‘Resident Evil 4’ Should Be the Next TV Video Game Adaptation
Resident Evil has received more game-to-screen adaptations than any other video game franchise that’s not targeted at children, with five animated films, a Netflix live-action series, a saga of six live-action movies, and a film reboot that failed in the eyes of fans and critics, alike.
For some reason, the execs in Hollywood and at Capcom can never get it right and invest in adapting Resident Evil 4 with Leon as the main character, off to rescue the president’s daughter from Plagas-infected Spaniards.
The original Resident Evil 4 from 2005 is considered a masterpiece in the gaming community, and its current 2023 remake has received worldwide acclaim. Both titles tell the story of a former Raccoon City police rookie, Leon S. Kennedy, now a U.S. spy, on a mission to save Ashley Graham, the president’s daughter, from a religious cult in rural Spain. Leon fights hordes of civilian and cult worshipers infected by a mind-controlling parasite to rescue the kidnapped Graham. The monstrosities grow worse the deeper he makes his way through the village.
It was a bold departure from the undead adversaries we knew from the original trilogy. It would be a bold adaptation in the current landscape of video game turn TV series and zombie-based shows.
Despite being the fourth entry in the franchise, we believe it would be wise to skip ahead of it all to tell the story of Leon Kennedy for network or streaming television. And more importantly, now is the best time to adapt Resident Evil 4.
Here’s What Every Resident Evil Adaptation Gets Wrong
No matter how often it has been sliced, in over 20 years, audiences have never gotten a faithful adaptation of Resident Evil. Although the Resident Evil film saga had a moderately high start, despite starring Alice, a wholly new character made for the movies, its lowest lows came following its drastic deviations. Milla Jovovich was great as Alice, but the original character’s story parallelled series antagonist Wesker more than any protagonist in the game’s franchise. And the further we got into the franchise, it became more about action than anything else.
Although there are several Resident Evil animated movies, the only thing good about them was their continuation of the video game story, using familiar characters like Leon and Chris Redfield from the first game. But let’s face it, the animation can be stiff, the action is too inspired by the live-action movies (overly cool to the point of looking silly), and they aren’t as well written as their video game or film franchise counterparts.
Although the original zombie-shambling Resident Evil games got their cue from George A. Romero movies, Resident Evil 4’s transition to infected antagonists would allow showrunners room for a different take on the typical zombie show, as would its rural Spain setting. The secluded location allows for a story where you’re dealing with the infected, but the world hasn’t necessarily come to ruin, which is already a much different approach to the trope on TV.
Why It Should Be A TV Series And Not a Movie
Execs tried to be somewhat faithful to the games when they rebooted the film franchise with Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. However, it attempted to game in two games’ worth of story (Resident Evil 1 &2) in an hour and 47 minutes movie, to a lukewarm reception, not to mention its penchant for adapting the original names and stories so loosely that it hardly resembles the source.
When the IP finally got the television series treatment from Netflix, the story trod so far away from its source to appeal to a general audience that it attracted fewer people and got canceled in its first season. However fantastic the late, great Lance Reddick’s take on the character Wesker was, the show itself was not equally as great.
Netflix
If someone were to adapt Resident Evil 4, there is more than enough story to split it into a single season. And if that studio were smart, they could spread each game’s village, castle, and island locations into three seasons. There’s a lot of material to adapt; old things from the original Resident Evil 4 and additions from the remake, and each game and its respective differences could be used to flesh out a season’s worth of material. If Resident Evil 4 were a singular movie, it would only be able to cover the big story beats, and we’d rush through the material and in-game objectives. And although a film trilogy of Resident Evil 4 may sound enticing, the story lends itself to being told episodically. The sequences in the games are even split up into various chapters.
Why Now Is The Best Time for a TV Adaptation
Although the original Resident Evil 4 is often a masterpiece, its 2023 remake is shaping up to be considered even greater. Much like previous mainline Resident Evil titles, the game got the remake treatment with upgraded graphics and enhanced gameplay mechanics.
This is very similar to what happened with The Last of Us, a renowned game from 2013 that got the remake treatment in 2022 to coincide with the release of its HBO adaptation in 2023. The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic show dealing with infected, rather than zombies, became a smashing success following its first season, paving the way for other video game adaptations slated to release, like Peacock’s upcoming Twisted Metal and Prime Video‘s God of War. This may signal the end of graphic novel adaptations and begin a new one for video games.
Capcom
Audiences that grew up watching The Walking Dead are now keenly aware of the difference between infected and the undead thanks to The Last of Us. It allows people who identify zombies with Resident Evil to grab ahold of the infected angle of 4, which differs from the threat in the rest of the franchise.
The IP has been in the minds of audiences outside the gaming community for over 20 years through its various films and shows. A new setting and threat with the same familiar name may entice audiences to check out the would-be series.
The familiarity with the tragedy of Raccoon City is also why you don’t have to tell it for Resident Evil 4 to have context. All you need to know is that an awful event shaped our protagonist. And, with a scene or an episode, delve into a flashback of what went down with Leon during the events of Resident Evil 2.
