By Correction: As correctly pointed out by SirCacophony in the comments, George A. Romero was the director first attached to the original Resident Evil, not Wes Craven. Thanks for pointing it out, the article has been amended. There are also rumours going around that, despite her earlier confirmation, Sienna Guillory may not appear in Retribution, as Jill Valentine is reportedly being recast (/Film). Encouraging to see Anderson being vigilant that his movies don’t have any saving graces at all.
Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil movies haven’t exactly endeared themselves to fans of the gaming franchise, in part for ignoring virtually everything that made the games so entertaining, in part because Anderson took over from the vastly better qualified George Romero to direct and then wrote in a starring role for his wife Milla Jovovich, and in part because they have been relentlessly terrible. Unfortunately for the fans, they have also been relentlessly popular, meaning that a fifth entry is now in the works. Working under the subtitle Retribution, Jovovich and Sienna Guillory (who made a reasonably decent Jill Valentine, all things considered) will be returning and a casting call has gone out for the characters of Barry Burton and, yes, floppy fringed fan favourite Leon Kennedy. Or as he’s otherwise known, Meeeeeeeester Kenneddeeee!*
Anderson has been promising to bring Kennedy into the franchise for a while and it looks like he’s finally holding himself to it, but don’t forget that there’s no guarantee of the movie version of Mr. Kennedy being anything like the character from the games. That said, since the gaming character is mostly defined by his silly haircut, bomber jacket and tendency to look up blonde schoolgirls’ skirts as they climb ladders (what?), it probably wouldn’t do too much harm to give him a bit more character. Except that Anderson will probably be writing too, and he’s not exactly known for his nuanced approach to such things.
Resident Evil: Retribution is slated for a September 14th 2012 release date. Scenes will be set in Tokyo. It will be in 3D, nobody will like it, but it will make a lot of money anyway. Copy and paste for review in fourteen months’ time.
*If you don’t get this, you should probably play Resident Evil 4. Stranger!
[via Collider]