The new trailer for the Resident Evil Netflix series has dropped during Netflix’s Geeked week – and it’s already showing that it can deftly handle the franchise’s wildly oscillating tones.
In one corner, we’ve got the clean, sterile Umbrella. The organization is clearly up to no good, not that the shiny façade would leave you knowing any different. Here, it’s conspiracies and corporate subterfuge galore, clearly taking a page out of Resident Evil’s middle years on consoles.
Lance Reddick’s Albert Wesker is cooking up something in the shadows – but its effects aren’t shown until much later. Nearly 15 years down the line, it’s up to his daughter, Jade, to help clear up the havoc he and his company have wrought upon the world.
Resident Evil’s carnival of flesh-rotting zombies is correct and present, too. This new trailer even finds time to focus on some of the series’ most iconic takes on the shambling undead.
The Licker – with protruding tongue, naturally – is here, as is a giant mutant spider. Both will strike fear into those who have played either of the first two Resident Evil games. Then there’s the Tyrant, a hulking zombie found floating in a water tank that could very well be Umbrella’s best-kept secret.
The previous trailer focused less on the guts, and gore – instead cluing us in on the story. The Netflix series will neatly sidestep established canon in favor of establishing its own. There will be dual timelines. The first will deal with Umbrella in 2022, while the second will deal with Jade’s journey in a post-apocalyptic world in 2036.
The synopsis reads, "14 years after a deadly virus caused a global apocalypse, Jade Wesker fights for survival in a world overrun by the blood-thirsty infected and insane creatures. In this absolute carnage, Jade is haunted by her past in New Raccoon City, by her father’s chilling connections to the Umbrella Corporation but mostly by what happened to her sister, Billie."
Resident Evil is set to release on Netflix on July 14. For more from Resident Evil, check out our interview with showrunner Andrew Dabb. And why not check out the best Netflix shows you should be watching right now?
