When news broke that Sony was planning a revival of the original Resident Evil film series, which featured Mila Jovovich, fans of Capcom's long-running survival horror video game were overjoyed.
The reboot is reportedly far more in line with the actual events of the Capcom video game franchise when compared to the Paul W. S. Anderson-developed franchise, which featured several original characters and plot developments.
Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Companion) is the writer and director of the reboot, which has an offer out to Austin Abrams (Euphoria) to portray the male protagonist.
Now, a new report from World of Reel states that Anora award-winning actress Mikey Madison is now in talks for the female lead.
The unconfirmed plot of the film is said to center on, "a hapless courier (Abrams) tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital. He finds himself caught in the middle of an outbreak and must fight through hordes of mutated creatures to survive."
While the story line of the reboot is believed to be much more similar to that of the Capcom games, the setting does not sound like Spencer Mansion or Raccoon City, where the firs two original Resident Evil games take place.
After the release of Anderson and Jovovich's Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the sixth installment in their film franchise that grossed $1.28 billion worldwide, Sony has been struggling to find the right creative mixture for the future of the IP.
Kaya Scodelario (Skins, The Gentlemen), Hannah John-Kamen ( Ant-Man and the Wasp, Thunderbolts*), Robbie Amell (Code 8, The Flash) led a 2021 film reboot, titled Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, which grossed $42 million worldwide off a production budget of $25 million.
The film was also a critical failure, nixing any plans for a potential sequel.
Sony and Capcom then pivoted to Netflix with an 8-episode, live-action television series released in July 2022. It starred the late Lance Reddick as a clone of Albert Wesker, in an original story that contained elements of the video game series' storyline.
The upcoming Resident Evil reboot is currently set for release on Sept. 18, 2026. Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Army of the Dead) is co-writing alongside Cregger.
Madison is believed to have a slew of opportunities coming her way following her whirlwind award-season run, so we'll caution this report with a note that it's totally possible that Madison could turn down the part.
Stay tuned for further updates on the reboot, as the current release date for the film indicates that cameras will likely begin rolling shortly.