Will the Netflix Resident Evil series be a hit or failure on July 14?
Shaun M Jooste 
So as many of you already know, the Netflix Resident Evil series is releasing on July 14, 2022. There will be eight episodes, but there’s no indication if we’ll see a Season 2 as yet. They’ll probably wait to see what the fanbase’s reaction will be to the show.
Unfortunately, Resident Evil fans are already shouting their comments on several social media platforms. Let’s take a look at what they have to say before we go into our thoughts.
Fans cry out against Netflix Resident Evil
I’ve always found it amazing when people share their thoughts about any form of entertainment before the product is actually released. They have no idea what the story will be like except for what they see in the trailer. However, they still feel that they can comment about their thoughts on what it possibly will be like and if they’ll enjoy it.
That frontal lobe syndrome, hey?
Go have a look at the NetFlix Resident Evil trailer on YouTube and check the comments. I’ve seen similar feedback on the Facebook post. It appears that fans are upset that it’s a brand new story with new characters, instead of adapting the games to film.
There’s also consternation that it feels like a normal zombie movie with the Resident Evil tag and Umbrella logo slapped onto it. The popular opinion is that the new RE series has nothing to do with the franchise.
I’ll reserve my opinion on these thoughts for the moment.
What we know about the Resident Evil Show Netflix so far
Well, we have a good idea of the Netflix Resident Evil cast so far. Tamara Smart and Ella Balinska play as Jade, the younger and older version, respectively, who’s the daughter of the familiar character, Wesker. Adeline Rudolph, Siena Agudong, Ahad Raza Mir, Paola Nuñez, Connor Gossatti, and Turlough Convery bring out some of the other cast. I don’t know about you, but the dude driving the car when speaking to Jade looks almost like Dwayne Johnson.
The Netflix Resident Evil release date is July 14, 2022, so we have about two months to wait. There’s a cool sign that says “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City” that has us excited, but we’re not sure how much of the series takes place there. After the intro montage, the film heads to London, which is what basically takes it away from the original RE games, especially RE2.
While there isn’t a Netflix Resident Evil wiki as yet, we’re sure someone will develop it.
Will Resident Evil on Netflix be successful?
As a fan of horror in most forms, having written Silent Hill: Betrayal as my first horror novel, I love the idea of a new Netflix Resident Evil series. We’ve already seen some RE movies with new characters while being based on the Raccoon City story, which is somewhat close to RE2 in the first movie.
With the games so old now, I’m not sure why fans are crying out for an adaptation of the games. We already know those stories. Also, I know what’s going to happen if any film producer is brave enough to adapt the games to film. Then fans will cry out about points that are wrong, and how the producer messed up the plot, and and and….
The issue is that most fans don’t know how challenging it is to adapt a game to film in a short script. Yes, I’ve studied film screenwriting, so I know. You can only put so much into a script, even for a series. And then, when you only take a few of the plot points, you need to change a few elements to make up for the gap. Which ultimately messes up the whole point of the adaptation.
In my opinion, they did the right thing in making a brand new story in a new location with new characters. Netflix Resident Evil is not an adaptation, but a brand new plot that some of us fans have been waiting for. Some gamers need to stop living in the past and enjoy the new content coming our way. Plus, no one promised you it would be a game adaptation, so there’s no reason to complain that it isn’t.
As for Netflix Resident Evil not being part of the franchise, well, we haven’t even seen the episodes yet, so no point even commenting on that, as many are doing.
Standard of the industry
Sadly, this is the way of the entertainment industry. When I first announced in 2015 I was writing Silent Hill novels on my author Shaun M Jooste website, the gaming fans were in an uproar. They wanted to know how dare I make new stories for the series. “The franchise is dead. Leave it alone.”
Most of the anger was actually at Konami for forsaking the games and focusing on pachinko machines. Seven years later into 2022, I’m receiving such positive feedback on my first Silent Hill horror novel. They loved how true it is to the game lore and what I did with the new characters and creatures. Maybe Netflix Resident Evil will have the same response?
Final thoughts on Netflix Resident Evil
I have a feeling that fans will enjoy Netflix Resident Evil more than they thought they would, especially if they can put aside their desire for a proper adaptation. Just like Silent Hills, it’s never going to happen, exactly because of how gamers are reacting at the moment.
I think the series will be successful and a hit. Perhaps not as much as Red Notice, but it should still receive some stellar positive reviews. Let’s wait until July 14 before we completely condemn it.
In the meantime, be sure to check out my Twitter feed for the latest news on my second horror novel, Silent Hill: Obversion. I’m actually hoping to write some episode film scripts for the first book and see what Konami and Netflix have to say about it. It’s time we get some SH series going on the entertainment platform.
