When diving into various forums and articles, you may have come across a certain rumor about a movie that seemed like a mix of hearsay and fanfiction, something you wouldn't bother looking up. What rumor is that you may ask. Well, the rumor about George A. Romero, the man behind the Living Dead franchise, attached to his own Resident Evil movie.
In 1998, Romero completed a draft of a screenplay for Constantin Film, but Capcom rejected the script. The adaptation went to Paul W. S. Anderson whose movie was eventually released in 2002 under the apt name of “Resident Evil” (the one starring Milla Jovovich), which went on to spawn more movies.
If you have missed the news, reports by Bloody Disgusting, among others, started coming out about a “George A. Romero's Resident Evil Documtary” about two weeks ago as of this writing. We can confirm that there will be a highly anticipated documentary available on Digital and On Demand starting January 7, 2025. If you want to read more about the documentary you can check out its designated ZombieDB page here, or if you prefer IMDB.
From what we have learned this is an investigative documentary that dives into the who, what, where, and when's of the Resident Evil adaptation that never came to be. It will be delivered in an immersive, stylized experience packaged together with old and new footage, newly uncovered documents, newly filmed interviews with key people in the industry, and what they seem to hint at, the reasons as to why the movie was never produced.
It is directed by Brandon Salisbury who says “George Romero gave birth to modern horror, the modern zombie, and ultimately Resident Evil.” and "I am honored to bring fans the untold story of his most important unmade project, to celebrate the legacy of the man that inspired me to pursue filmmaking as a career. I hope fans enjoy this ultimate experience in survival horror.”
If you want to dip your toes into this compelling narrative, you can watch the trailer below, or if you're like me, wait until you can have the full experience all at once. Also, a funny sidenote: if you check the cast, James Rolfe, AKA The Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN), is listed.
