doesn't show him chasing Claire or Leon, viewers do get
to see his semi overturn, crashing right in front of the Raccoon City Police Department.
"Every story has a beginning."
Fans who have played the original "Resident Evil" or its remake will no doubt remember
the bone-chilling experience of stumbling across the game's very first zombie. Well,
"Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" wants
you to feel that same sense of terror when you watch it on the big screen.
The movie trailer shows a scene with a zombie in a lab coat that's in the exact
same position as the first zombie you meet in the original "Resident Evil."
It certainly looks more faithful to the games than those Milla Jovovich movies.
"People are getting sick."
One reference in the trailer is just two words: "itchy" and "tasty."
This is a reference to an infamous journal that players discovered back in the original "Resident
Evil" game. The harrowing diary told the tale of someone's descent into becoming a zombie,
with the last haunting entry simply reading "Itchy. Tasty."
The two words became iconic for the series, to the point where the official "Resident
Evil" Twitter account actually tweeted the words in August 2021 to get fans hyped for
the upcoming movie. It worked out, as the simple phrase earned over 20,000 likes.
"We need to expose Umbrella."
The trailer for "Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City" uses iconic locations like the
Spencer Mansion and Police Station to demonstrate that the film will
pull elements from both "Resident Evil" and "Resident Evil 2" to tell its story.
That includes some of the series' most infamous characters.
At one point, a dossier appears on screen,
and fans who look closely will notice two critical names.
Printed at the top of the file is Lisa Trevor,
whose story was featured heavily in the remake of the first "Resident Evil" game.
A tragic figure who was experimented on and used to create the G-Virus,
she's easily one of the scariest "Resident Evil" villains. It's also worth noting that a clue at
the bottom of the dossier may reveal that her movie origin story will match that of the games.
The signature on the file reads "W. Birkin," which
"Resident Evil" fans know can stand for only one man: Dr. William Birkin.
According to Deadline, Birkin will be played by Neal McDonough, and if fans back up the trailer a
couple of frames, they will see him as the evil virologist who not only experimented on Lisa,
but also kicked off the horrific events of "Resident Evil 2."
"Good God, William. What have you done?"
On top of the dossier is what looks like a film canister with the label "Ashford Twins,"
tying the movie into the events of "Resident Evil - Code: Veronica."
"You don't fool me! I am Alfred Ashford!"
The opening moments of the "Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City" trailer waste
no time in letting fans know that things are not going well under the Umbrella Corporation's watch.
An early moment in the trailer highlights members of the Umbrella Security Service,
or U.S.S., patrolling a locked-down Raccoon City.
One shot stands out amongst the rest. While it can be tough to be sure without more context,
a soldier wearing a gas mask has a definite resemblance to HUNK.
HUNK is the codename of an Umbrella Operative also known as "Mr. Death," due to his seeming ability
to survive every major Umbrella-related disaster. His exploits may not always be canonical to the
games, but he's a popular character among fans — and quite a deep-cut reference for this movie.
Again, it's hard to confirm that the gas-masked individual is actually the
legendary U.S.S. operative, but it could provide a possible set-up for future films.
HUNK was, after all, the character who extracted samples of the G-Virus and the t-virus after an
encounter with Dr. Birkin, so it's not out of the question that he's in the movie too.
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